OP Editors's blog

We've compiled issues of interest coming before or at play in each of our municipalities and the county this Fall, which we’ll be following. Here goes:

Carrboro

The Carrboro Board of Alderpersons gets back to regular work with a meeting on September 4, 2018. Here’s a snapshot of what’s on their horizon:

• Public hearing on Weaver Street Market renovations
• Report on NC 54 West Corridor Study
• Update on the 203 South Greensboro project (Southern Branch Library)
• Public hearing on Lloyd Property conditional rezoning (it’s back!)
• Update on the Old 86 commercial development concept

Chapel Hill

The Chapel Hill Town Council re-convenes on September 5, 2018. Here’s what we and they have to look forward to this fall:

What do we owe as a community to our marginalized, historic neighborhoods in a community built around a university? What do we owe to students from a university on which our communities thrive? Should we view students moving into existing residential neighborhoods as a threat or should we expect this change and manage for it?

The neighborhoods closest to the university are the most impacted by students as they move in. Impacts include more noise, foot and car traffic and sometimes more trash. They also result in co-learning, resource sharing and greater vibrancy. The challenge is that many of those neighborhoods are historically African American neighborhoods that have already faced cumulative impacts of systemic racism, dis-investment and gentrification.