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The wrong site for a library

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Staff

Kathy Ellis Gunn

Orange County has petitioned the Town of Carrboro to change the zoning on a parcel of land in Carrboro from residential to fringe commercial so it may be purchased as a future library site. As someone who lives on property adjacent to the land in question, I feel the need to question the choice of this site.

The type of conditional zoning district that Orange County intends is described as a “transitional district designed to accommodate commercial uses in areas that were formerly residential but that may be more desirable for commercial activities due to high traffic volumes and proximity to other non residential districts.”

Formerly residential? With the exception of Carrboro Elementary School, all of the adjoining property is owned by the people who reside there. There are no other commercial properties on Hillsborough Road Anyone who has walked or biked down our street will see that this area is definitely not “more desirable for commercial activities” nor does it currently have high traffic volumes.

Also in its petition, Orange County states that “the County has a limited window of opportunity” and that “there is insufficient time available to complete all required submittal components necessary for the Conditional Use Permit Process … and adhere to our time limitations on making a formal decision.” Since Carrboro has waited for more than 20 years to have its own freestanding library, why the sudden urgency to purchase this particular residential property? Especially since they state in their petition that “the county does not intend to break ground on this project in the foreseeable future.”
What gives? Maybe Orange County should wait for more suitable properties, ones that are located in areas that are already zoned commercial?

I have heard the comment that resistance to this rezoning is a classic case of “not in my backyard.” And I couldn’t agree more. Let’s not have the library in anyone’s back yard – let’s have it in downtown Carrboro, where it can enhance our business district, in the center of our community.

I urge all concerned citizens take a walk down Hillsborough Road and then to attend the upcoming public hearing to discuss these issues on March 22 at 7:30 at Carrboro Town Hall. The site proposed by Orange County is ill suited for our long-awaited library.

Kathy Ellis Gunn is a Carrboro resident.

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