Event:
Orange County Development Briefing
The Orange
County Development Briefing will look at current and upcoming residential
and commercial development in Orange County. This event will be held
at the UNC Friday Center on September 10, 2007 from 8:30am to 10:00am.
There will be speakers from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Orange County and
Hillsborough to address the audience and answer questions. A full
breakfast will be served. For more information about this event or
to register, click
here.
Orange
County Passes Budget
Orange County Commissioners approved a $173.6 million budget,
increasing the county’s property tax rate by 4.7 cents per $100
of valuation for Orange County residents. On a $300,000 home that
equals an increase of $141 to a total of $2,850. Chapel Hill and Carrboro
residents will also pay a 1.5 cent increase on the special school
district tax. The manager’s original recommended budget called
for no increase in the special district tax and would have provided
about half a million dollars for both of the county’s school
districts. The approved budget increases funding for Orange County
Schools by $1.4 million while Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools will
receive an additional $3.7 million.
Carrboro
“Main Street” Project Approved
The first phase of Main Street Properties’ development
project received a conditional use permit from the Carrboro Board
of Aldermen. The first phase of the project will be a five-story mixed-use
building on the 200 block of Main Street where Archer Graphics is
currently located. Eventually Main Street Properties hopes to build
a multi-story, mixed-use development featuring a hotel and performance
space on the 300 block of Main Street where Cat’s Cradle and
the ArtsCenter currently reside. In total, 400,000 square feet of
space could be added as a result of the project. While the scale of
the project will add to the parking and traffic concerns in downtown,
it will go a long way in achieving the Board of Aldermen’s stated
goal of doubling the commercial tax-base.
State
Allows Chapel Hill Public Campaign Funding
The General Assembly approved a bill that would pilot a
program for public funding in Chapel Hill’s municipal elections.
Starting in 2009 candidates could be eligible for funds through a
public grant. Proponents of the bill hope it will make running for
office a possibility for more individuals. Later this year Town Council
will determine the dollar amount needed for the grant as well as the
requirements for individuals to qualify for public funds. For
The Daily Tar Heel's coverage of this story, click
here.
Chapel
Hill Mayor Seeks Re-election
Amid speculation that he would run for Senator Ellie Kinnaird’s
seat in the State Legislature, Mayor Kevin Foy announced that he intends
to seek reelection in Chapel Hill. If re-elected, Mayor Foy plans
to focus on water quality, tree protection, affordable housing and
downtown development, as well as Chapel Hill neighborhoods and the
proposed Carolina North satellite campus. The mayoral election, which
occurs every two years, coincides with the election of four other
Town Council positions. The incumbents from this year’s council
include Bill Strom, Cam Hill, Jim Ward and Sally Greene. For
the News and Observer's coverage of this story, click
here.
Orange
County Election Filings
Below is the list of candidates who filed for municipal
and county elections in Orange County for fall 2007 elections. An
asterisk indicates incumbency.
Chapel Hill Mayor
Kevin Foy*
Kevin Wolff
Chapel Hill Town
Council (4 seats available)
Matt Czajkowski
Sally Greene*
Cam Hill*
David Charles Nash
Will Raymond
Penny Rich
Bill Strom*
Jim Ward*
Carrboro Mayor
Mark Chilton*
Chuck Morton
Brian Voyce
Carrboro Board
of Aldermen (3 seats available)
Frank Abernethy
Joal Hall Broun*
Dan Coleman*
Sharon Cook
Lydia Lavelle
Katrina Ryan
Hillsborough Mayor
Tom Stevens*
Hillsborough Town
Commissioners (3 seats available)
Eric Hallman*
Evelyn Lloyd*
Brian Lowen*
Bryant Warren Jr.
Chapel Hill/Carrboro
Board of Education (4 seats available)
Jamezetta Bedford*
Mia Burroughs
Michael Kelley*
Mehar Safvi
Annetta Streater*
Gary Wallach
Lot
5 Project Approved
Chapel Hill Town Council approved the special use permit
for Ram Development’s proposed project on municipal lot 5. The
last stumbling block for the project was Town Council’s affordable
housing requirement. Town Council changed its original requirement
- 21 small units for affordable housing purposes - down to 15-18 larger
units. In all, 140 condominiums will be added downtown, at least one
tenth of which will be priced at or below $100,000 for moderate-income
homebuyers. For
the News and Observer's coverage of this story, click
here.
School
Boards Try to Avoid Sacrificing Jobs
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Superintendent Neil Pedersen
and the CHCC School Board have sliced the budget by nearly two million
dollars in the past two years without eliminating a single job. A
potential cut is to reduce clerical staff. However, the School Board
is considering several additions at each high school, including a
security guard, a day treatment social worker and a tutor for students
with mental illness. In all, there will be roughly a $112 per-pupil
increase in county funding for the school system. For
the News and Observer's coverage of this story, click
here.
Chatham
County Election Filings
Below
is the list of candidates who filed for municipal and county elections
in Chatham County. An asterisk indicates incumbency.
Pittsboro Mayor
Christopher Bradshaw
Max Cotton
Randolph Voller*
Pittsboro Board
of Commissioners
Michael Berger
Gene Brooks*
Clinton Bryan*
Hugh Harrington
Jim Hinkley
Gary Simpson
Pittsboro
Considers Large Retail Development near Downtown
Pittsboro
Place Partners is requesting that 120 acres just outside of downtown
Pittsboro be rezoned to make way for a large scale development project.
Developers hope to add nearly two million square feet of retail and
commercial space as well as 300 residential units. The proposed site
is less than one mile from Pittsboro’s traffic circle center.
Piedmont Bio-Fuels has filed a protest petition saying that the potential
development is inconsistent with the current usage of the transportation
artery. If the petition is accepted by town commissioners, a super
majority four to one vote will be needed to approve the development
project.
For
the News and Observer's coverage of this story, click
here.
The
Triangle
Triangle
Home Sales
June 2007 Single Average Residential Closing Price
| Durham |
- |
$199,001 |
| Orange |
- |
$344,894 |
| Wake |
- |
$270,481 |
Number of Single & Multi-family Homes Sold
June 2007
| Durham |
- |
646 |
| Orange |
- |
228 |
| Wake |
- |
2,225 |
Source data from www.trianglemls.com
Triangle
Office Rent Increases
Average
Class-A office space in the Triangle area is at a record level of
$20.69 per square foot through June 2007. Rates increased $1.25 per
square foot in the last quarter, which is the largest quarterly increase
in a decade. The total vacancy rate for Orange, Durham and Wake Counties
is at a six year low of 12.1 percent. For the News and Observer's
coverage of this story, click
here.
Debate
Continues Concerning Jordan Water
The North
Carolina Environmental Management Commission proposed a new set of
regulations to clean up Jordan Lake. High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus
in the lake are threatening the drinking water Jordan Lake provides
for Apex, Cary, Durham, Morrisville, RTP and Chatham County. The Environmental
Management Commission reports that its proposed new rules could cost
$710 million to implement, although other sources believe that $900
million is a more likely figure. This cost is likely to be passed
on to residents and developers. Although Orange County’s water
supply does not come from Jordan Lake, the proposed regulations would
affect Orange County because it is in Jordan Lake’s watershed.
Follow the links to read more about the specific pollution reduction
recommendations.
For the News and Observer's coverage of this story, click
here or for The Daily Tar Heel's coverage of this story, click
here.
State
State
Budget Talks Delayed for BBQ and Bats
State Legislators
are now more than two weeks past the deadline for approving a new
state budget. Differences between House and Senate plans must be reconciled
before both houses can approve the budget, which is expected to total
more than $20 billion. The House budget retains a half-cent sales
tax and a quarter percent upper income tax, while the Senate budget
does includes neither tax. The Senate budget calls for less state
spending than the House version, although it results in a bigger debt
for North Carolina because it lacks tax increases. While behind-the-scenes
negotiations work to reconcile both proposals, the State Legislature
is spending time on less pressing issues. News reports state that
Legislators spent more time in heated debate over an official state
barbeque festival and declaring a state bat (animal, not athletic
equipment) than they did on public budget negotiations.
Source, News and Observer
One
Stop Voting Approved by Legislature
Once Governor
Mike Easley signs the one stop voting bill passed by the State Legislature,
voters will no longer have to register prior to an election. Currently,
voters must register at least 25 days before an election. Under the
new one stop voting measure, non-registered voters will be able to
go to designated one stop voting locations and cast retrievable ballots.
Retrievable ballots can be recalled if there is any question of voter
fraud. Opponents to the measure are concerned that no photo ID requirement
accompanies the bill. Additionally one stop voting is likely to increase
turnout among younger voters.
For The Daily Tar Heel's coverage of this story, click
here.
National
/ Misc.
Nation
Industrial Centers are Shrinking
Updated
2006 census figures highlight the migration of Americans from industrial
centers in the Midwest and Northeast to the South and Southwest. While
the country’s population has doubled since 1950, the populations
of 80 percent of the largest cities in 1950 have declined significantly.
Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburg and Buffalo have lost over half of their
1950 populations to cities including Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta.
Additionally, census figures show a continued national migration to
the suburbs. In 1950, nearly a fifth of the country’s population
lived in the nation’s largest 20 cities; by 2006 that number
fell to a sixth.
Fed Chairman Lowers Economic Forecast
Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke downgraded his prediction on the nation’s
growth in 2007 from 3 percent to 2.75 or 2.5 percent. Bernanke’s
remarks underscore the lingering effects of the subprime mortgage
market and a slowdown in residential construction. In response to
the rash of subprime mortgage defaults, the Federal Reserve hopes
to strengthen supervision of mortgage and home-equity lending. One
option is to require mortgage brokers to be federally licensed.
For
the News and Observer's coverage of this story, click
here.
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
