I attended two events over the weekend that showed the complicated issue of boosting the amount of affordable housing, from the perspective of the investor and the end-user. Each left me somewhat disheartened. Community Empowerment Fund’s “Affordable Housing: The Musical” poked fun at council members, developers and others in the community while sharing the experiences […]
All posts tagged Growth
Two views of affordable housing
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 25, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/11/25/2852/
Managing growth
I had forgotten how many, many stars abide in the sky until this past week when I went to a place dark enough to see them. Light pollution wipes them from visibility. When I lived in Manhattan, I never saw a star outside of the planetarium. Over time, light pollution has crept into Chapel Hill, […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 12, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/08/12/managing-growth/
Why I’m running
Last week we held one of the oddest council meetings I have seen in the decade I have been keeping tabs on council business. Odd that we called a special meeting in the summer to revote on something we had voted on five months earlier. Odder still the number of politicians and political advocates lobbying […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 22, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/07/22/why-im-running/
The flummox of FLUM
The gavel came down on our final meeting of the 2019 fiscal year at 11:34 p.m. last Wednesday night. Community members packed the auditorium at Town Hall at the beginning of the meeting for various last-minute petitions, and many town residents stayed almost all the way to the end to weigh in on the Future […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 1, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/07/01/the-flummox-of-flum/
Operating at a loss
The old joke goes that a naïve business owner admitted he lost money on each product sale, but said, “I make up for it in volume.” Chapel Hill town staff are familiar with that business model, and after the Town Council retreat this past weekend, we are, too. We learned that for the past couple […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 28, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/01/28/operating-at-a-loss/
Goodbye, 2018
Everyone wants progress; no one wants change. – Soren Kierkegaard We should unfurl that wisdom on a banner over the dais in Town Council chambers, because that sums up the theme of nearly every council meeting. Development proposals dominate our weekly agendas. Every new development brings with it troublesome side effects. In order to be […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 31, 2018
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/12/31/goodbye-2018/
Resiliency
Do weather events seem more severe in recent years? The Triangle Regional Resilience Partnership checked our perceptions against the data and found that, yes, flooding of greater intensity happens more frequently, and droughts last longer. The trajectory is unlikely to reverse itself anytime soon, despite our efforts to take the bus more frequently or adjust […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 12, 2018
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/11/12/resiliency/
Affordable Leaves the Station
American philosopher Eric Hoffer would have celebrated his 120th birthday last week, had he not died just shy of 85. Among his memorable insights, he noted: “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.” His intuition came to mind as I read one sentence tucked neatly into […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 30, 2018
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/07/30/affordable-leaves-the-station/
Do We Want Diversity?
In an effort to improve our chances of recouping through tax revenue the $10 million taxpayers invested in infrastructure in the area now known as Blue Hill, Town Council members considered options for increasing the amount of commercial space in the district. At our June 27 council meeting, we talked about changing the form-based code […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 9, 2018
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/07/09/do-we-want-diversity/
2018 Season Finale
As the bad news piled up — cruelty and crassness at the national level and callousness from state legislators — a friend commented: “I no longer feel proud to be an American.” I know the feeling. At last Wednesday’s Town Council meeting — our last of the season — we treated the public to 5 […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 2, 2018
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/07/02/2018-season-finale/