Carrboro
Passes Moratorium
The Carrboro
Board of Aldermen passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on
residential development in the nearly 3,800 acre Northern Study Area
(NSA). Carrboro’s Northern Study Area Taskforce has already
begun the process of revisiting the area’s small are plan while
Carrboro waits for the Orange County Commissioners to deliberate on
the moratorium at their April 26th meeting. Since a portion of the
NSA contains land in the joint planning area with Orange County, both
Aldermen and Commissioners must approve the moratorium before it goes
into effect.
Chapel
Hill Town Council Meeting Stream Online
Chapel Hill Town Council meetings
will now be available for online streaming in real time. Access the
feed by going to www.townofchapelhill.org
and clicking on the “Council Meeting Video” link. Users
can view full meeting documents while watching the video and link
to specific agenda items in the video feed. Additionally, past meetings
are archived and searchable. Carrboro also makes its Board of Aldermen
meetings available at www.townofcarrboro.org.
Chapel
Hill Northern Study Area Taskforce
In conjunction with the moratorium
on development in the northwest portion of Chapel Hill that Town Council
has proposed, the Council is establishing a citizen’s taskforce
to study the area. The Northern Study Area Taskforce will make recommendations
to Town Council concerning appearance, traffic, pedestrian safety,
design standards and transit oriented development in study area centered
on the intersection of Weaver Dairy Road and Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard. Three spaces on the taskforce will be reserved for citizens
living in the northwest portion of Chapel Hill and two spaces will
be reserved for business owners in the same area. Applications for
the taskforce can be obtained here.
OWASA
Proposes Increase in Water and Sewer Fees
Orange
Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) is considering an 6.25 percent increase
in water rates and a 13.75 percent increase in sewer rates (averaging
a 9.5 percent increase) for current users. The increase in rates would
pay for capital improvements and help OWASA meet financial performance
objectives. In addition to the rate increases, OWASA is proposing
a new “increasing block” rate restructuring that would
favor conservationism. For example, homes using less than 10,000 gallons
of water per month would only pay $5.53 per 1,000 gallons while homes
using greater than 15,000 gallons per month would pay $13.06 per 1,000
gallons. OWASA will be taking public comment on the proposal at their
May 10th and May 24th meetings.
Email jdervin@carolinachamber.org
for examples of new billing estimates or for a full copy of this story.
Hillsborough
to Explore Higher Density Zoning
The Hillsborough
Town Board instructed the town’s planning director to draft
new zoning regulations to accommodate higher-density projects. The
move followed a vote in which the Town Board failed to garner a super
majority to approve the Courtyard at Sinclair Station project. A super
majority was needed since local residents filed a protest petition.
The project was originally proposed with 33 residential units and
three stories on Churton Street but was scaled back to 20 units and
two-and-a-half stories to satisfy the Town Board. Town Board members
have said that current zoning is not in line with the Town’s
proposed development plan and often discourages urban development.
Email jdervin@carolinachamber.org
for a copy of the Herald-Sun’s coverage of this story
Residences
at Chapel Hill North
Chapel
Hill Town Council approved development applications for the Residences
at Chapel Hill North, a proposed multi-family project that would consist
of 123 units in the northwest portion of Chapel Hill next to Chapel
Hill North Shopping Center. Representatives from the project met with
a Town Council Committee to discuss an affordable housing plan that
would provide an initial payment in-lieu of affordable rental units.
Source:
www.townofchapelhill.org
The
Triangle
Flex
Office Space Back in Demand in Triangle
The
Triangle’s vacancy rate for flex office space has dropped
to a five-year low of 14.4 percent while rental rates are at a five-year
high at $9.79 per square foot on average. During the tech bust earlier
in the decade, office vacancy rates in the Triangle increased dramatically,
which lowered rates for prime office space and allowed start-up
companies to seek traditionally higher priced leases. Flex office
space vacancy rates increased from 7.9 percent in 2000 to 20.1 percent
in 2003. Now with demand and rates back up for office space, there
is increased demand for low-cost flex office space. 61,768 square
feet of flex space was built in 2006 in the Triangle, the largest
increase since 2003. For
the News and Observer's coverage of this story, click
here.
Triangle
Home Sales
March 2007 Single/Multi-family Homes Sold Average
| Orange |
- |
$315,779 |
| Durham |
- |
$199,190 |
| Wake |
- |
$255,238 |
Number
of Single & Multi-family Homes Sold
March 2007
| Orange |
- |
153 |
| Durham |
- |
386 |
| Wake |
- |
1,763 |
Source data from www.trianglemls.com
State
State
Losing Rural Eastern Population
While North Carolina’s
population continues to soar, the eastern rural portion of the state
is not seeing an influx of new citizens. 15 rural North Carolina counties
lost residents from July 2005 to July 2006. Ten of those 15 counties
are in Eastern North Carolina and have populations lower than were
present in 2000. Both in-state and out-of-state migration is concentrated
on major population centers in Charlotte and the Triangle. Local officials
and regional planners cite various reasons for the region’s
decline in population. Often times these communities are too far from
the coast to attract retirees and tourists but are also too far from
population centers to attract commuters. Even with state investment
into projects like the Global TransPark in Kinston, businesses are
choosing not to relocate to the region. Without job opportunities
college graduates and newcomers to the state are not settling in rural
Eastern North Carolina. For
the News and Observer's coverage of this story, click
here.
Misc.
YouTube
hits Real Estate Market
Users
of the popular Web site YouTube are finding real estate listings in
addition to the usual assortment of humorous clips. Real estate agents
looking to expand upon the 360 degree fixed position view of homes
typically accompanying online listings are trying to capitalize on
the popularity of sites like YouTube, according to a Chicago Tribune
report. Figures are not yet available to determine the new tactic’s
effectiveness, but burgeoning sites are cropping up across the internet
hoping to corner the market. Market trend analysts also anticipate
that Google will tap into the online video listing market. Current
listings are ranging from individually made spots produced with digital
camcorders to professionally made pieces that can cost thousands of
dollars to produce.
Email jdervin@carolinachamber.org
for a copy of the article produced by the Chicago Tribune
Links
Town of Chapel Hill
www.townofchapelhill.org
Town of Carrboro
www.townofcarrboro.org
Town of Hillsborough
www.ci.hillsborough.nc.us
Orange County
www.co.orange.nc.us
Chatham County
www.co.chatham.nc.us
TMLS Statistics
http://trianglemls.com/tmls-stats.html
