September 2007

I was out of town for 9 days so I had trouble following this.

Final agreement on the last set of conditions on the proposed Alberta project was delayed Tuesday night after a lengthy discussion by the Carrboro Board of Aldermen.

After closing a public hearing at Town Hall on the four-story 46,340-square-foot project, board members focused on how it and other mixed-use developments would affect downtown.
Two major areas of negotiation have been how many affordable housing units to require at The Alberta and where to draw the line between public and private property.

Located at the corner of Roberson Street and Sweet Bay Place on the site of the old Farmers' Market, The Alberta would include 6,772 square feet of retail space on the ground floor along Roberson Street along with 23 residential units and 69 parking spaces. The condominiums include three one-bedroom units, 17 two-bedroom units and three three-bedroom units.
- The Carrboro Citizen - Board delays final vote on Alberta, 9/6/07

Soon we'll be entering a new phase of what some might call the never-ending saga of Carolina North. The last I had heard the University will be presenting its concept plan for the Innovation Center, the first building proposed to be built on Carolina North, at the September 19th meeting of the town of Chapel Hill's Community Design Commission (CDC).

Today Chapel Hill's Town Manager will be presenting his findings from "listening sessions" he held with community groups earlier this year. It's at Town Hall at 5:30 and if anything interesting happens I will blog about it here.

Town Manager Roger L. Stancil will hold a meeting with religious and business leaders, the NAACP, neighborhood activists, Town board and commission chairs, developers, and affordable housing organizations at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, in the Council Chamber of Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

The Town Manager will summarize community input for building a better Chapel Hill that was provided in a series of listening sessions that he held from February to June 2007. The summary will include areas of high performance for Town services, areas identified for improvement, and new ideas for consideration.

Almost weekly someone says to me "why do you still allow that idiot so-and-so to post on OP?" Probably almost as frequently, someone else accuses me of "censorship" or worse for putting any limits on what can be read here on OrangePolitics. For whatever reason, this site has become a community of record and is read regularly by the media, elected officials, community leaders, and countless potential local activists. It may mean different things to different people, but it does matter what is said here.

With John Herrera joining Mike Nelson and Moses Carey, the tally is up to three very qualified Democratic candidates queuing up to run for Ellie Kinnaird's NC Senate seat in 2008. But Senator Kinnaird is still waiting for her Princess Charming who will be able to maintain female leadership in that seat.

I certainly share her concern about the small and shrinking number of women currently elected to the Senate (in fact, I wish she had raised it sooner) but I also have to wonder whether having a Latino, an openly-gay person, or an African American would also make a strong contribution to that body.

The Carrboro Citizen wonders whether Ellie will call her own bluff and run for re-election if she can't find a woman to run for her seat by next spring.

Today I got the flyer below from Rogers Road residents who are organizing a posse to come out to the Assembly of Governments Meeting on Thursday Wednesday. The AoG is a periodic meeting for our elected officials from different jurisdictions to meet together.

Although the transfer station is not on the agenda, this could be an important opportunity for Chapel Hill and Carrboro elected officials (if not residents as well) to push the Commissioners to re-open what all have admitted was a badly flawed search for a location for the proposed waste transfer station.

The Rogers-Eubanks Coalition to End Environmental Racism

(CH-Carrboro Branch of the NAACP, Environmental Justice Network, West End Revitalization Association, Women's International League of Peace and Freedom, Orange County Progressive Democrats, and members of UNC-CH Faculty, Students, and Staff—--In Formation)

Support the Residents of the Landfill Neighborhoods*

at the

Ever since I was appointed to the neighborhood committee for the proposed Innovation Center last spring, I have been looking forward to learning more about this building that would be located near the intersection of Estes Drive and MLK Boulevard (about a mile from my home). However, I remain in the dark about this project as the committee was apparently never convened!

Tonight a concept plan for the Innovation Center is being presented to Chapel Hill's Community Design Commission, which gives feedback on developments early in the review process. At some point this summer, the location of this project moved from the Airport Drive area which is currently used by UNC for facilities services to what is proposed to be the main entranceway for the future Carolina North campus. This is a pretty big shock to those of us who understood that Carolina North would be planned carefully before it begins a 50-year development process.

I am attending the CDC meeting tonight and will report here what I learn.

Tomorrow September 22, 2007, around 10:10 A.M., Amtrak's Train number 80, the Carolinian, will run through Hillsborough. The train won't stop, but Orange County residents will be there encouraging local and state governments to add an Amtrak stop in Hillsborough in celebration of international Car Free Day.

Members of The Village Project and the Walkable Hillsborough Coalition will hold an event beginning around 9:50 A.M. on Saturday the 22nd to highlight the need for Amtrak service for Hillsborough and Orange County. The event will be held at the corner of Eno and South Nash Streets in Hillsborough, in view of the railroad tracks (opposite the former Flynt Mill). A rail stop in Hillsborough would help reduce traffic, global warming, and air pollution as well as provide County residents with more mobility options for work-related and recreational travel.

At tonight's Chapel Hill Town Council meeting they will be reviewing the Northern Area Task Force Report, which proposes a large number of significant changes to limit development and encourage more pedestrian-oriented growth. I still haven't spent as much time as I'd like digging into it. What do y'all think of the recommendations?

Also, I think the Rogers Road neighbors and their friends will be petitioning the Council. I don't know what their request is, but it may be about the Transfer Station which will be before the Council for a Special Use permit soon.

The Chapel Hill News wrote up a nice overview of the northern area suggestions, I'm posting the whole thing because I'm in a hurry.

GOAL 1: A landmark gateway that "announces" Chapel Hill at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Weaver Dairy Road.

Objectives:

The Chapel Hill Sierra Club forum is tonight from 7-9 at Chapel Hill Town Hall. I'll be live blogging. You should be able to watch it live on cable as well.

Feel free to share your thoughts!

I read in the Carrboro Citizen (who is kicking ass with coverage of Rogers Road, by the way) that Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools have a survey for the public to help inform their strategic plan.

... school officials have created an online survey for community members to respond to three questions:

* What is the one area in which the district needs to improve in order to be considered a highly successful, forward-thinking school district?
* What is the greatest external challenge facing the district?
* What is the greatest internal challenge facing the district?

The survey has been emailed to parents and staff members and is available at www.chccs.k12.nc.us.
- The Carrboro Citizen: School brief: Strategic plan meeting, 9/27/07

But I can't find the link on their web site. Anyone know how to access it?