More up, less out
The way planning and zoning law works in North Carolina, there’s not a lot that can be done to stop or even slow growth.
As much as people — even nice, friendly, neighborly people — want to shut the gate, we can’t.
This state is an inflow state and although there’s a lot of grousing about the headaches caused by all these folks moving here, our leaders would sooner have an inflow problem than the opposite.
It’s always been a little amusing to note that while there’s a baseline shut-the-gate mentality, its most ardent adherents are usually those with the shortest tenure in town. Those who have been around the longest seem to understand a little better that the myth of “The Village†was shattered quite a while ago.
I used to live in a little house along the side of Hwy. 15-501 — a place that is now gone and has been replaced by a large retirement home. Chicken trucks and school buses used to dictate the pace of traffic along the highway and the drive from southern Chapel Hill was pretty much a bucolic one — save the stretch at Cole Park — from the bottom of the hill at Morgan Creek to the mill marking the outskirts of Pittsboro.
That is no longer the case. The road now is a four-lane, its swath cut broad, and all along it are various housing developments and shopping centers.
I try to keep this in mind when studying the development going on in downtown Carrboro. Without remembering that the plan is to develop, or, more accurately, re-develop the inner core of our downtowns rather than sprawl our way into a Wake County-like crazy quit of cul-de-sacs and strip malls, the scale of what’s about to happen downtown seems outlandish.
The summer’s spike in gas prices and the steady flow of bad news regarding global warming are reminders that a commuter-based economy reliant on the unlimited burning of fossil fuels isn’t such a great idea in the long run.
How to undo things, though, has been a cipher.
For several years, there was a fight over how tall to go and what kind of downtown we wanted. In the end, those who pushed for five stories won out over those looking for a more modest rise in density and edifices.
The plan that was crafted was a signal to developers that there was new territory in this high-growth area in the airspace above downtown. Now the marketplace has spoken and the panoply of proposed projects is indeed a stunning array. Between The Butler (just approved Tuesday night), 300 East Main, The Alberta and Roberson Square there is close to a million new square feet of structure including several hundred housing units already approved or on the verge of approval.
Those who lost the fight against five stories say the fight now is to make sure that in choosing this path we don’t lose the unique character of the town. It’s a fight we all have an interest in winning.
This is going to be a very different looking town in 10 years. The trick will be making sure it still feels like we’re living in Carrboro.
Good luck, Lucy
This is Lucy Butcher week at The Carrboro Citizen. We usually dedicate a day to each intern as they move on, but Lucy is extra special to us. A year and a half ago, after graduating from Chapel Hill High, she started working with us, doing a host of various jobs. Her web skills stood out, and every Thursday with great precision and good humor she’s been the person who makes sure what’s in the paper is also on our website. She’s also been a solid advisor and colleague in helping us craft our web presence.
Lucy’s gone off to college now, all the way across the continent. Her presence will be greatly missed, but not forgotten. Each time you search for an old story or take a look at the slideshows of our photos and front pages you’re accessing the library that Lucy built.
Given that, a week in her honor seems hardly enough.