From this week’s issue — Reporters Margot Lester and Rich Fowler offer a detailed look at the revaluation issue.
• Main Story: Revaluations squeeze home, business owners
• How revaluations are calculated
• How to appeal your revaluation
• Neighborhoods with the biggest gains and drops.

Revaluations by the numbers
• 290 neighborhoods consisting of 19,591 residential properties
• 143 neighborhoods consisting of 10,517 properties had revaluations in excess of the county average 26 percent.
• 147 neighborhoods consisting of 8,782 properties had revaluations below the county average.

Neighborhoods With Highest Increases
• White Oak Condos, 95 properties in Carrboro around Fidelity St. off of Main St. — 46.77%
• Stateside, 43 properties in Chapel Hill off MLK between Orange Baptist Church and Timberlyne Shopping Center — 44.04%
• Rangewood, 73 properties in Carrboro off N.C. 54 between Poplar Ave. and Jones Ferry Road — 43.60%
• Homestead Village, 62 properties in Chapel Hill off Homestead Road near Sewell Elementary, Smith Middle and Chapel Hill High schools — 42.86%
• Camelot Village Condos, 109 properties in Chapel Hill off South Estes Dr. and across from University Mall — 41.85%

Neighborhoods With Lowest Increases
• Braddock Park, 30 properties in Hillsborough off U.S. 70 at Scotswood Blvd. — 1.50%
• Governor’s Grove, 34 properties in Cedar Grove off Gov. Scott Road between Efland-Cedar Grove and Mill Creek roads — 1.27%
• Northern Heights, 41 properties in Hillsborough off U.S. 70 at Rainey Ave. — 0.99%
• North Dixie, 68 properties in Hillsborough off U.S. 70 at Rainey Ave. — (0.01%)
• La Mesa, 70 properties, Timberlake off N.C. 57 at Bacon Road (2.92%)

Source: Orange County Tax Assessor

By tradition, we take the term “revolt” very seriously here in Orange County. The practice goes back prior to the founding of the country; and thanks in part to a little rebellion that brewed up in Orange and Alamance counties in the mid 1700s, the groundwork for a revolution was set. More »

By Jasmina Nogo
Staff Writer

Despite her busy schedule of endless campus meetings, late nights studying and early mornings of trail restoration, Elinor Benami has a calm and patient disposition and makes those around her feel like there’s nowhere else in the world she’d rather be.

“Even though I know she’s one of the busiest and most active students on campus, she always has time to stop and talk, to ask how your day was, and she never rushes,” said junior Bryce Koukopoulos, who knows Benami through UNC’s student sustainability organization, FLO Food. More »

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

CARRBORO — After hours of public comment regarding connector roads for two proposed developments, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted on Tuesday to postpone decisions on both Claremont Phases IV and V and Colleton Crossing.

The plans for Claremont Phases IV and V, across Homestead Road from the development’s first three phases, include 27 townhomes and 69 single-family homes. In accordance with the town’s Connector Roads Policy, the development would connect to Wexford via Colfax Drive, providing access from Homestead Road to Hillsborough Road. More »

By Rich Fowler and
Margot C. Lester
Staff Writers

It wasn’t that long ago that seeing a rise in your property value indicated a good return on investment. But the challenging economy has turned that mentality on its head.

“In our normal circumstances, people would be happy to see the value of their house go up,” said Mark Zimmerman, owner of Re/Max Winning Edge in Chapel Hill. But almost as soon as Orange County’s quadrennial property tax revaluations began arriving in the mail, there’s been an ironic hue and cry from property owners who’ve seen their values rise dramatically. More »

Every four years, the six-person Orange County Tax Assessor’s office reassesses the tax value of 53,000 pieces of residential and commercial property and other real estate in the county. But the actual process begins about two years before the revaluation takes effect, when assessors begin tracking real estate sales and evaluate how close overall tax values are to current market values. That establishes if the aggregate value needs to be adjusted up or down. When the most recent revaluation was finished, it showed that the county’s overall property tax value had risen 26 percent. More »

Think your revaluation is out of whack? Here’s how to appeal it.

“If you just go in with ‘I think you’re wrong,’ you’re not going to get anywhere with them,” said Mark Zimmerman, owner of Re/Max Winning Edge in Chapel Hill. Bring as much data to prove your point as possible.

Download the Valuation Input and Review Form (available at www.co.orange.nc.us/assessor/taxvalfm.pdf). Gathering the necessary data isn’t hard, but it does require time, which is why some property owners have engaged real estate pros to help. Acceptable data includes comparables gathered from the Multiple Listing Service or even ads in the newspaper. You can also cite property tax values from neighboring parcels (available at http://gis.co.orange.nc.us/land/search.asp). Some people are going as far as shelling out $300 to $400 for an official appraisal, the “gold standard” of proof in an appeal. More »

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL — After decades of back and forth with the university and the state Department of Transportation, the Chapel Hill Town Council gave final approval to a $4.4 million project for South Columbia Street from Fordham Boulevard to Manning Drive.

The project would reshape the street to include two 12-foot-wide travel lanes; a four-foot bicycle lane on the east side and five-foot bicycle lane on the west side; curb and gutter with five-foot sidewalks on both sides; better drainage; and improvements to intersections, including turn lanes at several locations.
The project is being paid for mainly with state funds. The town’s share of the project is $25,300. More »

By Rich Fowler
Staff Writer

HILLSBOROUGH — It’s uncertain how many people turned out Monday night at the Red Barn at Daniel Boone Village in Hillsborough for the Orange County Tax Revolt meeting. The line snaked around the barn and event organizers said they stopped counting the number of people both inside and out after hitting the 1,300 mark. More »

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

CARRBORO — Carrboro police are investigating several break-ins that occurred in Carr Mill Mall late Saturday night.

According to police, the suspect entered the mall through a door to Panzanella, then continued through the mall, where he broke into several businesses, including Mulberry Silks, Sofia’s, Rita’s Italian Ice and the Woodland Shop. Police are still determining exactly how much was stolen from the businesses, but found $310.77 in a bag recovered at the scene. More »

The Rail Station Task Force on Thursday recommended a site in central Hillsborough as the best location for a passenger train station to serve Orange County. The site is owned by the Town of Hillsborough and is located north of Daniel Boone Village, bordered by Churton Street and U.S. 70-A.

The task force, appointed last fall by the board of commissioners and the Hillsborough Town Board, also picked the former depot site at the foot of Nash Street in west Hillsborough as an alternative.

One of the most important North Carolina civil rights protests prior to the sit-ins of 1960 will be commemorated in Chapel Hill on Saturday with the unveiling of a historic state highway marker at the corner of Rosemary and Columbia streets.

The protest of 1947, called the First Freedom Ride, consisted of an interracial group committed to testing a Supreme Court decision in 1946 that ruled state Jim Crow laws on interstate buses and trains were unconstitutional. On their trip on April 13 from Chapel Hill to Greensboro, the bus driver demanded that they re-seat themselves according to Jim Crow laws. Upon their refusal, the driver summoned the police and an angry mob of white cabdrivers attacked one of the Freedom Riders.

The events precipitated an unprecedented debate on police conduct, Jim Crow laws and mob violence.

Saturday’s event begins with a gathering at noon at the Hargraves Community Center followed by a march from the center to the dedication site. A reception will follow at Town Hall.

Corrugated cardboard must be separated from garbage for recycling as of March 1.

Pizza boxes, however, may be thrown away or recycled if they are clean and empty.

The towns and the county will begin monitoring solid-waste collection to ensure that residents are using either curbside cardboard recycling or taking cardboard to drop-off sites. For curbside recycling, cardboard boxes must be flattened and emptied and pieces must be no larger than three feet square.

The Haw River Assembly, Friends of Bolin Creek and the Morgan Creek Valley Alliance are looking for volunteers for Orange County Muddy Water Watch. The project is designed to reduce the amount of mud from development entering waterways.

The training series for volunteers is free and open to the public and focuses on sediment and erosion control. Training sessions will be held at the N.C. Botanical Garden on Feb. 26 and March 26 from 7 to 9 p.m. Field training sessions will be held Feb. 28 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the new building construction at the botanical garden and March 28, time and place to be announced.

Certified Muddy Water Watch volunteers must be members of the Haw River Assembly. To join, visit www.hawriver.org, For more information, call 542-5790 or email info@hawriver.org.