External email: Don't click links or attachments from unknown senders. To check or report forward to reportspam@townofchapelhill.org
Thanks for the reply. Good decisions (and difficult decisions) are easier to make when looking to the long-term objectives of the town. This project does not support the town’s objectives at all, particularly those for land use, urban design, compact communities and transportation.
As a real estate investor and developer, I seriously doubt the landowner would evict the MHP residents if this project is turned down. I think he is bluffing because the town requires a waiting period (two or three years) before another zoning application can be submitted, leaving him with non-revenue-producing land. Why would the property owner give up that revenue for three years? Alternately, he might be serious, thinking his (or another buyer’s) position for rezoning is improved if the MHP is removed. Either way, town council is still in the driver’s seat. You can approve what you want, and you can extract AH from the developer in the same way you are getting it at Aura.
In my opinion, the key is to focus on helping the MHP residents find housing, even if it is not their *preferred* type of housing. (The county should be helping with this since social services are a county function.) By directly addressing this issue, the town can show that it isn’t throwing these people out in the cold, but that it’s long-term plans mean something.
Thanks for asking. Let me know if you want to discuss further.
—
Susana L Dancy
919-225-7701
On Jan 30, 2021, at 12:18 PM, Hongbin Gu <hgu@townofchapelhill.org> wrote:
What do you think that we can do to turn this around?
-- Hongbin
Hongbin Gu
Chapel Hill Town Council
919-923-7912
HGu@townofchapelhill.org
________________________________
From: Susana L. Dancy <susana.dancy@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2021 11:06 AM
To: Hongbin Gu <hgu@townofchapelhill.org>
Subject: 1200 MLK Blvd
External email: Don't click links or attachments from unknown senders. To check or report forward to reportspam@townofchapelhill.org
Hi Hongbin,
I understand that 1200 MLK Blvd is on an upcoming council agenda and that the majority of council is poised to vote in favor of it, despite the expressed concerns of several advisory boards, and the Planning Commission in particular.
While I share town council’s concerns for the low-income residents on that site, I think that approving the proposed project compromises the town’s overall affordable housing goals and undermines its transit program. Council will be cementing a suburban, car-oriented land use for 40 plus years, in exchange for temporary housing relief for a small population. The town in partnership with the county can make resources available for alternate housing for the families that live there now, rather than compromising the long-term goals and resources of the town.
I know these decisions are difficult. Thanks always for your service.
Best regards,
Susana Dancy
Chapel Hill resident
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