economic development
In early 2015, UNC-Chapel Hill released an extensive report about the business startups and spinoffs that faculty, students, and alumni have created. This report quantifies the impact of these businesses: 150+ businesses, 8,000 jobs created, and $7 billion in annual revenue for the state of North Carolina.
But what this report doesn’t detail is the direct impact of these startups and spinoffs on our local economy here in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County. There’s a pretty simple reason for that: Few startups coming out of UNC stay in our community. So why can’t Chapel Hill foster a local startup scene when other college towns, like Boulder and Cambridge, have gotten national attention for the startup economies they’ve developed in their own communities?
As counties in the Triangle move forward with plans to expand transit options and enhance mobility, please join us for a discussion about the importance of incorporating equity components into transit planning. By prioritizing and committing to equitable development, lawmakers can ensure that the benefits of transit investments are broadly shared so low- and moderate-income residents will not be left behind as new opportunities enter the Triangle. Transit investments can be a powerful force for social and economic equity if lawmakers choose to protect residents from displacement and enhance connectivity by coordinating transit, housing, and jobs policies. The result: strong, affordable, and accessible communities.
Date:
Friday, July 25, 2014 - 8:00am to 9:30am
Location:
Junior League of Raleigh, 711 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh
There was another well attended meeting at lunch about Ephesus Fordham today. I asked questions about the projected differences in available Affordable Housing from Form Based Code vs. current Special Use Permit system for the area (they will respond later). I also asked if the property owners would have to pay a new stormwater fee (yes) and if the project could be developed to reduce the amount of stormwater run off. Currently the stated goals are to improve the water quality (reduce nutrients and dissolved solids) and maintain OR reduce the current amount of runoff. A number of neighbors are concerned about the increase in flooding. The watershed map shows the the Ef area is a relatively small amout of the watershed and probably is not the cause of the recent increase in flooding. There is probably some potential for reducing runoff with redevelopment as opposed to status quo. It sounds like there will be a town wide effort to increase the number of raingardens and other features to reduce runoff. (Something I promoted while running for Council.) There were a number of questions about runoff, flooding, traffic, greenspace, protection of current businesses and financing.
It was just announced this morning that big changes are coming to the University Mall (no more Dillards sadly - where will I buy my ladies underpinnings...) and a 13-screen, $16/movie ticket high-end movie theater instead. More details are
here. So, what do you think? Do we need another movie theater when we already have 4 first-run movie theaters within a 15-minute drive? How about a high-end one with dining featuring a $9.75 mini-cheeseburger?
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.
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.
Yesterday at noon, Chapel Hill's Economic Development Officer
Dwight Bassett provided a brief, one-hour presentation outlining some
key facts and developments concerning retail, housing, and office space
in Chapel Hill. The full presentation can be viewed here.
I attended and live-tweeted the meeting. You can see the play-by-play below.
Previously on CityBeautiful21 I talked about Informal Markets -- events
that are marked by an agreed-upon time and place to sell and buy goods,
but may lack features of a permanent retail establishment. When I think
about the things that the town of Carrboro has going for it, our talent
for finding room for Informal Markets is near the top of the list.
When I began researching this post, I was not surprised to find that
Carrboro has been finding a place for Informal Markets in the community
for over 35 years.
Like Krakow, Carrboro has nurtured an informal
market into a formal one in the heart of the community- the Carrboro
Farmers' Market. On their website, the Farmers' Market even refers to
itself as a previously informal market!
I have no idea what the story is behind this, but I bet it's interesting. Seven months after resigning as the head of Economic Development for the Town of Chapel Hill and taking effectively the same position for the City of Raleigh, Dwight Basset has come back to his old job. I wonder how all those people who blamed his departure on Chapel Hill's supposed E.D. failings will interpret this?
Personally I hope Bassett returns with some fresh ideas about local economies and especially about citizen particpation, which is one area where Chapel Hill has a lot to learn from Raleigh.
Some highlights from the Town's announcement:
Dwight Bassett will return to the Town of Chapel Hill as Economic Development Officer (EDO) and part of the Town team devoted to policy and strategic initiatives supporting the goals of Chapel Hill 2020, Town Manager Roger Stancil announced today (Monday, Oct. 15).
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