By Beth Mechum, Staff Writer

Energy was the name of the game at Tuesday night’s board of aldermen meeting at Carrboro Town Hall.

State Energy Office (SEO) Director Larry Shirley, who lives in Carrboro, was on hand to present a report from the office on what it has been up to and what sort of funding and financial assistance might be available for Carrboro. More »

By Beth Mechum
Staff Writer

After a two-year battle between the Town of Carrboro and horse trainer Marilyn Kille concerning a residential apartment on her property, a resolution has been reached and was reported to the public at Tuesday’s board of aldermen meeting.

In June 2007, the town brought a case against Kille, in which it was alleged that she was violating the town’s land use ordinance (LUO) by maintaining a residential apartment in a building separate from her principal residence within the town’s extraterritorial planning jurisdiction.

Kille has maintained that the town knew about the apartment when it was built and should have raised any concerns when it was inspected. More »

I am one of many urban homesteaders in Carrboro. My two backyard fainting goats have reduced decades of overgrown ivy and honeysuckle to a non-invasive status. We chose fainting goats for their gentle, non-climbing reputation.

Goats have been allowed in Carrboro for decades. On Aug. 25, the board of aldermen voted to change the tract requirements for having two adult fainting goats from 40,000 sq. feet to 25,000 sq. ft, still over half of an acre. Mayoral candidate Brian Voyce and alderman candidate Sharon Cook opposed the amendment. More »

Beth Mechum
Staff Writer

Overgrown grass and woods filled with cinder blocks, broken bricks, orange tape and stumps at 100 Deer St. could become a 16-dwelling subdivision.

At its meeting Tuesday night, the Carrboro Board of Alderman approved the request to hold a public hearing on the subdivision at the Sept. 22 board meeting. More »

Thank you for your article on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen’s granting a one-year extension on several development permits. As your article points out, these extensions are essential to give these projects time to get going in a challenging economy.

One point omitted is that we only granted the Ballentine AIS a six-month extension, half the time they had requested. Ballentine is an entirely residential subdivision off Old N.C. 86, north of Lake Hogan Farms, much like those that have been typical in northern Carrboro. However, in recent years the board has heard loud and clear from residents that they want mixed-use and commercial projects that will provide retail services and nearby destinations for their neighborhoods. More »

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen will be returning from its summer break and resuming its weekly meetings on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

The Carrboro Citizen will post the meeting agenda online when it becomes available.

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

The Local Living Economy Task Force hopes to launch educational campaigns for consumers and entrepreneurs, hold events to engage citizens in the local economy and create a coalition of local businesses, task force representatives reported to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen on Tuesday.

The board created the task force in March of last year to help Carrboro achieve a locally owned, operated and supported economy. Members were appointed in May to serve a period of 18 months and were charged with investigating strategies by which the town could help foster the development of a sustainable, locally owned and run economy. More »

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen will consider changes to the town’s livestock ordinance that would allow residents to keep small livestock on smaller residential lots, board members said Tuesday.

Resident Marianne Prince petitioned the board to modify the town’s ordinance to allow residents to keep such animals as goats or pot-bellied pigs on smaller lots. The current ordinance, crafted by the board 19 years ago, requires residents to have 40,000 square feet in order to keep any type of livestock.

“[The ordinance] puts all livestock, except for fowl and rabbits, in a single category requiring the same acreage for a 25-pound pygmy goat as for a 2,000-pound bull,” Prince said. More »

Update: The town has released notes from the retreat including a set of potential action items. Items are copied and posted here.

The Town of Carrboro had a problem sending official notification of the annual Board of Aldermen retreat on Monday at the Seymour Senior Center. The board, mayor and senior staff met for several hours. Mayor Mark Chilton apologized for the error Tuesday and said Town Manager Steve Stewart was notifying members of the media and offering an apology for the breakdown in communication.

According to Chilton, the press was not notified save a posting in the lobby at Town Hall.

Members of the media and interested members of the public are commonly notified of upcoming meetings via email and through the town’s website.

No members of the media were present at the retreat and materials presented at the meeting have not been posted on the town’s Web site or made available.

The town did issue the following press release and meeting plan on the retreat: More »

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

As two inches of snow blanketed Carrboro and Chapel Hill on Tuesday, schools, offices and businesses closed and local officials urged residents to stay off the roads.

The snow started late Monday night and continued until around lunchtime Tuesday, creating a playground for those with sleds but treacherous conditions for drivers on the roads. More »

Nothing’s confirmed, but town is readying for a major rally and rock show May 2 at Town Commons

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

No official confirmation yet, but Carrboro officials are planning for one of the largest crowds in town history after the board of aldermen greenlighted a request by the Barack Obama campaign to hold a major event Friday afternoon, May 2 at the Town Commons.

Town Manager Steve Stewart said the event, a concert and rally for the Illinois senator and leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, would be unprecedented since it will happen during business hours, while typically large events at Town Commons are held on weekends. The Obama campaign asked for the time slot, he said, because they want to be able to encourage attendees to take advantage of the early-voting site nearby at Town Hall.

More »