“I was very pleased to read the CHALT platform. I’m particularly impressed with the holistic approach to the issues on a town-wide basis. The five areas are interrelated and basically require that town government follow the priorities of its populace, not just the priorities of a few who stand to benefit economically.”
— Art Werner, Booker Creek, former Town Council member
“When my wife and I moved back to Chapel Hill to raise our children, we chose a house on Estes from which we can walk to great schools. While I support carefully planned development and enjoy more shopping and dining options, I don’t believe our town’s school and road systems can support the large amount of planned development currently being considered. I support CHALT because they are seeking answers to the questions that need to be asked in order to have a well thought out growth strategy for Chapel Hill.”
— Mike Albritton, Estes Hills, technology company
“Organic growth within a community, i.e., growth that truly benefits its core, full-time residents, is a key marker of a town’s strength and of how skilled its management team really is. Big buildings owned by outsiders only indicates instability. By exposing imbalances in the town’s current economic development strategy, CHALT fulfills a necessary mission.”
— Matthew Lee, Pine Knolls, small business owner
“I support CHALT because our community needs to have a serious discussion about our town’s budget. We need to spend our money more wisely and efficiently. We also need to be more creative about generating new sources of revenue.”
— Brian Wittmayer, Kings Mill, small business owner
“People who work here should be able to live here, even if they don’t hold high-paying jobs. Even though our property values stay the same, our taxes go up every year. High taxes are pushing out longtime residents and scaring away potential homebuyers.”
— Nancy Oates, Old Forest Creek, small business owner
“Chapel Hill is beautiful because we have short buildings surrounded by tall trees, rather than the other way around. The tree canopy makes the town walkable and provides the kind of shade and beauty that beckons people outside. Tall buildings up to the street have the opposite effect.”
— Kim Stahl, Little Ridgefield homeowner
“The Town is not paying enough attention to comprehensive storm water and traffic planning. Approving new development without providing the means to serve it is irresponsible and threatens the livability we prize.”
— Mohan Chilukuri, Mt Bolus homeowner
‘“I support CHALT because our Town Council should concentrate their efforts on promoting the health, safety and welfare of Town residents and not on guaranteeing profits for commercial investors. For example, we were told “mixed use” projects such as 140 West Franklin would generate tax revenues to lessen the tax burden on homeowners. But because the actual revenues have turned out to be much less than projected, the town’s homeowners will likely get saddled with higher taxes to subsidize this boondoggle.”
— Richard Leber – Kirkwood homeowner
“Supporting neighborhood conservation and historic districts through strong enforcement of policies defined by the districts is essential to the quality of life in Chapel Hill.”
Estelle Mabry, Northside, neighborhood activist
“The town council has approved or is considering major new residential development at Glen Lennox, Ephesus-Fordham, and Obey Creek. All of this new traffic will be dumped on 15-501, already seriously congested. Meanwhile, we need another $80 million we don’t have just to bring our bus system up to standards for our existing ridership. When the council estimated the cost of town services for new development at Ephesus-Fordham, how much did they designate for transit? Zero. Ignoring this problem won’t make it go away. The council should approve development only when we have realistic plans for the roads and transit needed to make it work.”
— John Morris, Coker Hills West, retired water resources manager
“I support CHALT because Chapel Hill’s reputation as a progressive community that honors its diversity, its natural environment and its residents while maintaining its unique identity is in danger as Council rushes down the rabbit hole to becoming Anytown, USA. I believe that Chapel Hill’s only hope is to support fiscally responsible development that truly protects our environment and maintains our quality of life.”
— Del Snow, Northwest Chapel Hill , citizen activist
“New development must fit in and complement nearby neighborhoods. Tall buildings built out of proportion and context, destroy the very Town character we value.”
— Sandy Turbeville, Huntington Drive resident
“Town government is always looking for ways to increase revenue to cover ever growing expenses. CHALT will look into ways to curb the growth of town taxes and prioritize services that are important to residents. “
— Fred Lampe, Coker Hills, retired, technology company
“I support CHALT because I feel town government needs to do a better job of protecting the quality of life in Chapel Hill’s established residential neighborhoods. This means ensuring that new development is compatible with the character of surrounding neighborhoods and that it does not worsen traffic congestion or flooding.”
— Rudy Juliano, Coker Hills, scientist at UNC
” The Mayor and the Town Council need to listen to their citizens and preserve Chapel Hill, rather than to some quick-buck developers who would rather cram too much on too small a parcel of land. The increased public costs arising from lack of road capacity, run-off and flooding, air pollution, and loss of greenery cannot be overlooked in the false and poorly planned quest for increased tax revenue. Cities develop organically rather than being forced by putting up high rise buildings. CHALT has put together an excellent platform which addresses many of these concerns, and it would be great if they support candidates who can bring balance to the Town Council.”
— Firoz Mistry, Ironwoods, consultant
“For 21 of my 22 years, I’ve lived in and loved, Chapel Hill. It’s both a thriving city and cozy town. My home, two miles from the town center, is a place of wooded refuge where I spent my childhood exploring the creeks and forests right outside my door. I fear that the destruction of these areas for urban development will alter the fundamental character of Chapel Hill, transforming it into an incongruous mess of odd pockets of urbanization, disconnected from and ill-suited to the surroundings, and for what purpose?”
— Reed Grimm, age 22, college student
“I was born in Chapel Hill and I’ve lived here ever since. I want our town to keep its unique character and to thrive economically. Town government needs to support a socially, racially and economically diverse population instead of increasingly pushing out folks because they can’t afford to live here; in fact they may no longer even want to live here.
I want our town government to spend money wisely on what our residents value, to pay for infrastructure before building more high rise buildings which bring more wealthy folks in and which require more schools, transportation, roads, fire, police etc. I’m concerned that we are no longer paying attention to the values that made Chapel Hill such a great town. With each new development Chapel Hill is becoming more and more bland and homogenous; it is becoming an EveryTown USA, losing not only it’s diverse citizenry, but also it’s beauty, it’s independent businesses, and it’s green spaces. For all this loss of quality and diversity we consistently have to cope with increasing, flooding, traffic and ever rising taxes.”
—Vivian Foushee , Social Worker
“We have one of the highest real estate taxes in the state. The town and its staff have the responsibility to carefully, prudently and efficiently allocate these tax revenues across both long term and short term priorities. I support reviews of cost and revenue projections made on projects and parking, and fees and expenses paid to consultants. They should be included as part of the annual performance review of the town manager and the staff.”
— Priscilla Ching 25 year resident of Chapel Hill
Comments on CHALT Website and on Facebook
The direction you are headed with this conversation is fantastic. I sit as chair of the Public Arts Commission and have been a builder and developer for over fifteen years and I am witnessing some serious mistakes being made by the current group of town officials. If proper guidance is not put in place; poor, useless, misguided development will continue. I agree that a unified plan with set elements should be in place. As a developer, I don’t understand the huge push for the form based code that was swiftly enacted. If you set well defined guidelines that a developer can understand, the process is not difficult. Give us strict, clear, definite guides and we will build accordingly. There are towns that strictly regulate canopy cover (trees),cpaint colors, heights, door styles, roof lines, etc. These regulations do not limit building, on the contrary, developers appreciate clarity. Developers will build what they can sell and business owners go where there is business. If we clean up transportation, build welcoming, ascetically pleasing structures, and keep all elements pedestrian and community friendly; we will see success.
I want to see a pedestrian friendly, bicycle friendly, community friendly town. Instead I am seeing wasteful budgets, misguided development, and a bogged down system that is crushing itself. I look forward to future conversations with you on all of this.
Dan Cefalo – Active community member and developer 2.20.15
John Pucher’s presentation on how towns and cities everywhere are building pedestrian, bike and transit infrastructure to create vibrant communities. Yes – they are even giving up road lanes to make room for alternative transportation. Its a no-brainer for towns!
Bonnie Hauser 2.19.15