At tonight’s meeting, Town Council intends to fix a law of unintended consequences. In February, council enacted a law governing tow trucks and included a stipulation that a sign in the tow-truck enforced parking lot include a phone number that would be answered immediately by the towing company. A month later council passed a misguided […]
All posts in category Downtown Chapel Hill
Towing the law
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 14, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/05/14/towing-the-law/
Loving the Loft
Town Council is ready to fall in love – with Shortbread Lofts. (You’ll only get the joke if you’re among the subset of council meeting viewers who flip channels to “The Bachelor” during some of the more tedious PowerPoint presentations. We won’t ask for a show of hands.) The development team for Shortbread Lofts on […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 28, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/02/28/loving-the-loft/
Hope springs eternal
A developer walked into a Town Council meeting, armed only with a PowerPoint presentation and high hopes. Does this joke sound familiar? You’ve heard it twice in the past couple months, first with Shortbread Lofts and most recently with Charterwood. So you know how it goes. Neighbors will object to the building height and density […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 21, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/02/21/hope-springs-eternal/
4 cups
Immediately following the disappointing vote against Charterwood last week, Town Council voted to allow food trucks in Chapel Hill. Council had to strike a balance between local restaurant owners who were unhappy with the prospect of additional competition in a tight economy, and local foodies who wanted an inexpensive meal out, and local kitchen entrepreneurs […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 8, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/02/08/4-cups/
Tavern Talks
“Chapel Hill is a small town that lives large,” someone wrote as part of the 2020 visioning process early on. And at one of the Tavern Talks last night, a large poster-board chart propped on an easel had all sorts of ideas for how the town could live larger still. There was no column for […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 3, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/02/03/tavern-talks/
The Roger Stancil Show
Town manager Roger Stancil is a completely different person in daylight than he is tucked away at the end of the dais during Town Council meetings at night. As guest speaker at the Friends of Downtown meeting Thursday morning, he was relaxed, gregarious and funny. Stancil referenced signs that have popped up around town since […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 27, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/01/27/the-roger-stancil-show/
Affordable housing
Northside and Pine Knolls face a losing battle to remain affordable (and black, for that matter) unless we, as a town, address the demand for student housing near campus. Tonight Town Council will receive the Planning Department’s update on the town’s affordable housing strategy, a plan the council adopted in June of last year. One […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 23, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/01/23/affordable-housing/
Shortbread hearing long on complaints
During last night’s public hearing on the Shortbread Lofts, I had to knock my head against the wall a couple of times to make sure I wasn’t stuck in a time warp. It sure felt like Aydan Court all over again. You have a developer who has taken pains to fit the changing demands of […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 19, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/01/19/shortbread-hearing-long-on-complaints/
Short shrift for Shortbread?
What better circumstances, if you’re a developer wanting to build an 85-unit apartment building, than to have the town change the ordinance, a week before your presentation, effectively limiting the housing supply of your target market in a neighborhood a few blocks away. No wonder the developers, known only as “Shortbread Lofts LLC,” who have […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 18, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/01/18/short-shrift-for-shortbread/
Fiscally happy New Year
Town manager Roger Stancil must have eaten his New Year’s Day Hoppin’ John on behalf of the town this year. When Town Council resumes meetings tonight, council members will vote on whether to accept money from several sources. The consent agenda asks council to accept $5,000 from OWASA toward Code Red, a service that notifies […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 9, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/01/09/fiscally-happy-new-year/