By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
In a lengthy Tuesday night meeting at Town Hall that will be its last until August, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen hailed the approval of a major piece of downtowns redevelopment, reworked the town rules on affordable housing, OK’d a swim club for the Winmore subdivision, set new rules for day care centers and delayed action on a 96-unit development near Twin Creeks park.
After hearing concerns from downtown neighbors and businesses on the impact of parking, the board opted to move ahead on approval for the first phase of the redevelopment of 300 East Main Street, giving the go-ahead for a five-story office, retail and restaurant complex at 208 West Main Street between Cat’s Cradle and the train tracks.
But the board held off making a decision on the other major development before them — a 96-unit subdivision planned for Old N.C. 86 just south of Twin Creek Park and just east of the Harmony Farms subdivision.
M/I Homes, developer of the Ballentine Architecturally Integrated Subdivision, wants to build 62 single-family homes and 34 townhomes on the 51-acre parcel, which is adjacent to Lake Hogan Farms. A deal with the Orange County Land Trust would see 17 of the townhomes sold to the Land Trust at $120,000 and $130,000 for two- and three-bedroom units respectively.
But the deal with the land trust, the location of a proposed shared road with the new park, the location of Buckhorn Branch and the effect on the Bolin Creek watershed caused aldermen to hold off making a decision on the plan until after the summer recess.
Jay Bryan, representing the town’s Northern Transition Area Advisory Committee, said the committee had serious concerns about placing an entrance to the development off of Old N.C. 86. The road, he said, is too winding and narrow in that area to safely handle the flow of traffic.
Land Trust executive director Robert Dowling also urged the board to review the affordable housing plan.
The price at which the developer plans to sell the land trust the townhomes still puts them out of the target range for affordability and there will need to be additional monies found to subsidize the project so that the price can be brought down.
Ahead of the public hearing on the Ballentine subdivision, the board modified its affordable-housing ordinances to more clearly spell out terms and guidelines for the subdivision to qualify for density bonuses for adding affordable units.
In other action Tuesday the board:
- approved a proposal from the Carrboro Farmers’ Market to open and close later on Saturday;
- approved a swim club including a pool, patio and clubhouse for the Winmore subdivision;
- appointed Jennifer Everett to the town’s Environmental Advisory Board;
- spelled out the rules for day care homes and facilities, clarifying classifications and definitions        and setting limits on how many individuals each classification can serve and on which streets the homes and facilities can be located.