Carolina North
This Thursday will be UNC's fourth and final (?) "community meeting" to get feedback on plans for Carolina North. I missed the last meeting but I've been reviewing the presentation and comments from May. June's sessions will be Thursday, 6/21, at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. in the School of Government, room 2603. (The 5:30 session duplicates the 3:30 session.)
The original three concepts have narrowed to two (below), one that follows the airport runway's east-west axis (left), and another that goes north-south (right). I instinctively feel like the east-west plan works better and feels more cohesive, but I don't really have enough information to understand them.
A funny thing happened today. I was driving along El Camino Real (which runs through Silicon Valley where I'm attending a conference) and listening to the college radio station from Stanford University in Palo Alto. A show called The Lunch Special came on in which they interview a professor or community leader while playing music selected by the guest. Today's guest was Palo Alto Mayor Yoriko Kishimoto. I turned up the volume, fascinated to get glimpse into local politics on the other side of the country.
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.
I know, I'm starting to act like a velvet hammer, but, well, there are some college towns that haven't shied away from the idea of preserving really nice tracts of land, in perpetuity.
I'd be interested to hear from all the masses from UNC and the towns who visited Madison last summer. Did you visit the Shoreline Preserve and the U Wis Arboretum? That's nearly 2000 acres of land in Madison.
Check out the mission statement for the preservation of the preserve!
I think it's time we all stop feeling like there's nothing we can do to refocus UNC on offering Carrboro and Chapel Hill a very different and sustainable endowment for the future: the preservation of the Horace Williams Tract, permanently.
An article with, I think, some solid models for preservation, as opposed to "sustainable growth."
Perhaps I missed the announcement, but at some point the public information meetings scheduled for today were moved to Thursday, and they will be held at The Friday Center which I think will be easier to get to than the School of Government was for the last round of meetings. I managed some moderate live blogging of the last meeting, but I'm not even sure if I can make it this time. Someone please go and pick up the slack!
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill invites local residents, faculty, staff and students to participate in a second round of community meetings about Carolina North on April 26.
The meetings will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center off N.C. 54. The presentation will be repeated at 5:30 p.m. in the same location. Parking will be available at the Friday Center. Chapel Hill Transit service is available via the FCX, S and V routes. See http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.asp?NID=399 for timetables of these routes.
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