Southern Area resident Jeanne Brown has this to say about the evolving community engagement process for Obey Creek: Three years after Town Council members asked to know what a Development Agreement for Obey Creek would look like, a long-awaited public engagement process is beginning to take shape – thanks to council suggestion that staff, East [...]
All posts tagged development
Obey Creek: From Outreach to Inclusion
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 13, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/05/13/obey-creek-from-outreach-to-inclusion/
The bleaching of Chapel Hill
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 [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 6, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/05/06/the-bleaching-of-chapel-hill/
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/
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/
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/
Council rejuvenated
Council members showed their better selves at last Monday’s meeting. They asked questions that indicated they had read and understood the reams of material in their binders. They stood firm on what they thought was best for the town. They called out 123 West developer Cousins Properties about discrepancies in the number of parking spaces [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 19, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/11/19/council-rejuvenated/
Banking on buffers
Call me a cynic – as if that never occurred to you before – but I can’t help wondering whether there is a connection between Roger Perry telling Town Council last week that he might spread his buildings in Obey Creek over all of the buildable acres (even though the land is laced with a [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 14, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/11/14/banking-on-buffers/
Participate?
Lifelong Democrat Garrison Keillor announced he was going to switch parties to become a Republican because he didn’t want to have to care anymore. Taxpayers who participated in the grueling CH2020 process and small area plan meetings know the feeling. After eight months of public participation in CH2020 – more than a year for the [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 8, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/10/08/participate/
CH2020 win
Town Council approved CH2020 last night during Part 1 of its two-episode season finale. The vote came after nearly three hours of public comment and council discussion. As with any good drama, there was a plot twist – the Planning Board came up with a list of last-minute changes. And there was a very interesting [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 26, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/06/26/ch2020-win/
Second chance for Charterwood
We can all agree: $4.3 million is a serious amount of money to invest and a foolish amount to gamble. Yet when developers go before Town Council with a development project, the money they spend to plan, present, readjust and repeat frequently comes down to the mood council members are in. The Charterwood developers, after [...]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 2, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/03/02/second-chance-for-charterwood/