Some of us spend so much time thinking about stormwater runoff and traffic jams and other indications of overdevelopment that we forget quality of life goes beyond whether an apartment has granite countertops or who has to shovel the sidewalks. So I consider it a gift that I was invited to a tour of Club […]
All posts in category Housing
Welcome to the club
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 13, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/02/13/welcome-to-the-club/
To a Healthy New Year
My husband and I gave each other matching colds for Christmas this year, not the gifts we had intended, but a result of getting out and into the community more than I have in years past. When it comes to germs, especially in the holiday season, I’ve tried not to give back. And that means […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 2, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/01/02/to-a-healthy-new-year/
Giving back
When it comes to charitable giving, I wish “deep pockets” meant “bottomless resources.” But in reality, people and organizations have a finite amount of money they make available to donate to nonprofits. Competition for those dollars is fierce, as you may have guessed by the number of solicitations you have received in the past several […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 19, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/12/19/giving-back/
The modestly paid are people, too
Swiss novelist Max Frisch’s quip, “We asked for workers; we got people instead,” applies as much to affordable housing as it does to the immigration issue he addressed in his day. At a council work session on Oct. 19, town staff presented the findings of David Paul Rosen & Associates, a consulting firm that we […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 7, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/11/07/the-modestly-paid-are-people-too/
Playing it safe
It was a dark and stormy night for affordable housing last Monday. At the Oct. 10 Town Council meeting, we had two opportunities to take meaningful steps to increase the supply of affordable housing, and a majority on council squandered them both. Early on in the meeting, a council member put forth a resolution urging […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 17, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/10/17/playing-it-safe/
A bond without a plan
When it comes to taking on the challenge of increasing the amount of affordable housing, Orange County commissioners would do well to heed the wise counsel of Yogi Berra: “When you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.” County commissioners proposed two bond referenda for the November election: $120 million to repair […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 10, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/10/10/a-bond-without-a-plan/
Lessons from Boulder
If the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce aimed to scare travelers on its 2016 Inter-City Visit into thinking that height restrictions and no-build buffers would make real estate prices skyrocket, someone forgot to clue in the Boulder speakers. The chamber organized a trip for about 80 of us from Orange County – elected officials, business […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 3, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/10/03/lessons-from-boulder/
Chapel Hill’s Arab Spring?
More than five years ago, a few weeks after the Tunisian Revolution that launched the Arab Spring, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad told The Wall Street Journal: “When there is divergence between your policy and the people’s beliefs and interests, you will have this vacuum that creates disturbance.” I hope we won’t someday look back on […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 26, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/09/26/chapel-hills-arab-spring/
How much is that rent, really?
Trying to find an apartment in Chapel Hill affordable to your typical Chapel Hill worker takes diligence and a roommate. An apartment complex may advertise rent at one price, but by the time the management adds up all the additional mandatory fees — valet garbage pick-up, package delivery acceptance, weight room access, and Internet and […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 12, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/09/12/how-much-is-that-rent-really/
Think of the possibilities, then plan
How many times have we heard, usually from people who make money by developing or selling real estate, that affordable housing is not possible in Chapel Hill? That we might as well admit defeat and build only luxury apartments in town, thus forcing out the modestly paid and the middle class? Yet towns similar to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 29, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/08/29/think-of-the-possibilities-then-plan/