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 […]
All posts in category Land Use
Our anti-social Town Council
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 4, 2013
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/03/04/our-anti-social-town-council/
What’s another $50 million?
Watching Parks & Rec director Butch Kisiah and various paid consultants and volunteer committee chairs present the master plans for Parks & Rec and Greenways, I learned that I’m not the only one with Lexus tastes on a Civic budget. The plans looked great: adding 10 miles of greenway trails to the town’s existing 13 […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 19, 2013
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/02/19/whats-another-50-million/
Too big to donate?
Shortbread Lofts got off easy when it came to making a contribution toward affordable housing. Should that set precedent for downtown redevelopment projects going forward? Cousins Properties apparently thinks so. Cousins makes a return visit to council tonight for a zoning change and special use permit to tear down the existing University Square buildings at […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 11, 2013
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/02/11/too-big-to-donate/
A sense of place
Bonnie Hauser, president of the grassroots organization Orange County Voice, sends this holiday greeting from New England: This year, and every year, I spend Christmas in western Massachusetts (“the Berkshires seem dreamlike on account of their frosting…”). A few inches of snow, a little sun, and a brisk 30 degrees – warm for the area, […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 1, 2013
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/01/01/a-sense-of-place/
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
https://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
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/11/14/banking-on-buffers/
Keep talking
A certain peevishness has settled over Jim Ward this term. He snaps at his colleagues and makes motions and calls for votes before discussion has barely begun. It may be a manifestation of what many of us felt upon turning 50 and realizing that after working for 30 years, we’re tired, and we still have […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 12, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/11/12/keep-talking/
What’s the rush?
Southern Area resident and CH2020 participant Jeanne Brown has this to say about the proposed Obey Creek development near Southern Village: As has become a common theme in the two-and-a-half-year-old Obey Creek discussion, area residents found that Monday night’s Town Council agenda included another Obey Creek twist: The resolution before Town Council combined discussion and […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 8, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/11/08/whats-the-rush/
Table talk
John Ager is a member of the Planning Board and co-facilitated the recent Central West Focus Area meetings. Here’s what he has to say: A fundamental challenge lies at the heart of the “Central West Focus Area” debate. This area contains some of the town’s oldest and loveliest neighborhoods. No one is surprised when the […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 15, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/10/15/table-talk/
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
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/10/08/participate/