Although a lot has been said about UNC's planned research campus, Carolina North, there have not been enough opportunities for citizens to hear and ask about issues and potential impacts, and to hear these addressed from a community perspective.
That's why the grassroots citizens group Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth (NRG), with the generous cooperation of several local organizations, is holding a public forum on Monday, June 4, at 7:00 p.m., in the Chapel Hill Town Council Chambers. This forum, entitled "Carolina North: A Community Perspective", will feature a panel of speakers who have long involvement with this topic. They will be giving short presentations on salient issues, and answering questions from a moderator and from the audience.
Why yet another meeting? Because most of the information that has been disseminated thus far has been coordinated by UNC. That's not a criticism - it's their job. And it's our job as citizens to ask tough questions and demand clear answers to the potential impacts of this, the largest development we will face in our lifetimes, on our community.
The panel of speakers is composed of community leaders who participated in the recent Leadership Advisory Committee meetings, and in other areas related to Carolina North. They are: Julie McClintock, Bill Strom, Bernadette Pelissier, James Carnahan, and Dan Coleman.
Visit the NRG web site for more information: http://www.nrg-nc.net
Issues:
Comments
When I asked about the
When I asked about the missing environmental impact studies, off-site impacts Strom says that the SUP process will be the time to hold UNC to those requirements .
Of course there's a few problems with that answer - 1, the zone controls what is permissible and we know OI-4 is broken (at least at the process level, I argue further). 2 - the majority of Council us undercut their moral leadership on the enviro front
Strom says that if a developer asks for a special zone "we can tell them they can stand on their heads" . Again, Strom just led the adoption of TC-3 for Greenbridge, a special height/double density zone he claimed, at the time, would so rare as not to worry about (my guess it's going to be approved for Lot #5 rather than having to justify a SUP on height busting)
Julie McClintock adds that
Julie McClintock adds that UNC does not want to use coal to power the new campus.
Philip Duchastel wants to know if UNC is going to be presenting an application to Carrboro, and whether the town can request specifics about housing i.e. provide it for 50% of employees at CN.
Dan says only the First School is in Carrboro.
He also says Chapel Hill can ask for whatever it needs to make the project work for the community.
Strom on fiscal equity issue
Strom on fiscal equity issue - RFP gone out to do the studies - the 3 govt bodies - Carrboro/Chapel Hill/Orange County - will get to select the consultant
He's concerned that the plan won't be sufficient... Wish he would talk to creating an evergreen process that is flexible enough to accommodate future modifications in the CN plan
Will, would you please
Will, would you please elaborate on this statement:
"the majority of Council us undercut their moral leadership on the enviro front"
Side note: Evans and company
Side note: Evans and company were quite firm that coal was not going to be used (it's on the video I made).
I'm surprised to see so many
I'm surprised to see so many people referring to Jack Evans' recent statement that CN will mostly be comprised of programs that already exist on the main campus and therefore won't generate much additional traffic.
In addition to making little sense, this excuse has never been mentioned in the 10+ years of discussing the project. Can we not recognize and avoid chasing white rabbits by now?
Sure - Lot #5 is "the" best
Sure - Lot #5 is "the" best recent example.
Ruby, we haven't got to
Ruby, we haven't got to transit yet - I was planning to bring this up during that session.
Good question on the impact
Good question on the impact of CN escalating the price of housing to the point of taxing folks out....
Strom talking about budget this year - Council tries to keep the lid on...
Gary Saunders says his
Gary Saunders says his house's tax value has been going way up. That would be great if he wanted to sell it (he doesn't.) Do folks know what the impact on surrounding housing will be, specifically tax bills?
Bill Strom says part of the SUP process is trying to ensure that property values are not negatively impacted. The Council tries to keep tax hikes to a minimum but things have to be funded. He thinks Carolina North will probably increase the value of the gentleman's house.
Dan says the more housing there is on site the less likely it is to drive up taxes.
Luke Taft wants to know
Luke Taft wants to know whether UNC can determine who lives in its housing or whether it has to be open to the general public.
The panel isn't sure. Dan thinks they have a good amount of lee way on that front: dormitories, student family housing are prior examples.
A gentleman from Carrboro whose name I didnt catch wants to know why the university is reluctant to put adequate housing into the plans. Dan says a week ago he would have said the Trustees see this primarily as an economic development project. But now it's not primarily economic development- we're going back to academic uses. So it's hard to know- trustees might not think this is the best ROI for the property.
Bill says many legislators went to the Law School- might be easier to get money out of the GA for that than for housing.
Relocation is the big theme
Relocation is the big theme now.
Strom - "there's no
Strom - "there's no application in yet" . Don't get that in the context of this forum which is supposed to be proactive...
John A. - touching on Dan's
John A. - touching on Dan's comment about 6 year planning process for Meadowmont... asking round-robin questions - 1. how long is sufficient for planning 2. if the plan is drawn out - what's the impact on commercial building in Chapel Hill
Julie -talks to special zone...
Bernadette - 1 year or
Bernadette - 1 year or more
Dan - OI-4 took a short time
Bill - OI-4 took 100 days, my understanding is 6 to 9 months OI-2 on the existing HWA allows up to 6 million sq/ft.
John Ager says there's no
John Ager says there's no simple transit solution and it will take a long time to get to the 'complicated' transit solution.
How long do you think the approval process for this should take?
If this process entangles UNC in a lot of delay do you think that will impact future commercial development in Chapel Hill?
Julie McClintock says it's going to take a long time to develop the zone- if UNC wants a special zone it should take six months to a year to get that zone.
Bernadette says it will be when the citizens and Town Council feel comfortable with what is being proposed.
Dan Coleman says it took 2-3 years for the development of OI-4.
He doesn't think it should have much of an impact on other developers.
Bill says it should take 6-9 months for a new zone and 6-9 months for the development process.
The town could approve over 6 million square feet of development without a rezoning. It's up to UNC how long they want it to take.
James - wonders how
James - wonders how incredible growth in Chatham wasn't driven by anticipation
Bill - it's important to get
Bill - it's important to get the guideways...
It's nice to see that the
It's nice to see that the folks here are from all over Chapel Hill and Carrboro, not just immediate UNC and CN neighbors.
Strom - "A new zone should
Strom - "A new zone should be a two way street" in answer to why we need a new zone for HWA
North Haven resident stands
North Haven resident stands and asks Bill has Council considered North Haven as a distinct area of impact. "We are good at mitigating things"...
Just a note to thank NRG for
Just a note to thank NRG for this event. Great format, excellent turnout, great questions. I imagine a lot of citizens went away feeling better informed and better able to engage in the discussions ahead.
Mike put it very well - we
Mike put it very well - we need many more community engagement opportunities like this evening. Maybe Carrboro can host a few?
I think that one dominant
I think that one dominant paradigm here is fundamentally flawed:
There is this ongoing thinking that the Town needs to have something (an application from UNC) to respond to before
it comes up with its own approaches.
But operating in reactive mode is likely to not be a very workable approach.
In fact, the Town and University need to create this all together, or else Carolina North (whatever it is going to be) is going to take a really, really long time to come to fruition, based on what I've seen. Things that may well result in things taking way longer than anybody can anticipate: one is SEPA, the State Environmental Policy Act, that will come into play here, no doubt (caveat: I'm not an attorney)--this can lead to having to prepare an environmental impact statement, involvement of many state agencies in a review, etc.; and then there's the potential of lawsuits and/or permit appeals filed by neighbors adjoining the project. If the whole thing could be done working together, then the likelihood of delays could be reduced substantially, while increasing the likelihood of coming up with a successful Carolina North. This approach includes having all the necessary information (technical reports, etc.) available at appropriate times during the planning process, and updating that information as needed.
A video of the NRG Forum is
A video of the NRG Forum is available here.
Might be worth a visit if you're planning to attend next week's Carolina North community outreach event.
Quick reminder of today's
Quick reminder of today's UNC outreach:
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. (School of Government, room 2603)
Oops, I forgot. Will try to
Oops, I forgot. Will try to post that now.
OK, please see
OK, please see http://orangepolitics.org/2007/07/carolina-north-presentation
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