Last year, when Orange County commissioners proposed a $5 million bond to be used for affordable housing, I pushed for a plan. The county commissioners instead offered a slogan — 1,065 homes for $5 million — that was so unlikely to be achieved that it didn’t rise to the level of a goal. Trying to […]
All posts for the month June, 2017
Better planning for affordability
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 26, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/06/26/better-planning-for-affordability/
Fitting in our dreams
Chapel Hillians tend to go big or go home, and that proved true in feedback we got after Town Council authorized buying the American Legion property. When we asked residents how to use the 36-acre parcel (only about 23 acres of which are developable, due to topography, stream buffers and resource conservation regulations), we received […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 19, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/06/19/fitting-in-our-dreams/
Paying our bills, and extras
You can craft a budget by starting with the money you expect to have in the coming year and determining how to spend it. Or you can envision the lifestyle you want and figure out how to afford it. Chapel Hill’s budget for Fiscal Year 2018, which starts July 1 of this year, does a […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 12, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/06/12/paying-our-bills-and-extras/
Building community
When the Habitat for Humanity staffer asked, “Who’s not afraid of heights?” I raised my hand. I should have thought it through. But at 8:30 Saturday morning, with the temperatures still in the 70s and standing in the shade of a large, leafy tree, I didn’t pay attention to the fact that the unroofed part […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 5, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/06/05/building-community/