June 2013

Carrboro Aldermen, County Commissioners consider Rogers Road resolutions

At their meetings last night, both the Carrboro Board of Aldermen and Orange County Board of Commissioners considered resolutions concerning the Rogers Road Task Force. The Carrboro Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a resolution expressing their support for full sewer service for all of the Rogers Road neighborhood. By contrast, the Board of County Commissioners rejected a separate resolution put forward by Commissioner Mark Dorosin that would have expressed the BOCC's intent to participate in the provision of sewer improvements. Only Dorosin and Commissioner Barry Jacobs voted in favor of the resolution.

Understanding Development Agreements

Chapel Hill hosted another lunchtime presentation Tuesday, this time to discuss development agreements. UNC School of Government professor David Owens broke down development agreements as they exist under North Carolina state law while Chapel Hill Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives Mary Jane Nirdlinger provided a presentation on Chapel Hill's development process specifically.

I attended the presentation, and you can read my livetweets below. I found the presentation useful to better understand how the development process has changed and now operates in our town, particularly given the ongoing development processes for Glen Lennox and Obey Creek.

Development agreements are authorized under North Carolina state law (specifically, NC General Statutes §160A‑400.20 through §160A‑400.32). As written, state law gives much autonomy to municipalities to determine their own development processes and how to go about entering into development agreements. It's also worth noting that development agreements are designed for large-scale projects only (defined under state law as 25 or more developable acres).

A few other takeaways from the presentation:

  • Municipalities in North Carolina have the ability to alter zoning codes as they see fit. There is no "threshold" requirement for rezoning. However, rezoning cannot be included in a development agreement, but must be carried out before approving a development agreement that necessitates a zoning change.
  • Development agreements are useful because they're all-encompassing and outline very specifically the details of a proposed development. Once approved, an agreement cannot be altered without the mutual approval of both the municipality and developer.
  • Beginning a development agreement process does not guarantee approval of any development agreement.

Keep Fleet Feet in Carrboro

Fleet Feet has been reluctantly considering moving their corporate headquarters and retail store out of Carrboro. This Tuesday, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen will consider an Economic Development Agreement under which Fleet Feet would stay in Carrboro and move into a new building at 300 E Main Street—putting their (greatly-expanded) national flagship store on the ground floor and their national headquarters above.

County Manager to Retire in September

I was excited to receive notice a few moments ago that Orange County's Manager Frank Clifton will retire effective September 29th. The Board of County Commissioners will now have an opportunity to recruit a leader who can truly advance the values and visions of Orange County residents. manager Clifton's letter is below

June 27, 2013 

Chair-Commissioner Jacobs, Vice Chair- Commissioner McKee, Commissioners Pelissier, Rich, Dorosin, Price and Gordon - CC: John Roberts-County Attorney and Donna Baker-Clerk to the Board

Soon, I celebrate another anniversary of my 39th birthday.  My wife and I have decided to pursue challenges and opportunities that allow us to achieve goals we value together.  Hence, per my employment agreement (90-day written notice) I advise of my intent to resign as Orange County Manager effective September 29th, 2013 and register for retirement from NCLGRS thereafter.

Duke Energy Rate Hike Public Hearing

Via NCWARN:

N.C. Utilities Commission public hearing on the rate hike requested by Duke Energy.

Duke Energy is rigging rates to force you to pay for climate-wrecking power plants we don't even need. The company creates demand for electricity by attracting data centers and other large users to North Carolina by offering dirt-cheap rates. The cost of building these new power plants is shifted onto smaller customers. Residential rates will increase an average of 13.9% if Duke gets its way, and rates for small to medium-sized businesses will go up as much as 10.7%.

Date: 

Tuesday, July 2, 2013 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Location: 

Orange County Courthouse, 106 E. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough

How Not to Do Social Media: Local Government Edition

As you might have noticed about a month ago on June 3, Orange County (finally!) joined Twitter and Facebook in an attempt to enhance their social media presence and public engagement/outreach.

I say in an attempt because if you've been following the County's Twitter or Facebook, you've probably realized just how awful the tweets and updates from the County have been.

The Great Chapel Hill/Carrboro Flood of 2013

Um, wow! Reports? 

(Borrowing the name from Jason Baker's comment.)  

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