Augustus Cho
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1.) Will you make economic development, job growth and employer retention top priorities for you during your term in office?

DeHart

Rich

Y

2.) Is increasing the commercial tax base in Chapel Hill a top priority for you?

DeHart

Rich

Y

3.) Do you support current staff-led, Council-supported efforts to improve the predictability of the development process and shorten the time to get to project approval/denial?

DeHart

Rich

Y

4.) Will you actively support creating, by ordinance, a set of criteria for desirable development projects and then expediting the approval process for projects that meet the Council’s established objectives?

DeHart

Rich

Y

5.) Will you vote to set a final and firm lease expiration date or a deadline for the IFC Homeless Shelter to vacate the old municipal building downtown and move to its new location on Homestead Road?

DeHart

Rich

Y

6.) Do you support land use regulations and regulatory practices that promote the construction of office, retail and workforce housing along transportation corridors?

DeHart

Rich

Y

7.) Will you play an active role in advocating for the extension of water and sewer to the long-identified Orange County Economic Development Districts so that they can be developed?

DeHart

Rich

N

8.) Will you vote to continue or increase the Town’s financial support of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership?

DeHart

Rich

Y

9.) Do you believe that downtown parking policy and management decisions should be made to facilitate economic development and downtown business success rather than as a means of generating general fund revenue for the Town?

DeHart

Rich

Y

10.) Will you vote to fund the Town’s Economic Development Office at an amount equal to or in excess of the Chapel Hill Public Art Commission Budget?

DeHart

Rich

Y

11.) Do you support modifying the Town’s panhandling ordinance to be more restrictive of the locations where people may panhandle in the downtown?

DeHart

Rich

Y

12.) List up to three specific things you would do to make Chapel Hill a better place to start and grow a business.

DeHart

Rich

As mayor, what role would you play in recruiting new businesses and retaining existing employers or businesses in order to strengthen our local economy?

The Northside and Pine Knolls Community have changed dramatically from two years ago. Some residents of those neighborhoods believe the economic development the town council has approved has hurt community development. Do you agree with this, and, as mayor, what specific steps would you take to preserve these two fragile neighborhoods?

Orange County must build a waste transfer station to which Chapel Hill and Carrboro garbage trucks will bring the community’s solid waste for shipment elsewhere. Would you consider locating a transfer station in or around the Rogers Road neighborhood, or would you prefer a more remote location that would likely have higher lifetime operating costs due to travel time, fuel costs, and wear and tear on equipment?

The North Carolina General Assembly recently approved the ability for Triangle-area counties to levy a ½ cent sales tax to fund regional transit and transportation needs. For the required referendum to pass, the leadership of the Chapel Hill mayor will be necessary. Do you support a ½ sales tax for transit, and, if so, what role will you play in supporting it, or, if not, in opposing it?

How do you propose to lead the Council and staff to accomplish your priorities?

The current operating cost of the Chapel Hill Public Library is around $2.5M a year. If the library expansion is completed, annual costs including the debt service will rise to around $4M a year. Forty percent of library users are not Chapel Hill tax payers. Orange County is contributing $250K a year to library operations. What will your approach be to library service and how to fund it over the next several years?

How would you address concerns that our community lacks opportunities and facilities for young people to safely socialize in a supervised environment after dark, and would you be willing to lead an inter-governmental task force to address this issue during your time as mayor?