Growth & Development

Let them eat cake

In today's Chapel Hill News, Fearrington Village Resident Lola Spritzer wants to have her cake and eat it too. She moved out into the country not because she couldn't afford living in town, but because she "loved the rural-like atmosphere of Chatham County." And yet now she "can't accept" the inconvenience of having to drive 30-minutes to get what she needs.

We moved to this area 10 years ago because we loved the rural-like atmosphere of Chatham County. But growth is inevitable. So it is with a great sense of loss that I accept the upcoming housing developments, the increase in population and the denuded two-lane country road that was once U.S. 15-501.

What I don't accept is the long-distance driving we face week after week. Wal-Mart, if the rumor becomes a fact, would be just down the road. So considering the high cost of fuel and the wear and tear on the car, I'll swallow my reservations, ignore the barbs from my friends and enjoy the convenience
- My View, Chapel Hill News, 7/20/05

NC House defunds fire protection

No discussion of UNC's role in our community is complete without addressing the topic of fiscal equity. There are many way in which the University affects us financially, both positive and negative, and the town's provision of fire services to the campus is just one of the most obvious examples.

So it's pretty disappointing to hear that the NC House budget fails to fund the municipalities that provide fire fighting to state institutions!

While funding for fire protection for state-owned properties - a request that was included in Chapel Hill's legislative agenda - made it into the governor's budget and N.C. Senate's proposed budget for 2005-06, it was left out of the House budget...

"In Chapel Hill, our fire chief said that we need 18 new firefighters in order to be able to provide the level of service that is necessary," [Mayor Kevin Foy] said.

Foy noted that though the University is putting millions of dollars into construction projects, no extra funds are being allotted to support fire protection.
- Daily Tarheel, 7/7/05

Wal-Mart at the gates

Starpoint The closest you can get to Chapel Hill and Carrboro while still being in Chatham County is Starpoint. The intersection of Smith Level Road and 15-501 is at the county line. Starpoint is also the proposed location of a new Wal-Mart.

Elected officials in Chapel Hill and Carrboro have already asked Chatham County to allow them to conduct a courtesy review. This would allow them to formally have input, although it is not binding. According to the News & Observer "This is the first I've heard about that," Morgan said when asked about Chapel Hill's plans to request a review. "I didn't know they did that type of stuff."

Which is exactly why we should be very worried.

Weaver Street Market Looks at Changes

Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday June 18, 2005

According to the International Cooperative Alliance, "a co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise."

This is a definition that provides great flexibility of interpretation. Co-ops can be as small as a group of neighbors meeting their child-care needs or as large as the 1,000 orange growers who work together to market their products under the Florida Natural brand.

Unfortunately, the term cooperative has often been stretched so far that it is hard to distinguish a cooperator from an investor. Owners of Weaver Street Market who are currently considering proposed changes to the market's investment system would do well to contemplate this distinction.

Downtown Don'ts

The Town Council talked about a few of the things they don't want to see in the new mixed-use re-development on Lots 2 & 5 downtown.

They don't want to be The Streets at Southpoint, though they avoided speaking the name of the behemoth to the east that's anathema to Chapel Hill business leaders. "I hate that manufactured Main Street," council member Mark Kleinschmidt said.

"That's my biggest fear, that it will look like a mall that's trying to look like Main Street." Council members nodded...

"This space is so important to us," Mayor Kevin Foy said. "The way it looks should respect the existing architecture in the town but doesn't mimic and doesn't try to imitate it."

The council wants modern. It wants cool. It wants something looking to the future in a place that for many -- UNC-Chapel Hill alumni, in particular -- is memory lane.

- News & Observer 6/21/05

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