New Development
Zero
Carbon Project Proposed for Chapel Hill
Thirty-two apartments and 12,000 square feet of shops and offices are
proposed for the corner of N.C. 54 and South Columbia Street. The project
will potentially be the greenest in the country with developer Phil Szostak
proposing that the project be a zero carbon development. The development
would include solar panels and roof top gardens and generate its own
electricity entirely on site via wind and geothermal power. However, some
concerns have been raised about the project’s proximity to a stream which the
developer contends is sometimes dry. The state classifies the stream as
year-round, a classification that would force the developer to move the
project further from the stream. For the full story, click here.
Regulatory Issues
Northwest
Property Group Disputes Conditional Use Permit
“Abuse of discretion and contrary to law” is how Northwest Property Group,
developers of Carrboro’s Jones Ferry Road shopping center, describes the
conditions put on the project by the Carrboro Board of Aldermen. Northwest
says that one of the 37 conditions the Town of Carrboro attached to its
conditional use permit, approved Sept. 25, allows only emergency access to
the shopping center from Barnes Street. The developer has filed a petition in
Orange County Superior Court asking a judge to strike the condition required
by the aldermen. For full story, click here.
Chapel
Hill Bans Pine Straw as Landscaping Material
In late October, the Town of Chapel Hill adopted an ordinance banning the use
of pine straw or pine needles as landscaping material within 10 feet of any
commercial or multi-family building. This ban is in effect for buildings made
of combustible material including wood, vinyl, plastic, or other burnable
materials. There have been a number of fires caused by discarded cigarettes
being tossed into pine straw this year and the fire department has found that
pine straw burns at a rate four times faster and three times higher than any
other landscaping material. The fire department will not begin strict enforcement
of the ban until February 1st, 2008 in order to allow property owners time to
change the mulch. For more information, click here.
Schools
Carrboro
High Nominated for Building Award
The recently opened Carrboro High School, a Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) certified building, was selected from hundreds of
projects and nominated for the Gold Medal Building of America Award in the
Carolinas. This award, given by the Real
Estate and Construction Review, honors regional projects that are
innovative, unique and challenging. If selected, Carrboro High will be
featured in an eight to ten page article in the Review which will include
pictures of the high school, commentary and highlight some of the
subcontractors, vendors and suppliers involved in the project. For the full
story, click
here.
Chapel
Hill-Carrboro City Schools Request $6.5 Million
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School officials are requesting $6.5 million, a
12-percent increase from current funds, to support continuing operations next
year. "[The continuation budget] really is the basic necessities --
there's no expansion component, nothing new, nothing different, nothing
better in what's being discussed at this point," schools spokesperson
Stephanie Knott said. Anticipated new costs include salary and benefit
increases, the opening of the area’s 10th elementary school and increased
enrollment at Carrboro High School. The school board plans to submit the
continuation budget to the county commissioners by the end of November. For
the full story, click
here.
Orange County
Chapel
Hill Election Results
In Chapel Hill, five incumbents ran for reelection including Mayor Kevin Foy
and four Town Council members. Mayor Foy was reelected by a wide margin,
garnering more than 70 percent of the vote and will serve his fourth term as
mayor. In the Chapel Hill Town Council race, incumbents Jim Ward, Sally
Greene and Bill Strom all were reelected. Cam Hill, the remaining incumbent,
however was defeated by challenger Matt Czajkowski by 60 votes. Hill asked
for a recount but was denied by the Board of Elections because the margin of
victory was just above the one percent threshold necessary for a mandatory
recount. The following are the unofficial tallies from the Board of Elections
website:
Mayor:
|
Candidate
|
Votes
|
Percent
|
|
Kevin C. Foy
|
4,333
|
70.17%
|
|
Kevin Wolff
|
1,803
|
29.20%
|
|
Write-In
|
39
|
0.63%
|
Town Council:
|
Candidate
|
Votes
|
Percent
|
|
Matt Czajkowski
|
2,932
|
13.74%
|
|
Sally Greene
|
3,917
|
18.36%
|
|
Cam Hill
|
2,872
|
13.46%
|
|
Will Raymond
|
1,409
|
6.60%
|
|
Penny Rich
|
2,442
|
11.44%
|
|
Bill Strom
|
3,735
|
17.50%
|
|
Jim Ward
|
3,929
|
18.41%
|
|
Write-In
|
102
|
0.48%
|
For more
information, click here.
Carrboro
Election Results
Three incumbents were up for reelection in Carrboro, including Mayor Mark
Chilton and Aldermen Joal Hall Broun and Dan Coleman. Mayor Chilton, similar
to Mayor Foy, won in a landslide with nearly 75 percent of the votes. Broun
and Coleman were also reelected and will be joined by challenger Lydia
Lavelle, a resident of Carrboro’s annexed northern area. Lavelle was the top
vote getter in Carrboro winning 25.5 percent of the votes on Election Day.
Below are the results from the Carrboro election:
Mayor:
|
Candidate
|
Votes
|
Percent
|
|
Mark H. Chilton
|
1,743
|
74.11%
|
|
Chuck Morton
|
163
|
6.93%
|
|
Brian D. Voyce
|
430
|
18.28%
|
|
Write-In
|
16
|
0.68%
|
Board of Aldermen:
|
Candidate
|
Votes
|
Percent
|
|
Frank Abernethy
|
263
|
3.99%
|
|
Joal Hall Broun
|
1,478
|
22.42%
|
|
Dan Coleman
|
1,332
|
20.21%
|
|
Sharon Cook
|
873
|
13.24%
|
|
Lydia E. Lavelle
|
1,686
|
25.58%
|
|
Katrina Ryan
|
938
|
14.23%
|
|
Write-In
|
22
|
0.33%
|
For more
information, click here.
Hillsborough
Election Results
Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens was reelected to another term as he ran
unopposed in the recent election. On the Board of Commissioners, incumbents
Evelyn P. Lloyd, Eric Hallman, and Brian J. Lowen were victorious. The
following are the complete election results:
Mayor:
|
Candidate
|
Votes
|
Percent
|
|
Tom Stevens
|
499
|
96.15%
|
|
Write-In
|
20
|
3.85%
|
Board of
Commissioners:
|
Candidate
|
Votes
|
Percent
|
|
Eric Hallman
|
381
|
25.32%
|
|
Evelyn P. Lloyd
|
414
|
27.51%
|
|
Brian J. Lowen
|
367
|
24.39%
|
|
Bryant Kelly Warren, Jr.
|
338
|
22.46%
|
|
Write-In
|
5
|
0.33%
|
From Orange
County Board of Elections
Council
Funds Parking Study
The Chapel Hill Town Council approved a payment of $27,000 to the Downtown
Partnership for a parking study to be completed by the end of February. Rich
and Associates were hired to undertake the study, a group that has done a
number of similar studies throughout the United States. Rich and Associates
spent all of Thursday, November 8th studying parking demand and will examine
demand on December 17th to see how demand shifts when students are not in
town. Chamber staff is participating on the Parking Study Advisory Committee
hosted by the Downtown Partnership. For the full story, click here.
Chapel
Hill Announces New Police Chief
Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil announced Brian Curran as the new
chief of police in a September town council meeting. Curran has been a part
of the Chapel Hill department for 21 years and served as the interim police
chief since April of 2007. Curran has also been charged with assessing the
police department, creating a leadership development program, expanding
community policing efforts and leading in finding innovative solutions to
community issues.
Source:
Chapel Hill eNews
Chapel
Hill Announces New Police Chief
Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil announced Brian Curran as the new
chief of police in a September town council meeting. Curran has been a part
of the Chapel Hill department for 21 years and served as the interim police
chief since April of 2007. Curran has also been charged with assessing the
police department, creating a leadership development program, expanding
community policing efforts and leading in finding innovative solutions to
community issues.
From
Chapel Hill eNews
Chapel
Hill Welcomes Downtown Visitors with Banners
Visitors coming to Chapel Hill for athletic events, Halloween festivities or
general visits this fall were welcomed by 30 Carolina blue banners.
"Banners are a distinct and creative way to welcome everyone to downtown
Chapel Hill," said Liz Parham, executive director of the Downtown
Partnership. Plans are currently in the works to design a year-round banner
program promoting community celebrations. For the full story, click here.
Orange
Tax Options Vote Still On
Orange County officials remain optimistic about plans to seek an alternative
revenue source, despite neighboring Chatham County’s failure to pass proposed
land transfer tax referendums. "After looking at what is funded, if the
[commissioners] feel that additional revenue is going to be important, then
we'll try to focus it on things that will appeal to the community,"
County Manager Laura Blackmon said. Residents will vote on a new local
revenue option on May’s primary ballot. County commissioners have until Feb.
19 to decide if the option on the ballot will be a land transfer tax, a sales
tax increase or both. For the full story, click here.
UNC
given $4 million for real estate program
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business
School has been given $4 million to help expand its MBA program in real
estate and its Center for Real Estate Development. Trammell Crow
Residential’s former principal Leonard Wood has committed the money for the
project.
From
Triangle Business Journal
Rain
Helps but Water Levels still Low
With nearly five inches of rain falling on Chapel Hill and Carrboro over the
past few weeks, some of the town’s lakes have recharged. However, OWASA reports
that its water supply levels only rose from 50.0% capacity to 50.7% capacity
after the rain. Water demand has decreased recently down from 7.8 million
gallons per day to just less than 7.5 million gallons. Please do remember
that Stage Two water restrictions are still in effect for OWASA customers and
take the necessary measures on your part to conserve water.
OWASA also
reports that its bills in mid-October to over 700 businesses were incorrect.
Most of the mistakes were in the rate that was charged to businesses per
their 1,000 gallons of water and sewer use. Customers should have been
charged the “off-peak” rate of $3.08 per 1,000 gallons that is in effect from
October, 2007 to April, 2008. Instead, businesses were charged the “peak”
rate of $5.51 per 1,000 gallons. The mistake will be corrected in the
November billing cycle.
Source:
OWASA website
The Triangle
Durham
Election Results
Durham voters approved four bonds totaling $227.1 million for Durham Public schools,
Durham Technical Community College, the Museum of Life and Science, and city
streets and sidewalks. In the mayoral and city council races, Mayor Bill Bell
defeated Thomas Stith and incumbent council members Dianne Cattoti and Eugene
Brown retained their seats. Challenger Farad Ali won the final seat which was
vacated by Stith in his run for mayor. Ali ran on an economic development
platform and is vice president of the N.C. Institute of Minority Economic
Development. For the full story and election results, click here.
Pittsboro Election
Results
In the Pittsboro election Mayor Randy Voller won reelection as did incumbent
board members Gene T. Brooks and Clinton E. Bryan. Challenger Hugh Harrington
edged out fellow challenger Michele Tracy Berger for the final spot on the
board. Challengers Berger, Jim Hinkley and Gary Simpson all ran as a slate
with Mayor Voller that was backed by planned-growth organization Pittsboro
Together. For the full story and election results, click here.
Chatham
and Johnston Counties Reject Land Transfer Tax
Chatham County voters soundly rejected a measure to tax real property at a
rate of up to 0.4% on Tuesday night. Final results show 69 percent of voters
voted against the referendum. In Johnston County, a similar referendum was
rejected by an even larger margin with 85 percent of voters voting against
the tax. The results were not uncommon for the state where the transfer tax
was voted down everywhere it was on the ballot. For the full story, click here.
Pittsboro
Renews Ban on Development
The Pittsboro Town Board unanimously voted to renew a ban on nonresidential
and subdivision development in a late October meeting. The ban will be
effective for two years as the town tries to build a new water treatment
plant. Some local developers have offered to help upgrade the current plant
and sped the construction process. Pittsboro’s Town Planning Director says
the town is taking that offer seriously. For the full story, click here.
Chatham
Weighs Major Rezoning
Chatham’s County Commissioners are considering rezoning 32.2 square miles of
land along major road corridors in the county. The concept of rezoning came
from the Major Corridor Ordinance Task Force, formed by the commissioners in
February, which looked at how to guide commercial development in the area.
The Task Force recommended rezoning 1,500 feet of land on both sides of U.S.
421, U.S. 64 and U.S. 15-501-N.C. 87 south of Pittsboro to
agricultural-residential. Commissioners said if they do decide to rezone the
land that they would then consider designating specific economic development
zones in the county. The proposal now goes to the county planning board,
which will meet in November and decide whether or not to recommend it. Land owners
in the potentially rezoned areas are already threatening lawsuits. For the
full story, click here.
Durham
Left with 144 Days of Water
According to Durham City Manager Patrick Baker, Durham has 144 days of water
left, including emergency water sources. Assuming there is no rainfall over
the 144 days, Durham has a 72 day supply of “premium” water but could use
special equipment to draw another 72 days worth of water from current sources.
For the full story, click here.
RTI
international expands in the Triangle
RTI International has begun working on a $100 million expansion at its
Research Triangle Park headquarters. RTI is hoping that the 120,000
square-foot building will win a LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green
Building Council. The project is expected to be completed by fall 2008. For
the full story, click
here.
State
SBA
Lending in N.C. at All-time High
North Carolina saw more approved loans from the U.S. Small Business
Administration in the 2007 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, than ever
before. Approvals for 7(a) and 504 mortgage loans totaled at 1,869 loans and
greater than $373 million. Bank of America Corp., based in Charlotte, topped
statewide lending, with 315 SBA loans in North Carolina. For the full story, click
here.
North
Carolina Ranked First by Site Selection Magazine
The state of North Carolina was ranked as the state with the “Top Business
Climate” for the third consecutive year by the magazine Site Selection. The
state’s selection was also the sixth time it was selected in the past seven
years. States are ranked based on two equally weighted factors: 1) a survey
of corporate site selectors asking them to rank their “top 10” states and 2)
the amount of new plant activity in the state. "A significant number of
corporate investors in North Carolina cited the state's quality of life,
favorable business climate and access to top-notch academic and research
facilities in our recent survey of site selectors," said Site Selection
Editor-in-Chief Mark Arend. To view the complete rankings, visit www.siteselection.com.
Source:
The NC Chamber: Federation Insider
Nation
Homebuilder
Outlook at Record Low
For the past 22 years, the National Association of Home Builders have
published a housing market index that gauges builders’ perceptions and
expectations of home sales over the next six months. In October, the index
fell to an all-time record low of 18—index figures above 50 indicate a
positive feeling among builders. The index has been below 50 since May of
2006. For the full story, click here.
Energy Prices Projected to Remain Steady
E Source, an independent research contractor hired by energy companies,
released its six month outlook on power and gas prices recently. The report
shows that natural gas prices this fall will mimic prices seen last fall. E
Source projects wholesale natural gas prices will remain between $7 and
$8/MMBtu. E Source also reports that storage levels of natural gas are well
above the five-year average. Electricity prices are predicated to continue to
rise in 2008 and climb further in 2009.
Source:
CurrentLines 2007 Fall Outlook
