Last week I walked along MLK Jr. Boulevard to go from my house off Piney Mountain Road to Harrington Bank. Schools had a delayed opening that day, and I passed several groups of high school students waiting along MLK for the school bus. Presumably they lived in the modest rentals and mobile homes in the [...]
All posts in category Housing
The bleaching of Chapel Hill
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 6, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/05/06/the-bleaching-of-chapel-hill/
Invite them where?
I listened to a panel discussion on WCHL yesterday afternoon as I drove around doing errands in the rain. Local residents who held various leadership roles in Chapel Hill and Carrboro talked about their vision for the town. One comment in particular stuck with me. Delores Bailey, executive director of Empowerment, said she would like [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 29, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/04/29/invite-them-where/
A new day
This morning, RAM Development announced it planned to convert all 140 condominums at 140 West into workforce housing. RAM chairman Peter Cummings said the idea came to him like an epiphany as he was driving along West Rosemary Street one afternoon. “I saw this bright light,” he said. “Maybe it was a sign from Heaven, [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 1, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/04/01/a-new-day/
Unintended consequences
We’ll give Jim Ward the benefit of the doubt that his heart was in the right place when he directed Loryn Clark to focus affordable housing funds on the people who make 30 percent of the Area Median Income. At the March 18 Town Council meeting, Clark, the Planning Department’s neighborhood and community services manager, [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 25, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/03/25/unintended-consequences/
Our anti-social Town Council
There’s nothing in the town’s bylaws that says Town Council members have to be socially responsible. Or that they must exercise foresight in their decision making. Or that they should do their best to make certain the social fabric of our community is kept intact. But it sure would be nice. The council extravagantly funds [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 4, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/03/04/our-anti-social-town-council/
Act now
Town Council won’t meet again until Wednesday, Feb. 27, which gives council members two more days to do something about workforce housing. Approval for rezoning and a special use permit for The Bicycle Apartments comes up for a vote toward the end of a packed agenda. Council members will likely be tired and perhaps a [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 25, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/02/25/act-now/
Our box of chocolates
Don and I sometimes think about retiring to a rural town where our retirement dollars will go further. But when it comes time to act, we stay put. What keeps us in Chapel Hill is not the public art, the state-of-the-art transportation center or even the lovely indoor swimming pools and library (the limited hours [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 18, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/02/18/our-box-of-chocolates/
Whose fair share?
Turns out 123 West Franklin’s parking spaces and grassy courtyard weren’t for the public after all. In trying to defend its miserly contribution to affordable housing in the face of several council members’ criticism, developer Cousins Properties pointed to the courtyard green space and the pool of 150 to 200 metered spaces in its parking [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 12, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/02/12/whose-fair-share/
Too big to donate?
Shortbread Lofts got off easy when it came to making a contribution toward affordable housing. Should that set precedent for downtown redevelopment projects going forward? Cousins Properties apparently thinks so. Cousins makes a return visit to council tonight for a zoning change and special use permit to tear down the existing University Square buildings at [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 11, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/02/11/too-big-to-donate/
And the answer is …
After last Wednesday’s marathon student-bashing that pushed a couple concept reviews off the agenda, tonight’s meeting portends to be something of a sleeper. Nothing nefarious slipped into the Consent Agenda – even the resolution to amend the town manager’s authority to enter into contracts turns out to extend the authority to department heads, not concentrate [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 28, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/01/28/greene-piece/