By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL – Balancing economic priorities with environmental sustainability was the theme of the evening at a Chapel Hill candidates forum hosted by the Orange-Chatham Sierra Club and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce last week.
Mayoral candidate Tim Sookram and incumbent Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt participated in the forum, while candidate Kevin Wolff did not attend. All nine of the candidates running for the four seats on the Chapel Hill Town Council participated.
Council candidate Jason Baker initiated the theme of balancing economic and environmental priorities.
“I don’t think that we need to choose between economic development and environmental values as we move forward with our town,†he said. “I’m a committed proponent of smart growth.â€
Sookram said the focus should be on the environment before economic development.
“The priority is protecting the environment, because otherwise we’re just all going to die,†he said, adding that development should focus on building up instead of out.
Incumbent council member Matt Czajkowski emphasized the importance of bringing businesses to Chapel Hill as a way to help protect the environment. He said he believes the biggest source of damage to the environment in Chapel Hill is the number of people getting in their cars every day to drive elsewhere for work.
“If we could only be clear as to what those businesses are that those people drive to and do everything we can to attract them here, we’ll accomplish two objectives,†he said.
Council candidate Laney Dale said the council should look at ways to incentivize developers to make projects more environmentally sustainable, such as tax cuts or other monetary incentives.
“By giving the builders a reason to be more green, I think we can balance economic development with environmental protection,†he said.
Council candidate Jon DeHart said the council should use resources available at UNC to help the town work toward an improved development process that is also friendly to the environment.
“We have a broken plan for the development process and we really need to make sure it’s worked and reworked correctly,†he said.
Council candidate Augustus Cho said the council needs to work to overcome the image that Chapel Hill isn’t business friendly and to simplify the development process.
“At this point, the process is very expensive, which raises the cost of living here,†he said.
Council candidate Carl Schuler said he believed economic development and environmental protection could coexist, agreeing that the council could look to the university for successful examples.
“We’re already seeing things take shape with the university with the reclamation of water … and with Carolina North in putting in more environmentally friendly technology.â€
Incumbent Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ward said the economy and the environment could both thrive with careful planning.
“It’s not an either-or, but it is site-specific,†he said, adding that the council should focus on putting development where development already is and staying away from the water supply and vegetation.
Council candidate Lee Storrow said the rural buffer, the urban services boundary around Chapel Hill and Carrboro to limit dense growth in the area surrounding the two towns, has helped to make Chapel Hill a very desirable place to live, and the council needs to look at how to develop infill.
“Secondly, we need to think about our transit needs,†he said. “Businesses want to exist in a community where their workers can get to work†without spending hours commuting.
Kleinschmidt said that while the rural buffer has been beneficial to the town, the council should take another look at its southern boundaries, where Northern Chatham is targeted for “awful sprawling development.â€
“That’s going to be a huge economic sinkhole,†he said. “It’s going to capture important economic resources from Orange County residents.â€
Incumbent council member Donna Bell said she felt that the rural buffer offered protections to Chapel Hill and that she saw no reason to modify it at this point.
“One of the reasons that Chapel Hill is what it is is because of the rural buffer,†she said. “Durham has lower [housing] prices because Durham is huge.â€
The candidates will square off again in an online forum on Oct. 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. at orangepolitics.org