Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
Carrboro — Affordable-housing rules changes being studied in Chapel Hill could lead to similar changes for rules in Carrboro.
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen, in a meeting Tuesday night at Town Hall, agreed to look at Chapel Hill’s effort to enact inclusionary zoning and consider whether such a method might work in Carrboro.
Inclusionary zoning is a planning tool that requires developers to include low- and moderate-income housing in projects. Under present rules in both towns, a developer seeking a change in zoning for a project is required to include a percentage of affordable housing.
Chapel Hill’s planning board recently signed off on a proposal for inclusionary zoning, and the Chapel Hill Town Council is expected to take up the matter later this spring.
Alderman Dan Coleman said the idea is worth study and may offer a way to get a greater diversity of housing than the current affordable-housing system allows.
Coleman suggested that the board invite Chapel Hill officials over for a briefing on the proposal.
Mayor Mark Chilton agreed it would be a good idea to hear more about the plan. Chilton, a former director of EmPOWERment Inc., which advocates for more affordable-housing options, said Chapel Hill has done a better job at getting a broad mix of affordable housing.
“Our system as it is currently constituted treats all affordable housing the same,†he said. A developer creating affordable rentals for people on Social Security disability or transitioning out of the homeless shelter and one building homes for people making 80 percent of the median income are treated the same. Chilton and board member Jacquie Gist said the current system needs improvement, particularly in how payments in lieu are handled.
“I would want to be really careful and maybe use theirs as a jumping off point,†Gist said.
Board member Joal Hall Broun said she is interested in the proposal, but cautioned board members against seeing it as a panacea for affordable-housing concerns.
“I don’t have a problem with that approach, but I don’t think that’s going to be the only approach to work,†Broun said.
In other action, the board received an extensive review of the efforts of its Local Living Economy Task Force, which studied how to bolster the local business community.
The 18-month effort by a 10-member committee used Michael Shuman’s book Small-Mart Revolution as a springboard. Shuman, an advocate for creating networks of locally owned and focused business, consulted with the town at its retreat in 2007 and has been assisting the town’s recently formed Local Motive group.
Gary Kramling, a member of the task force, said the group often wrestled with the question of “what is local?â€
“It’s a difficult task,†he said, “we spent a lot of grueling time and several meetings discussing this.â€
Although the group agreed that there was not a universal definition, Kramling said that attempting to define it was a useful process because it gave the group a starting point. He suggested that in reviewing the recommendations in the report that the board also discuss the subject and try to define “local†as well.
“It is important that you attempt to define [local] for yourself,†he said.
Among the suggestions made by the task force are adopting a think local first campaign; greater pursuit of stimulus funding; improving maintenance and promotion of the town’s revolving-loan fund; a town branding and marketing campaign; supporting the efforts of Local Motive and other local business networks; and considering local options for banking and investments.
The board agreed to ask for a staff review of the recommendations and the task force report and then present ideas to the board on how to best move forward.
The full report is available online at the town’s website at townofcarrboro.org/BoA/Agendas/2010/03_09_2010_B2.pdf
Also on Tuesday night the board:
• set a hearing for March 23 on street closings for the Carrboro Classic Endurance Sports Festival on April 3;
• set a hearing for March 23 on a street closing for the May 29 Springfest Bike Ride benefitting the MS Society;
• adopted a resolution requiring that all new and current advisory board members attend a training session or review a training video.