Chapel Hill
The Town of Carrboro Planning Board held a series of three Affordable
Housing Dialogues in October 2012 to educate and engage the public in
planning for affordable housing. A report of their findings
is now available. The chair of the Carrboro Planning Board will be
presenting on this report and the Carrboro Board of Alderfolks will be
discussing it at their meeting tonight (Tuesday, February 19th).
The
recommendations of the report are:
1. Make the
Affordable Housing Task Force a standing committee of the Board of
Aldermen, and expand it to include other public and private
stakeholders, such as advisory boards, affordable housing developers,
and advocates.
2. In that comprehensive policy, consider a
staggered approach to income targeting and goals, such that people along
the income continuum of very low (less than 50% of median income), to
low (50% - 80%) to moderate income (80% - 115%) can benefit in some way
from Carrboro’s policy efforts and investments.
The Historic Rogers Road Task Force has made progress over the past several months to redress the burden the Rogers Road community has carried in receiving the county's solid waste for over 40 years. Details of a community center are nearing completion. Habitat for Humanity of Orange County will donate two lots for the siting of the community center in the Phoenix Place subdivision. The Orange County Board of Commissioners has approved a capital project of $500,000 to build the community center. A plan is being ironed out for the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association to rent the commuity center from the county for $1 per year. The towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill will contribute to the center's programming costs.
On September 18, 2012, the Board of Aldermen agreed to contribute up to $900,000 for the remediation effort.
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen tonight voted unananimously to support freedom of speech on Chapel Hill Transit buses.
In a fairly crowded business meeting tonight, the Chapel Hill Town Council member heard from more than 30 members of the public on Chapel Hill Transit's current bus advertising policy. Contraversy around the ad was sparked by the placement of an ad by the Church of the Reconciliation urging the end of U.S. military aid to Israel. Speakers included several members of the Church of the Reconciliation, the director of the N.C. ACLU and local Jewish leaders among others.
The central question on the issue was whether the transit system consitituted a "public forum." This is important because under Supreme Court precedent regulations on speech in public forums are subject to greater scrutiny than regulations on speech in non-public forums.
About a year ago, the Town of Chapel Hill amended its bus advertisement policy to spell out rules for ads with political messages. In August, the Church of Reconciliation in Chapel Hill placed an ad that shows a Jewish and a Palestinian grandfather each with a grandchild and reads “Join with us. Build peace with justice and equality. End U.S. military aid to Israel.” The ad stirred up a controversy and led to a petition from citizens to change the bus ad policy to disallow such ads. The current policy is available online at http://www.townofchapelhill.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=15328.
On Friday, the ACLU of North Carolina sent a letter to the Chapel Hill town manager and elected officials outlining why changing the bus ad policy would violate the free speech clause of the First Amendment. Below is the ACLU-NC press release. The full letter is available here.
Pages
About Us
OrangePolitics is a not-for-profit website for discussing progressive perspectives on politics, planning, and public policy in Orange County, NC. Opinions are those of their authors. Learn more.
Community Guidelines
By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by
WeebPal.
