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In 2007, drought, elections and the makings of a building boom

Posted on December 27, 2007 by Staff

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

The sands are about run out on 2007, a pivotal year in the town’s history mainly due to the coming to fruition of a downtown strategy set in motion years before. At least five major downtown projects have surfaced since the town decided to double residential space downtown and increase the commercial tax base. In 2007, theory met practice: Several projects either were approved or moved further down the pipeline. As a result, the old Andrews Riggsbee hardware building came down, and next year a five-story commercial complex will rise along the tracks at Main Street and a four-story condo and retail building will go up on Roberson Street. Similar actions next door in Chapel Hill have also laid the groundwork for large-scale change, particularly in the West End.

The steps taken in 2007 aren’t all that apparent now, but they’ve set the stage for a couple of years of heavy building downtown. With the boom in enterprise will come major shifts in parking and traffic patterns and the addition of hundreds of residents to the heart of Carrboro.

The year also saw the passing of a notable group of citizens, including the sudden loss of the strongest advocate for Orange County’s aging population, Florence Soltys, and Chapel Hill’s downtown icon, Joe Herzenberg, the state’s first openly gay elected official and a political mentor to many (see page six).

It was an election year — one that started out looking to some as dull or typical, but as the campaign wore on proved anything but. Mayor Mark Chilton was re-elected handily, but the presence of opponents Brian Voyce and Chuck Morton kept the discussion lively and took the campaign to more living rooms than anticipated.

The board of aldermen switched around as well, starting with the decision by Alex Zaffron to not seek re-election after 12 years on the board. With an open seat and appointed incumbent Dan Coleman vying in his first election, the aldermen elections were more spirited than usual. Coleman won, amid a vigorous campaign to unseat him, as did incumbent Joal Hall Broun. But the top vote-getter was newcomer Lydia Lavelle, who like Sharon Cook and Katrina Ryan was in the running to become the first resident of the new northern section of town to win a seat on the board.
In Chapel Hill, the downside of incumbency and hard campaigning by challengers led to the defeat of Cam Hill and newcomer Matt Czajkowski’s victory. Czajkowski joins incumbents Jim Ward, Sally Greene and Bill Strom and Mayor Kevin Foy on the reconstituted council.

The biggest story of the year, though, involved not a few of us, but all of us, as our thirsty community experienced record-setting heat along with a serious and lasting lack of rain leading to a drought that could prove every bit as severe as the last one, in 2002. Even mandatory year-round restrictions started in response to the 2002 drought proved not enough, and tighter restrictions were declared in October. Lake levels as of this writing are down to about 43 percent of capacity and the state climate office is predicting a dry, warm winter ahead.

A somewhat complete rundown on 2007’s highlights and lowlights can be found on page four and five.

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