My family won’t let me forget the time I passed up a chance to go to the movies so I could observe a Planning Commission meeting instead. Truth be told, the board meeting held greater promise of drama. But I got the message, and one of my New Year’s resolutions is to not put town […]
All posts in category Council Members
New Year’s resolutions
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 5, 2015
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/01/05/new-years-resolutions/
Urban renewal
Don heard that a store in Burlington sold Cheerwine with real sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup, and always one to encourage a healthy lifestyle, I went with him to search. I’d never been to Burlington beyond the outlet stores that used to flourish off the interstate until Tanger Mall lured them away. As we drove […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 15, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/12/15/urban-renewal/
Council must govern
Form-based code — it’s everywhere in Chapel Hill these days. First, Town Council approved it for 190 acres in the Ephesus-Fordham area. Currently, Northwood Ravin is trying to get the same liberties offered by form-based code, though it hasn’t used the highly charged term, in its proposed mixed-use development The Edge, at the corner of […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 8, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/12/08/council-must-govern/
Assembled governments
County elected officials spent a million dollars of taxpayers’ money on refurbishing a meeting space. You’d think they could have picked out comfortable chairs. Town and county staff and elected officials gathered around the meeting table, as well as those of us in the audience, squirmed and shifted uncomfortably in our seats, not because of […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 1, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/12/01/assembled-governments/
Bully pulpit
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt is scheduled to moderate a panel discussion on bullying, following the screening of the documentary “Bully” at East Chapel Hill High School on Oct. 13. As Town Council doesn’t meet that Monday night, I hope many council members will attend. After watching recent Town Council public hearings, particularly on the controversial Ephesus-Fordham […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 6, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/10/06/bully-pulpit/
Courtyards dissed
What do some members of Town Council have against the 20 percent of Chapel Hill residents who are at least 55 years old? Last Monday night, the developers of Courtyards at Homestead presented their proposal for an age-restricted community of 63 moderately priced one-level cottages clustered on 18 acres that back up to Carolina North […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 22, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/09/22/courtyards-dissed/
Safety or spin?
In early September, eight members of the town’s communications team won national awards for two public relations pieces they produced. The City-County Communications & Marketing Association bestowed Silver Circle Awards for the “Mayors Innovation Project Video” in the category of Promotional Videos and the “CaPA How-To Guides” in the Internal Printed Publications category. The video […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 15, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/09/15/safety-or-spin/
Hurry up and wait
Whether you’re building a multistory apartment complex or adding a deck to your home, your budget and timetable hinge on the Inspections Department. The mayor would have us believe the SUP process is responsible for the high cost of development in Chapel Hill. Builders will tell you the cost impact of the Inspections bottleneck. The […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 1, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/09/01/hurry-up-and-wait/
DHIC project DOA for now
Last week, the N.C. Housing Finance Agency announced its list of tax credit winners for affordable housing projects. DHIC was not on it. Recall that Town Council had agreed to sell 8.5 acres of vacant cemetery land to DHIC for $100 if the nonprofit would build workforce and affordable senior apartments there. DHIC said it […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 25, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/08/25/dhic-project-doa-for-now/
Escape hatch
When Jim Ward asked Roger Stancil why renovations to Town Hall toted up to $1.2 million dollars — recall this was work that began as repairing water damage after council chambers and the ground floor of Town Hall flooded last year during a torrential downpour — Stancil said it was to remake the ground floor […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 4, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/08/04/escape-hatch/