If there were a soap opera about Chapel Hill, it would be called As the World Burns and the lead villain would be the Community Design Commission (CDC). Soap opera villains tend to be rich and powerful and will take any steps to protect their oil wealth or media empire. The CDC may not have […]
Posted inChapel Hill, Zoning
Chapel Hill’s inclusionary zoning policies don’t work
This is part of our harder truths series. Inclusionary zoning ordinances are among the most controversial approaches in modern urban planning. Briefly, these ordinances intend to expand the supply of affordable housing stock by requiring developers to include it as part of new development or redevelopment projects. (We are defining “Affordable” here using the guidance […]
Posted inCarrboro, Chapel Hill, Triangle Region
The Rural Buffer doesn’t work if Chapel Hill and Carrboro don’t keep up their part of the bargain
This is part of our Harder Truth series. The Rural Buffer, enacted in 1987, was not utilized correctly, and needs to be reconsidered. (If the town is not going to build densely, which was part of the Buffer deal, then we should scrap the buffer. The Buffer has ‘preserved open space’ in a hyperlocal way […]
Posted inLink roundup
Lunch links: Friends book sale, Ann Arbor’s vision, thoughts on Durham
Hello! It’s Monday! And there’s a lot going on in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Durham this week. Here’s your daily roundup: ? Get your books on ? The Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library are hosting their August book sale next weekend – and we’ve heard that there will be thousands of children’s books, […]
Posted inChapel Hill, Development review, Housing, Zoning
Reimagining 106 Kenan Street: How we can rethink lots in the historic district of Chapel Hill
Background: On July 6, 2021, a structural fire damaged a single-family, four-bedroom home at 106 Kenan St., which was occupied by four college students (who thankfully were able to escape the fire without injury). Last fall, the house was torn down, leaving an undeveloped .22 acre (9,579 square feet) lot in downtown Chapel Hill. The […]
Posted inChapel Hill, Chapel Hill Town Council, Greenway, Housing
Eat Pray Love Greenway: An update on the Complete Communities process
Greenways. That’s the answer to Chapel Hill’s problems, according to Jennifer Keesmaat, who is heading the Complete Communities project for the Town of Chapel Hill. In a 45-minute (or so) presentation on Thursday, August 18, Keesmaat and her team, with Rod Steven pinch hitting during the Q&A, presented an update on the Complete Communities process […]