Dan Coleman's blog
This just in from Chapel Hill:
Town Planning Director Roger Waldon announced today that he will retire effective June 1. Waldon will begin a new career as a private planning consultant.
“No one can match Roger's combination of intellect, creativity, and enormous work production,†said Town Manager Cal Horton. “He is both a model civil servant and a model community volunteer.â€Â
...
Town Manager Horton will make a decision about interim leadership for the Planning Department within a few weeks.
Town News, 2/28/05
Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday, February 19, 2005
One of the more unusual ideas to hit Chapel Hill of late was the suggestion, adopted last year, that the town seek authority to purchase open space outside its jurisdiction. On the face of it, this was nonsensical. As Kevin Foy put it last September, "Citizens of Chapel Hill are citizens of Orange County, and Orange County buys land throughout the county. I don't think we have an interest in duplicating the efforts of the county."
But Foy went on to point out that the town's planning interest extends beyond the town line. Tactical purchases outside the town's extra-territorial jurisdiction can help Chapel Hill protect the rural buffer and provide additional open space. This was born out recently when the town opened the door to cooperating on the possible purchase of property along Erwin Road just northeast of the extra-territorial jurisdiction.
Mark Marcoplos gave me permission to post this letter to the president of the Home Builders Association. It speaks volumes and most eloquently.
Marcoplos Construction
February 9, 2005
Dear President Burgess,
After much deliberation, I have decided not to renew my membership in the Home Builders Association.
From my perspective, the long-term viability of our communities, our economy, and our health is in danger. Our society embraces short-term profit-seeking at the expense of human needs, environmental protection, and a sustainable economic framework.
At the forefront of this short-sighted approach is the Home Builders Association. Whether the issue is building along fragile coastal areas in North Carolina, building housing developments in the Florida Everglades, or battling regulations that would help curtail urban sprawl, the HBA is consistently advocating for whatever will allow more building with less barriers and more profits.
Great article in this week's Indy by Bob Burtman. Burtman analyzes the problems passing legislation to authorize impact fees and other mechanisms to compensate the public for the costs of accommodating growth.
The main stumbling blocks, as you might guess, are the homebuilders and realtors PACS, among the most effective promoters of self-interest in the state.
One interesting twist that Burtman reports in the homebuilders legal challenge to Durham's impact fees in which the builders claimed that they could not pass impact fees on to buyers and that the fees therefore cut into profits (cue for big crocodile tears). In the past, the argument has been the opposite, challenging the fees as a burden on homebuyers.
Read more about NC Homebuilders Association & the Sprawl Lobby or my own Chapel Hill Herald column of 8/21/2004.
The Town Council tonight will discuss the manager's proposed process for finalizing the proposed modifications to the OI-4 zone (for UNC's main campus):
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