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 […]
All posts in category Lifestyle
Lessons from Boulder
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 3, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/10/03/lessons-from-boulder/
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/
The Deciders
Recently I asked the town manager for an organizational flow chart of town staff that would show who was in charge of what. I received 18 pages of charts in response, most of which broke out the hierarchy of positions in each department. The collection led off, however, with a master chart of management levels. […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 9, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/08/09/the-deciders/
Discretionary Zoning
Listen to Raleigh’s city attorney, Tom McCormick: “It is important to remember that when making a zoning decision, the council must consider all potential uses in a proposed district and cannot make a decision based on one specific use.” McCormick said council members have “wide discretion” in deciding whether to rezone a property for a […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 11, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/07/11/discretionary-zoning/
Make time for budget talks
We need to talk — council members with one another and with key staff. By the end of June, we hope to pass a budget for Fiscal Year 2017, which starts July 1, and we still haven’t had those all-important discussions about the best way to spend taxpayers’ financial resources. Guaranteed we won’t agree on […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 6, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/06/06/make-time-for-budget-talks/
Do-good discount
You get what you incentivize, or so hopes Todd Neal, a Northside landlord. Neal sees the benefit of having more people in the neighborhood who care about the community. To attract those civic-minded tenants, he is offering a rent discount of up to $50 a month to tenants who will volunteer up to 6 hours […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 23, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/05/23/do-good-discount/
What makes a house historic?
Last week, the Historic District Commission reluctantly pulled the plug on a house in the Gimghoul Historic District by approving a request by the owners of 704 Gimghoul to demolish the home. The couple had purchased the house in March 2015 and had come to the HDC with a plan to make it live better […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 16, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/05/16/what-makes-a-house-historic/
The Woman Card
It didn’t take long, after Donald Trump accused Hillary Clinton of gaining an advantage in the presidential race by playing the Woman Card, for an editorial to circulate on the Internet delineating the advantages of having a Woman Card — like receiving a 25% discount on your salary and paying 10% more for personal care […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 9, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/05/09/the-woman-card/
Voices Together
I breezed into the Stanback Middle School auditorium last Wednesday to catch the Voices Together Spring Concert. The nonprofit music therapy program works with kids who are autistic, developmentally delayed or have other serious communication challenges. Through music and rhythm, the therapists help students interact with one another and to emerge from their own worlds […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 2, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/05/02/voices-together/
Who’ll ride the rails?
Imagine pitching a project to potential investors and not knowing what your project will cost or how it will benefit stakeholders. Kind of like those anxiety dreams where you arrive at an important meeting without your pants on. GoTriangle lived that mortification at the March 7 Town Council meeting when a council member asked how […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 21, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/03/21/wholl-ride-the-rails/