When I read the editorial by Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce head Aaron Nelson proposing what he called “master leasing” as a solution for high housing prices, I had to double-check the byline. Was this the same Aaron Nelson who stood before Town Council in 2014 swearing that Berkshire Apartments (then called Alexan) would be […]
All posts tagged affordability
Master Fleecing
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 2, 2018
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/04/02/master-fleecing/
Guidelines Matter
In its quest to increase the commercial tax base, the Town Council in 2014 approved form-based code for the Ephesus-Fordham, now Blue Hill, district. FBC shifted approval for development projects from council to the town manager in that defined area around Rams and Village plazas and Eastgate. Council drew up some guidelines about maximum building […]
Posted by NancyDon on March 26, 2018
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/03/26/guidelines-matter/
Joint Investment
Let me see whether I have this right – a developer can come into town, get town approval to build a project of high-end apartments and condos that displaces residents who have trouble affording living here, and we as taxpayers have to pay to make housing available to the displaced residents? That’s pretty much what […]
Posted by Don Evans on March 19, 2018
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/03/19/joint-investment/
Move in
At last Wednesday’s Town Council meeting, the town’s Housing & Community staff presented an innovative plan to encourage municipal employees to live in Chapel Hill. Stronger communities result when people live in the town where they work, and work in the town where they live. Not to mention the improved functioning of the town in […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 26, 2018
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/02/26/move-in/
Will we always have Paris?
Maybe Town Council’s next intercity visit should be to Paris, a city that Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane cited as her favorite because of its low buildings. At council’s Nov. 15 meeting, we reviewed a concept plan for a 5-story building of apartments, offices and retail, with 68 parking spaces on less than 4 acres at […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 27, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/11/27/will-we-always-have-paris/
Economics of affordability
A council member told of going to dinner at a new restaurant in town and having to wait a half-hour for a table. Initially, he took that as a good sign of how well the new business was faring. But once he was seated, he noticed that several tables had been removed since the last […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 9, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/10/09/economics-of-affordability/
Conflicting Priorities
Bonnie Hauser, founder of Orange County Voice, shares her insight into factors that affect housing affordability: Last month the N.C. General Assembly (NCGA) took away Orange County’s authority to collect impact fees on new home construction. It was a low blow by Raleigh politicians but brings new insights into the important topic of affordability. Thirty […]
Posted by NancyDon on August 7, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/08/07/conflicting-priorities/
High-Rent District
I sat on the stoop of my 1940 Cape Cod and surveyed the view — one-bedroom brick-ranch duplexes and frumpy 1930s bungalows, SUVs spilling off gravel driveways onto lawns of hard-packed red clay tufted with weeds — and thought, “Wow, I’ve made it. I now live in the high-rent section of town.” According to a […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 17, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/07/17/high-rent-district/
Better planning for affordability
Last year, when Orange County commissioners proposed a $5 million bond to be used for affordable housing, I pushed for a plan. The county commissioners instead offered a slogan — 1,065 homes for $5 million — that was so unlikely to be achieved that it didn’t rise to the level of a goal. Trying to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 26, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/06/26/better-planning-for-affordability/
Building community
When the Habitat for Humanity staffer asked, “Who’s not afraid of heights?” I raised my hand. I should have thought it through. But at 8:30 Saturday morning, with the temperatures still in the 70s and standing in the shade of a large, leafy tree, I didn’t pay attention to the fact that the unroofed part […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 5, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/06/05/building-community/