Last September, we excitedly tweeted that Chapel Hill was getting ready to make it hugely easier to build “missing middle” housing.
Tomorrow, the Chapel Hill Town Council will vote on a text amendment that will allow people to build duplexes and small homes throughout our community, not just in a handful of neighborhoods. There are some stipulations – the duplexes will have to adhere to a certain square footage – but it would be a welcome step.
Chapel Hill allowed duplexes and other housing types, which they called “in-fill housing” from 1981 until it was repealed in 1986. At the time, a council member opposed to the repeal observed “[w]e are leaving out even the slightest possibility of getting affordable housing here in Chapel Hill.”
The infill housing created between 1981 and 1986 forms some of our town’s most affordable housing options. But we stopped building it in 1986. Over the past 37 years, we’ve seen housing getting more and more expensive in the home of one of our country’s great public research universities.
We’ve spent much of the past nine months digging into the text amendment, and writing about the proposal that Council will vote on tomorrow night. Here, we collect all of our pieces in one spot. Thank you for reading.
June 19, 2023 The proposed text amendment is good policy, one that will actually save Chapel Hill.
June 19, 2023 Who Needs Housing Choices?
June 15, 2023 Why I support the housing choices proposal: Christian Matthaeus
June 15, 2023 Orange-Chatham Sierra Club comments on the Housing Choices proposal
June 14, 2023 Why I support the housing choices proposal: Dan Levine
June 13, 2023 Why I support the housing choices proposal: John Wallace
June 12, 2023 Why I support the housing choices proposal: Carolyn Klamm
June 9, 2023 Why I support housing choices: Abby Parcell
June 8, 2023 Why I support the housing choices proposal: Anne Gordon
May 30, 2023 We must do better—otherwise Chapel Hill becomes like an exclusive, gated community where only the wealthy can live
May 29, 2023 Why I support the Housing Choices proposal: Theodore Nollert
May 27, 2023 Why I support the Housing Choices Proposal: Mei-Yen Ireland
May 26, 2023 Why I support the Housing Choices proposal: Jasmine Davidson
May 25, 2023 Statement in support of the Housing Choices proposal
May 24, 2023 Liveblog: May 24 Chapel Hill Town Council meeting
May 24, 2023 Buying a Chapel Hill home in 1993 is completely different than buying today
May 23, 2023 Five things to remember ahead of tomorrow night’s discussion of missing middle housing
May 19, 2023 The Planning Commission Supports the Housing Choices Proposal
May 18, 2023 Chapel Hill’s aging housing stock is a challenge. And an opportunity.
May 12, 2023 Chapel Hill’s historic district commission contemplates Chapel Hill’s future
April 26, 2023 We’re launching a Chapel Hill for All – and yes, there are yard signs
April 21, 2023 Interview: Leaders of Arlington’s pro-missing middle housing group
April 17, 2023 Everything awful said or implied about UNC students in the Town’s housing survey
April 15, 2023 SaveChapelHill.org Day One: Hysteria (and Tons of Misinformation)
April 13, 2023 Save Chapel Hill? From whom? For what?
April 10, 2023 Three areas Chapel Hill Town Council should focus on tonight as it discusses missing middle housing
April 7, 2023 NAACP branch open letter on “missing middle” housing
April 7, 2023 A Milder Proposal: Town Staff Revises Its Plan for Missing Middle Housing
March 28, 2023 The way Chapel Hill residents treat town staff at public meetings is horrifying
March 26, 2023 Amending the LUMO to more readily permit the building of “missing middle” housing is the right way forward.
March 15, 2023 As Passover approaches, the Laurel Hill neighborhood submits way more than four questions
March 12, 2023 Yet another creative letter from a lawyer against Chapel Hill’s housing proposal
March 6, 2023 In-Chu Co and Missing Middle Housing: Chapel Hill’s Missing Middle Housing Battle in 1968
February 27, 2023 Teardowns are coming, but what comes next?
February 24, 2023 LUMO and an empty lot: Why I’m excited about missing middle housing
February 23, 2023 A first? Hired lawyer writes to Chapel Hill Town Council based on a blog post we wrote
February 22, 2023 Goodbye Structural Racism, Hello Status Quo
February 14, 2023 We need to talk about the $2 million townhouses in Raleigh
February 13, 2023 When we talk about housing policy, we need to talk about counterfactuals
February 9, 2023 We are very appreciative of the Chapel Hill Town Council members standing up for housing
February 2, 2023 It’s Groundhog Day in Chapel Hill, and we might finally be able to leave Punxsutawney
January 28, 2023 Simon Palmore: “We just need a safe, comfortable place to live that we can afford.”
January 26, 2023 Melissa McCullough: Residential multifamily buildings are a traditional American housing form
January 25, 2023 Tonight, we have an opportunity to push back against exclusionary zoning
January 25, 2023 Liveblog: Chapel Hill Town Council meeting, January 25, 2023
January 23, 2023 Questions, questions, so many questions about property value and neighborhood character
January 18, 2023 We answered (almost) every question Chapel Hill Town Council has received on missing middle housing
January 16, 2023 Fact check: R-1 and R-2 aren’t going anywhere
January 10, 2023 Missing Middle Housing is on Chapel Hill’s agenda. We should be celebrating, not panicking.
September 29, 2022 Chapel Hill’s getting ready to make it hugely easier to build “missing middle” housing!