Category: AffordableHousing

  • The Estes Dr./MLK, Jr. Intersection: Crossroads to Chapel Hill’s Future

    The following letter does an excellent job summing up my reasons for delaying the July’s abbreviated community review process for the ciritical Estes Drive/MLK, Jr. intersection, the two congested transit corridors and the surrounding area which includes UNC’s Carolina North campus. The current CH2020 proposal calls for us to plan in haste and repent in […]

  • Northside Memories

    A couple excellent student driven articles on Northside appeared this week. Carrboro Commons’ Megan Gassaway published this article which reviews the history of the Northside community through long time resident Ms. Keith Edwards eyes. Too often local media focuses narrowly on the business of carving up the community rather than providing a broader context – […]

  • Phase I 2011 Affordable Housing Community Outreach Wraps Up

    Today is the final meeting in a several week series of outreach sessions seeking community input to help formulate a new Affordable Housing Strategy for Chapel Hill. Staff sought advice from a broad range of local residents – from current affordable housing residents to professionals managing a wide variety of community programs. Council, after a […]

  • Affordable Housing – Preferences and/or Priorities

    Big agenda this evening. I also commented on the proposal for creating a range of housing options as a consequence of implementing the inclusionary zoning ordinance. Other folks commenting included Anita Badrock, Operations Manager of the Community Home Trust and Rob Reda, the local director of Habitat for Humanity. For the last 6 years, I […]

  • Live ‘Blog: April 13th IFC Community House Meeting

    Quick notes on this evening’s final IFC Community House public meeting prior to the IFC submitting a SUP (special use permit) to Town Council. IFC is the Inter-Faith Council, a 501c3 non-profit, has provided a broad range of social services (list) over the last few decades, many of which, like emergency housing, are the really […]

  • Chapel Hill’s First Budget Meeting of 2010

    I want to quickly respond to Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt’s comments this evening. First, spending $8-12M on the Lot #5 project, building luxury condos and enriching a private developer, is not the same as “protecting our Town’s infrastructure”. The Lot #5 (West 140) project is discretionary – the push to keep it going is […]

  • Library or Lot #5?

    Here is what I meant to say at this evening’s Council meeting. Like a lot of my remarks, I find myself editing on the fly, so what I managed to get out in less than 3 minutes wasn’t quite what follows but I believe I made the points I needed. The simple summary? We can’t […]

  • Finishing in the Midst of Community

    [X-Posted from WillRaymond.org] After 17 formal forums, neighborhood meetings, community picnics and other organized opportunities for candidates to meet and engage with our wider community, we ended this evening in the midst of community. Tonight I witnessed the birth Orange County Justice United, a new umbrella organization comprised of 25 local advocacy, service and faith-based […]

  • IFC Men’s Shelter: Not Until Questions Have Been Answered

    According to today’s Chapel Hill News (IFC may delay new shelter), the Inter-Faith Council is looking at a delay while the questions raised by local residents over the last few weeks are resolved. Inter-Faith Council director Chris Moran said the agency may delay its development permit application amid neighbors’ opposition to a new men’s homeless […]

  • IFC Men’s Shelter: Expand the Heart of Chapel Hill

    After seeing the range of concerns and responses thoughtfully expressed during last night’s citizen presentations, I’m more confident than ever that our community can pull together, find common ground and work to settle on a permanent home for the IFC Men’s Shelter. I’m going to continue to post as much material as I can so […]

  • IFC Men’s Shelter Timeline

    There are a lot of questions (and comments) about the potential relocation of the IFC Men’s Shelter to the corner of Homestead Rd. [MAP]. At last night’s WCHL 1360 candidate forum [MP3] I talked about how, if elected to Council, I would use an approach like the one I helped develop for siting the new […]

  • Q&A IFC Community House

    There are a lot of questions about the IFC’s plans to site the new men’s homeless shelter on Homestead Road. As a candidate for Town Council, I have been reading concerned citizens emails and letters – almost 100 or so – on this project. Executive Chris Moran has prepared the following Q & A based […]

  • Sustainability Task Force: Ten New Candidates

    I was appointed as one of the “at large” members of the Town’s Sustainability Task Force several months ago. One of the first issues we took up was representation on the task force itself. Essentially, did the task force membership represent the reasonably broadest possible diversity of viewpoints and experience we needed to craft a […]

  • Affordable Housing: I Can’t Live In Lieu

    The Chapel Hill News’ Jesse DeConto’s posts over on OrangeChat a discussion of tonight’s request by Orange Community Housing and Land Trust Executive Director Robert Dowling’s renewed request to take in lieu payments over affordable housing stock. I’ve been troubled by his and others calls to take money over square footage for some time. Whatever […]

  • Hazardous Consequences: A Report, a Rushed Decision, a Regrettable Day for Chapel Hill

    The Chapel Hill News’ ‘blog OrangeChat first alerted me to the Town’s completion of the Lot #5 negotiations with RAM Development (more to come in the N&O). The Town’s April 3rd news release celebrates what I believe will eventually be seen to be a rushed decision foisting a counter-productive, fiscally irresponsible obligation to construct expensive […]