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I just got this by e-mail from the Town Clerk:

You are invited to attend a Town Council Work Session on Thursday, April 1, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber at Town Hall, 306 N. Columbia Street. The Council will hear a presentation by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the University’s Development Plan Modification No. 2.

Because this is a "work session" public comment won't be allowed. But it should be a great way to find out what changes UNC is asking for in their main campus Development Plan. It could also be a good way to signal to the Council with our presence that we are paying attention.

Here's a little background of the politics around this modification request.

The Herald Sun reports today that the Town Council will officially hear from it's downtown consultant tonight on their downtown market study. It's not surprising that the consultant advocates a further reliance on retail of home furnishings, movie theaters, etc. But it's disappointing to hear that they feel there is no need for new owner-occupied units downtown and no grocery store.

Unfortunately, despite it's progressive reputation, Chapel Hill is still not the walkable community that Carrboro and even parts of Durham are, partially due to the lack of diverse housing options downtown and the lack of a small grocery within the downtown. I'd be interested in hearing more about why the downtown market study did not feel that condos and a market were feasible, especially considering the successful trend towards this in other towns and cities throughout the country. Meeting = Monday (tonight) at 7pm at the town hall.

I love it when I can detect a certain love ... errr... affinity shared between our two leading North Carolina think tanks -- the Common Sense Foundation and the John Locke Foundation. The topic on which they seem to most often agree is the practice of government giving incentives (tax breaks, cold cash) to corporations in exchange for what is often a meager or nonexistent return on the investment. In the last week, both groups have issued rousing attacks on the practice, from a couple different angles.