Thank you, one and all!

My heartfelt thanks to all who voted for me in yesterday’s election. Special thanks to the scores of Carrboroans who volunteered for my campaign, gave contributions, and supported me through a grueling two months of campaigning.

I am looking forward to the next four years, to collaborating with a great Board of Aldermen, and to working with Carrboro citizens to craft an exciting future for our town.

Working for Affordable Housing

Last week, candidates received a questionnaire from the group Friends of Affordable Housing. Since the responses may not be widely reported or available, I am posting mine here:

1.       Please describe your commitment to creation of affordable housing initiatives in Carrboro.

I have worked hard on affordable housing initiatives for over a decade In 1996, I served with Mayor Chilton on the ad hoc affordable housing committee that led to the creation of the land trust. In 2001-2002, I served on Orange County’s Affordable Housing Task Force.

This past year, I worked with town staff to develop a payment-in-lieu procedure and an affordable housing trust fund for Carrboro. The Board of Aldermen recently approved the first payment-in-lieu to the trust fund. This will give the town the ability to make strategic investments in affordable housing.

I also serve on the HOME Consortium, working with other local governments in Orange County to allocate federal funds to best support our housing programs.

2.       What vision do you have for the types of affordable housing units that will be produced by Carrboro’s Inclusionary Housing requirements for new developments?

Earlier this month, when the Board of Aldermen discussed the affordable housing component for Roberson Square, I called for our follow up discussion to also look at housing in the $120,000 - $300,000 range, a segment that is currently addressed neither by market rate housing nor by our affordable housing program.

I have urged the board to resist the call for too much payment-in-lieu for downtown housing. We need affordable housing downtown in particular. I am committed to working with my colleagues and with the land trust to solve the affordability challenges posed by condominiums.

3.       Do you think “payment in lieu” of affordable housing construction should be accepted from developers?  If so, what guidelines should be used and how should these funds be used?

Our current payment-in-lieu process, which I developed along with town staff, allows payments for fractions of units under the affordable housing requirement. I believe this is a sound approach: we need some funds to support our affordable housing goals (for strategic land purchases, for example) but more importantly need to get housing built.

I believe the Board of Aldermen should have broad discretion in the use of these funds but, generally speaking, should not use them for purposes normally supported by other funding sources. The current ordinance identifies uses intended to help people purchase housing or to help agencies develop housing. I would like us to look at adding language that allows loans or grants to those at risk of losing their homes.

4.       What can be done to insure that affordable housing units are produced in downtown Carrboro if “payments in lieu” are accepted for many of the condominium units that are under development?

The Board of Aldermen recently received a presentation from a citizen for linking condo dues to the sale price of the unit, similar to the system in place for Greenbridge. I believe that this holds promise for accepting more condominium units downtown. The Board has asked staff to meet with the land trust to flesh this idea out. I am committed to pursue this idea to fruition.

5.       Many affordable homes are “aging” and will require significant maintenance.  Is it appropriate for public funds to be used for long-term maintenance? If so, what sources of funds should be used? 

It is important to build maintenance costs into the ongoing financial structure of affordable housing payments. This is beginning to be done with new projects.

As a member of the HOME Consortium, I am involved in directing federal funds to existing developments. This will continue to be a priority for HOME funds. Orange County still has a significant amount of voter-approved bond authority that has not been issued. That should be another piece of the solution.

Thank you, Sierra Club!

I was delighted this weekend to get the news that I have been endorsed by the North Carolina Sierra Club. Although I have been active in the Sierra Club in the past, I knew I could not take this endorsement for granted. Having been on the inside of their endorsement process, I am aware of the meticulous review and full discussion given to each candidate.

It is very encouraging for me personally to have my commitment to the environment and my environmental work over the years recognized in this manner.

Coincidentally,  I was talking with Fred Battle, president of the local NAACP branch. Fred reminded me of the years when I coordinated combined campaign forums for the NAACP, Sierra Club, and the Orange County Greens. At the time, these were the only truly integrated forums, precursors perhaps to the WCHL  - Empowerment - Chamber forum I will be attending this evening.

I ran into Fred at a campaign event for Chapel Hill Town Councilor Sally Greene. I got lots of encouragement from those assembled. Particularly sweet to me were the kind words of Mrs. Rebecca Clark, a grande dame of area politics and whose Chapel Hill home is a stone’s throw from Carrboro.

Campaign Contributions

On Monday, I sent a press release and a list of contributions to the local media. Perhaps, given that only Lydia Lavelle and I are disclosing our contributions in Carrboro, this will not make the news. From the release:

Carrboro Alderman Dan Coleman today released to the press the current list of contributors to his election campaign. Coleman, has received $2500 from 46 individuals in amounts ranging from 25 cents to $100.

“I am committed to grassroots campaigning,” Coleman said. “I have accepted no contributions greater than $100, have capped my spending at $3000, and have accepted only a few contributions from outside Carrboro.”

“I am grateful for the breadth of support, and for the words of appreciation and encouragement that came with each contribution,” Coleman said. “There are scores upon scores of Carrboro citizens whom I have met as alderman and it is heartening that so many are connecting to my campaign.”

Since he has pledged to raise and spend no more than $3000, Coleman is not required to file campaign finance reports with the Board of Elections. However, he is voluntarily releasing his contributor lists on the BOE’s schedule.

“I believe in transparency in campaigning,” Coleman said. “Knowing who is contributing to a campaign tells voters a lot about the values of the candidate. I hope that knowledge of my contributors will convey to the voters my commitment to a progressive Carrboro in all its dimensions.”

You can find my list of contributors here.

Additional contributions are still needed to meet my goal. Please click on the how to help tab above for information on contributing.

Getting Serious About Water Conservation

Last night, at the initiative of Alderman Haven-O’Donnell, the Board of Alderman passed a resolution calling for stronger conservation measures than those in OWASA’s Stage One Water Restrictions.

Randee took particular exception to the 1000 gallons/day limit. Jacquie Gist wondered how anyone can use that much water and suggested 500 gallons as a more reasonable restriction for a time of drought. I agreed and proposed a resolution calling for residents to adopt that limit and for:

-Mayor Chilton to contact Mayor Foy to encourage Chapel Hill to have a parallel conversation;

-Mayor Chilton to inform our OWASA reps, Braxton Foushee and William Stott, that Carrboro wants to see tighter restrictions in place;

-the board to take a fresh look at OWASA’s long term water supply chart. We looked at this last year and it seemed to provide an adequate supply to meet our growth needs but, in light of the current drought, we may see it differently.

We also talked about ways for the town to provide better information to residents including well-placed links to OWASA’s water conservation guide.

The Shoppes at Jones Ferry

Last night the Board of Aldermen approved the Shoppes at Jones Ferry with conditions intended to address the concerns of Barnes Street residents. The following email, received this morning, speaks to that endeavor:

Dear Mayor Chilton, Board of Alderman and Town staff, I would like to say thank you for all your consideration, time and effort to help the residents of Lincoln Park remain a protected neighborhood free from the hindrance of more commercial traffic. Your graciousness in hearing all the citizens voices during the last two public hearings concerning the CUP for the “Shoppes at Jones Ferry” is well noted. In addition, I appreciate your diplomacy in trying to reach a workable solution for both the developers and the neighborhood. I hope this particular issue will bring about more dialogue between the Town of Carrboro and the residents of our neighborhood in an effort to include Barnes and the adjoining streets in much needed municipal improvements.

Thank You again,

Lindsay Griffin

Here are the three concerns presented by the neighborhood petition and how they were addressed:

1) No vehicular access to the Shoppes at Jones Ferry from Barnes St.
I suggested we consider either ingress only or emergency only and moved to re-open the public hearing to get neighbor input in ingress only. Robert Dow spoke for the neighbors and told us that ingress only would not sufficiently address their concerns. The board then agreed on emergency vehicle only access from Barnes St. and that condition was added to the permit. This may turn out to be a deal-breaker for the developer.

2) 100 % of stormwater created from site should be treated onsite.
Under our ordinance we cannot legally require this. Our updated ordinance has this requirement but it was passed after this application came in and therefore could not be applied.

3)The town agrees to address wider safety issues surrounding the project.
After the vote on the permit, I called for the board to have this discussion and Mayor Chilton asked the manager to schedule work session time for it.

A Week Without a Post

How did I get through last week without a single blog post? Probably because of the unusual number of meetings. Here’s how it went:

Monday, 7:30pm: the Sierra Club forum was a great opportunity to discuss important issues with our leading environmental advocacy group.

Tuesday, 7:30am: Meeting of the ArtsCenter Capital Campaign Planning group to continue to develop the plan for funding the upcoming ArtsCenter redevelopment. The ArtsCenter has doubled its programming in the last few years and is bursting at the seems.

Tuesday, 11:30am: Monthly meeting of the Transit Partners Committee where we reviewed some new regional efforts toward bus service and inter-system connectivity; also looked at the university’s annual report on how people get to campus.

Tuesday, 7:30pm: Board of Aldermen meeting focused extensively on the public hearing for the Shoppes at Jones Ferry. The big question: how to balance needed economic development with neighborhood concerns. We also gave staff the go-ahead on a number of proposals for improving conditions at the day laborer pick-up site also on Jones Ferry Rd.

Wednesday, 9:30am: campaign interview with Chamber of Commerce. Lots to talk about on economic development in Carrboro, including the living local economy, commercial development, and my trip to the annual conference of the Business Alliance on Living Local Economies.

Thursday, 9am: Long Range Transit Study committee met with our consultants from Transystems. Major activity was to settle on high investment and low investment routes for further study.

Thursday, 7:30am: Orange County Assembly of Governments met with lots on the table including cooperative arrangements with Chatham County, needs of the Land Trust, and an eloquent presentation from Neloa Jones on Rogers Road justice issues.

Friday, 11am: HOME committee meeting with reps from Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and Orange County to get updated on some of the affordable housing projects benefiting from federal HOME funds.

Fortunately, most weeks are not quite so intense but this one should give you a sense of the commitment it takes to be an alderman in Carrboro.

Carrboro Growing Healthy Kids Project

Yesterday I attended the inaugural meeting of the advisory board of the Carrboro Growing Healthy Kids Project. Sponsored by the Orange County Partnership for Young Children, this is a key component of their Healthy Kids Campaign.

The town has been looking forward to this project since we authorized the community garden at MLK Park last spring. OCPYC is partnering with the Carrboro Community Garden Coalition on the use and development of that space. Discussions are well under way for establishing a second site at Carrboro Elementary School. A third site is intended in the future.

Helping ensure the success of the garden project are representatives of Orange Cty Cooperative Extension, the Botanical Garden, Active Living by Design (which provides technical support under an NC Health & Wellness grant), El Centro Latino, Carrboro Rec&Parks, and others.

The Healthy Kids Project stems from the knowledge that in Orange County one out of every five preschool children and one in every four school age children is overweight.

The garden project seeks to:

-increase access to fresh produce especially for low income families in Carrboro
-educate children about food, gardening, and related topics
-increase healthy eating options
-increase physical activity for participants
-build community.

I am proud to be a supporter of this project, delighted that it has taken root in Carrboro, and look forward to its success. It is exactly the kind of project that people in our community embrace and that make Carrboro a great place to live.

More on Alberta

It appears that the developer, Carr Mill Investment Limited Partnership, has agreed to the board’s proposed conditions for the Alberta.

Here are the new conditions from the board packet for tomorrow night:

14. That construction traffic shall be limited to access via Sweet Bay Place and a temporary fence be erected prohibiting construction access from Carr St.
15. That an easement providing public bike and pedestrian access along the driveway extending from East Carr Street to Sweet Bay Place of no less than 5-feet shall be provided, and that a speed table or other appropriate traffic calming device be erected within the driveway.
16. That no gates or other physical barriers to prevent access may be erected at either entrance to the driveway extending from East Carr Street to Sweet Bay Place.
17. That a public right of-way of no less than 5’ shall be required along the Sweet Bay Place frontage extending from Roberson Street to the driveway immediately south of the building, and that the applicant will work w/ staff to ensure acceptable access to residents and occupants of the structure.
18. That three units of affordable housing shall be provided in accordance with the formula promulgated in Carrboro Land Use Ordinance Section 15-182.4, and .45 units payment-in-lieu be paid to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. In the event Orange Community Housing & Land Trust is unable to sell the units by 90 days following the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy, then the developer shall make other arrangements to ensure that such units remain affordable in accordance with the provisions of Section 15-182.4 of the LUO.
19. That no less than 10-feet of public right-of-way shall be dedicated along Roberson Street frontage in accordance with the adopted Roberson Street plan.
20. That the Board of Aldermen finds that existing vegetation plus a landscaping / planting area alongside the back third of the western side of the building satisfies the screening requirements for the southern and western property lines respectively, to help retain a pedestrian corridor along the western side of the building.

The Alberta

Last night, the Board discussed the Alberta project, a mixed-use, four story building on the old farmer’s market site on Roberson St. The site is currently the parking lot for Carr Mill employees and will retain that use in the future.

The board was in agreement on a number of key points:
-that affordable housing should be built on site rather than the developer’s request only to provide a payment-in-lieu;
-that sidewalks adjacent to public streets should become part of the public right of way;
-that traffic calming measures should be applied on the road section connecting Carr Street to Sweet Bay Place and that a bike/ped easement be established there;
-and that construction traffic should enter the property from Sweet Bay rather than Carr.

If the developer comes back next Tuesday in agreement with those points it is expected that we will grant the requested rezoning and permit.

This project would be the third new building downtown that we will have approved over the past year or so. The other two, one on Lloyd St and one on E. Main St., are entirely commercial and locally owned. The Alberta is owned by the Maryland-based group that owns Carr Mill, but they are using a local designer.

Although the Board and advisory boards have worked hard in reviewing and fine-tuning of these projects, much credit goes to those who earlier in the decade worked out the ordinances and policies which encourage this sort of development downtown, and also to the business-owners and residents who make downtown a lively and attractive place for such projects.