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 …
TL;DR: A lot of conversation and debate in our community centers on planning, zoning, and development regulations. But…what are these things? Where did they come from? And why are they used? Are they good? Bad? Somewhere in between? It’s important to understand how land use planning and regulations work, what they can and can’t do, …
TBB Land Use & Development Primer | 1.1: Background & History of Zoning Read More »
After UNC’s men’s basketball team defeated Duke in the NCAA Final Four on Saturday, April 2, fans rushed Franklin Street. Photographers and television news crews captured an exuberant crowd, eager to celebrate their second victory in so many months over their biggest rival. While basketball isn’t everything in Chapel Hill, it’s nights like these that …
Here is a look at some of the local government meetings scheduled for this week, May 16-20, 2022: Chapel Hill Town Council The Chapel Hill Town Council will be holding a virtual meeting on Wednesday (May 18) at 7 pm — view the agenda here, access the Zoom here if you want to comment, and it’s also …
While many of us have recognized for a long time that Chapel Hill is an expensive place to live, the Rod Stevens report seems to have cut through the noise and raised Chapel Hillians’ awareness of the extent of the problem. According to Stevens, the report was commissioned to answer town council’s question “Are we building too …
Jenny Schuetz on America’s (and Chapel Hill’s) Housing Crisis Read More »
I recently was at an event and recognized a developer who had come before the planning commission in the past (I will not name the developer as I did not request permission to do so). We spoke briefly and the conversation turned to challenges associated with developing in Chapel Hill. The developed talked about the …
Chattin’ with developers (a quick note on affordability in Chapel Hill) Read More »
In a recent post, I described the importance of building small connections around town to reduce our reliance on car travel and mentioned that the Planning Commission would be petitioning the Town Council to add a connection to the redeveloped Trinity Court apartments. Encourage Council to support a new connection to Trinity Court Details of …
Petition for increased connectivity for Trinity Court residents Read More »
Music aficionados are likely familiar with R.E.M.’s place in the local music scene in the early days of the band’s career. The band played its first show outside of Georgia at the Station in Carrboro, where the members met Jefferson Holt, who went on to manage R.E.M. for 15 years as it grew into America’s …
R.E.M., Chapel Hill, and the Importance of Micro-Connections Read More »
“How long shall we stand? As long as there is a need to correct an injustice.” This week, the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and Orange County will consider adopting a resolution approving a draft recombination plat (map) and conceptual plan for 164-acres jointly owned by the three parties, known as the Greene Tract. …
Along Elliot Road in Chapel Hill sits a modern rental apartment building called the Berkshire Chapel Hill. Though nondescript, several years ago this “luxury” apartment complex rocked Chapel Hill’s political landscape. In 2015, a new mayor and slate of like-minded Town Council members won election following community outrage after the Berkshire replaced a perfectly nice …
