By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
After hearing from part-time employees who would like to see a health care stipend added to their benefits and a group of supporters of dropping the $100 fee for the Town Commons for some kinds of events, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen will take a couple of weeks to study their options for the fiscal 2007-2008 budget.
At its meeting Tuesday night at Town Hall, the board heard from a handful of organizers and supporters of the Really Free Market, a monthly gathering at the Town Commons where all sorts of items are given away. Their message: The prospect of the town dropping a $100 fee for the market would help to keep the commons as the preferred gathering spot for the monthly event. This year’s budget shows an increase in fees for the commons, much of it attributed to the reservation fee paid by the Really Free Market.
Vinci Dario, an organizer of the market, said that if the fee remains in place the event would likely move. It would be a lost opportunity, she said, for the town to bring more people downtown and to make the commons a more utilized space.
David Deming, a Chapel Hill Transit driver who brings in items each month to give away, called the market a good lesson for everyone. “It’s important that we teach our kids generosity,†he said. “It’s a beautiful thing. It keeps me young.â€
Other budget concerns raised included an appeal by members of the Town Arts Committee to keep Sharmin Mirman as the liaison to the committee and to make sure that reorganization of the town Recreation and Parks Department not adversely affect support of the committee’s efforts.
The board also heard from resident Devan Clark, who said that cost of living increases for retirees are not keeping up with increased taxes in Carrboro. A lot of the construction and improvements in the new budget won’t benefit seniors directly, he said.
Downtown rules
In other action, the Board of Aldermen opened a public hearing on a proposal to change open space requirements in downtown. The new rules call for swapping the town’s open space requirements for a collection of urban amenities such as fountains, roof gardens, small “pocket†parks and other public spaces. The change would create a Downtown Livability Area and sets up a series of calculations for each type of amenity. The move was spurred by new projects downtown mixing residential and commercial spaces. Under the present rules, the town requires 40 percent open space in new residential developments, something developers argue is impossible for some properties and impractical for others.
The process for drafting the urban amenities rules began last year after the developers of a Roberson Street mixed-use project near the old farmers’ market site petitioned the town to change the land-use ordinance.
Since then, town planners and the town’s advisory boards have wrestled with how to amend the ordinance.
Under the proposal reviewed Tuesday, about 20 percent of new commercial projects and 25 percent of residential projects would have to qualify as an urban amenity.
At Tuesday’s hearings, concerns were raised that the new draft ordinance that resulted is overly complex and the making the new rules apply to commercial space.
The current ordinance does not require commercial projects to meet the 40 percent open space requirements.
Jack Haggerty, an architect who worked on initial request for the change, said he would prefer the simplicity of the original proposal. He also said applying the requirements for exclusively commercial projects veers from the intent of the request and puts an additional burden on the types of development the town wants to encourage.
“If we want to move forward,†Haggerty said, “we have to take our foot off the brake.â€
Other residents spoke in support of making sure there are green spaces and public spaces downtown as it builds up.
Daniel Amoni said he’d like to see the town do what it can to create public green spaces not just as gathering spots but also as a break for residents from the cars and pavement.
“It’s important to have public spaces,†he said.
The board is scheduled to continue its review of the budget and the new rules proposed for downtown at its next meeting on June 5