(Note: the print version of this story indicating that the board of aldermen amended sidewalk rules for the fire station was incorrect. The online version of the story has been updated. )

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Tweaks to the town’s requirements for developments may improve the chances for a 200-year-old holly tree on Homestead Road.

The tree is near a proposed entrance for Carrboro’s new northern fire station and architects originally had planned to remove the tree.

But after objections were raised at town board meetings and two design charrettes, town planners looked at a new configuration for the site. The new layout focused on shifting parking and made it more likely that the tree could be saved.

On Tuesday, the board adopted a change to the town’s Land Use Ordinance that exempts the fire station from protective buffer requirements along Homestead Road.

Town Manager Steve Stewart confirmed Tuesday that the buffer requirement is aimed at allowing a new plan for the station on the 1.6-acre site near the Winmore development. In an email response, Stewart wrote that one result of the change in the ordinance is that it would allow the site layout to change so that the tree could be saved.