At what price?

You are currently browsing comments. If you would like to return to the full story, you can read the full entry here: “At what price?”.

Leave a comment

11 Comments

  1. Terri

     /  January 30, 2018

    Realistically, this isn’t an either/or support the residents or embrace luxury apartments. It’s private property and the owners, rather than the developers, are the ones we need to be talking to. Shame on them. Isn’t this one of the situations where the community outreach coordinator and the sustainability manager needs to be negotiating instead of land planners?

  2. George C

     /  January 30, 2018

    Well, here’s an opportunity for Chapel Hill to put its money where its principles are, so to speak. It has about 35 acres of land over on Legion Road (probably 2/3 suitable) on which those trailers could be re-located. Sewer and water is already in place and there is transit service available. In addition it is within walking distance of a supermarket, a pharmacy, a bakery and a variety of eating places.
    So what is the excuse for not considering this?

  3. Terri

     /  January 30, 2018

    Great idea George. It’s also an opportunity to help the residents set up a resident-owned cooperative.

  4. Don EVANS

     /  January 30, 2018

    George
    Agree that the town should put its money where its principles are. Too bad that a prior Town Council refused to do that with “Blue Hill” by not allowing any incentives for including affordable housing.
    The town has many values/priorities, including parks, greenways and recreation. Park space becomes all the more important as we pack the town so densely with apartment dwellers who have no other park space.
    The town can’t create open land for a park, but the town could do infill affordable housing development, which would be in keeping with the values it embraced in its Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance (which prior councils gave a pass on in all but one development).
    Finally, let’s not put all the low-income people in one area of town. Instead, council should encourage mixed-income housing, which was the intent of the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance.

  5. George C

     /  January 31, 2018

    Don,

    “Finally, let’s not put all the low-income people in one area of town.” Who’s being protected by not putting all the low income people in one area? The folks in the trailers who are being considered for relocation to another park, out past the Town operations center on Millhouse Road, where there are no grocery stores, pharmacies, eateries or other services (except transit) within walking distance? or the NIMBYs who will soon be saddled with those low income folks living in those brand new rentals on Legion Road? The argument that you don’t want to put too much low income housing in one place is tenuous at best and holds no water when the other option is to put it outside of town and about as far away from services as you can get.

  6. Terri

     /  January 31, 2018

    There are decades of research and experience documenting the benefits of mixed income development. Inclusionary zoning hasn’t achieved those benefits in Chapel Hill or Carrboro, but it’s worth looking at how it can be improved.

  7. Del Snow

     /  January 31, 2018

    “Conduct a census of the mobile home parks in order to provide for increased affordable opportunities if those sites are developed.”
    “Apply for State Affordable Housing Bond Money for replacement of mobile home parks.”

    Look familiar, George? Those were two of the follow-up actions that you voted to include in the Northern Area Task Force Report when you were a member. That report was dated 8/30/2007 and nothing was done until very recently. We KNEW this was going to happen back then.

  8. Deborah Fulghieri

     /  February 1, 2018

    “The sale of the land is inevitable,” and staff are pushing council to rezone so as to have more residential building in town. So the question is, is rezoning inevitable?
    Also, why do commercial developments keep turning tax-exempt?

  9. George C

     /  February 2, 2018

    Deborah,

    What commercial developments turned tax-exempt?

  10. Nancy

     /  February 4, 2018

    George, a mobile home park is a suburban option not suitable for high-density development areas. Otherwise, why not put it on Parking Lot #2, which is ready for redevelopment now, as opposed to the American Legion land, which we won’t own and can’t touch until spring 2019. Carraway Village will bring a grocery store, pharmacy, eateries and other services, including public transit. And talks are underway to allow children who would be affected should the Lakeview community relocate to Millhouse Road to stay in CHCCS.

  11. Deborah Fulghieri

     /  February 4, 2018

    George: The office building on the corner of Weaver Dairy and MLK, the ABC store, the Goodwill store. All were presented to the PB before 2015 as stimulating commercial activity in the area, bringing much-needed tax inflow to the town.