By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
Somewhere close to 90 minutes into a board of aldermen discussion on how to shape development in a much-studied area in northern Carrboro, Town Attorney Mike Brough politely encouraged them to cut to the chase.
Rather than hash over types of zoning strategies and what they might yield, he said, it would be most helpful if the board would first settle on what they’d like to see happen in the area.
“Until you decide what you want to do, this is a hopeless discussion,†he said.
That sage advice came during Tuesday night’s discussion at Town Hall following up on the work of a 17-member Northern Study Area Plan Implementation Review Committee. Late last year, the group issued a set of recommendations on how to proceed on drafting development rules for a roughly 4,000 acre region including Calvander and areas near the main arteries of the Homestead, Eubanks and Rogers roads. That committee, which was divided at the end on how to proceed, was following up on the Northern Small Area plan, which took four years to draft and was adopted by the town in 1999.
Last year, the town board approved a six-month development moratorium for the area to give the committee time to work. The moratorium expired last October. In December, the committee eventually issued a series of recommendations along with competing visions for how to handle the need to add commercial development to the area.
The board of aldermen has since struggled with how to move forward on rules for the area, which has several parcels where developers are eager to begin drafting plans.
The board is working its way through more than a dozen recommendations ranging from how to redraft its Village Mixed Use zoning rules and encourage more commercial development to additional protections for areas near Bolin Creek.
Board of aldermen member Jacquie Gist said that many of the items, such as rezoning potential commercial parcels, will take time to review and work out.“
“Each one of these is quite a discussion,†she said. “I don’t know how we’re going to dig into this.â€
Part of the board’s review of the issues Tuesday night focused on the potential for using form-based code, a type of zoning that emphasizes the look and type of structures rather than their uses.
While several board members said the idea has merit noting that a blend of form-based and use-based codes are in play downtown, there was not much appetite for taking a major rewrite of the town’s development ordinances.
Board members Lydia Lavelle and Joal Hall Broun urged that the board focus on rules for commercial projects and on making the area more pedestrian and bike friendly as it grows.
Whether the solution is in form-based code or not, Lavelle said, the overwhelming theme at community meetings for the region was “let’s figure out a way to have more commercial and more walkability in this area.â€
Walkable? Are you kidding me? This area is hundreds of times bigger than “Walkable Carrboro”.
The wrong people are running this show.
We need a grocery store for crying out loud! Get a clue BOA.