Government
Are you troubled by the disaster in Iraq but fearful of the consequences of an early withdrawal? Looking for alternatives between the extremes of “Stay the Course†and “Out Now� On Monday October 10, 7:30 - 9:30 PM, the Orange County Democratic Party is sponsoring a public forum to educate citizens about the alternatives for withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, focusing on realistic scenarios and their consequences, and to provide a forum for discussion of the situation in Iraq.
Where: Chapel Hill High School auditorium.
When: Monday October 10, 7:30 - 9:30 PM
Speakers
This just in from OWASA:
The Cane Creek Reservoir and University Lake are 68 percent full despite dry weather in recent months. As of Monday morning, the water stored in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community's two reservoirs totaled 2.3 billion gallons, and water use in the last week has averaged about 10.3 million gallons per day.
Although the dry weather in recent months has affected some reservoirs in the region more significantly, OWASA's lake levels are about normal for this time of year. University Lake and the Cane Creek Reservoir have more than twice as much water as they did at this time in 2002 during the area's worst drought on record.
OWASA officials do not foresee a need for additional mandatory water use restrictions this fall or winter, but additional conservation measures could be necessary if the lakes do not refill by spring. (Since operation of the Cane Creek Reservoir began in 1989, the only year when both lakes were not full by early spring was in the severe drought of 2002.)
John Herrera made two interesting comments in his interview in today's Herald:
We need to ask ourselves, who value diversity, why is it that single moms are not on the board? Or people of color. It is so hard to recruit them. They don't have the time, the money, the what it takes sometimes to run a campaign.
Something I have been pushing for but it got shut down, is reducing the amount of meetings. Bigger municipalities... don't meet every Tuesday.
We all know there are obstacles along the lines John describes. Most of them would be difficult for local government to overcome. It would be great for the town to provide a childcare fund which might cost up to $2000/year for a single parent (that's on top of the alderman pay which I think is around $5000) and much less for parents with partners or joint custody - an idea worth exploring.
During last week's Sierra Club forum in Carrboro, candidates were asked what they felt needed to be done to increase the stock of affordable housing in town. Each of the 4 candidates who addressed this question agreed that it is the most complex problem before the BOA.
Both Carrboro and Chapel Hill work from a version of inclusionary zoning that requires new developers to include affordable units along with their market priced units. In Carrboro developers who comply with the "small house ordinance" are given a density bonus to help them recover some of their lost opportunity. In Chapel Hill, developers can provide payment in lieu of compliance. New units developed through the Carrboro plan are deeded over to the Orange Community Housing and Land Trust as a means of ensuring they stay affordable. Buyers own the dwelling but not the land upon which the dwelling sits. Chapel Hill is currently clarifying the legal the language around their affordable housing options.
Last Tuesday I was elected to be the Chair of the Chapel Hill Planning Board. And on Thursday I started a new job!
None of this should impact what goes on here at OrangePolitics, but I wanted to go ahead and say right now that nothing I write here represents the Planning Board or the Town of Chapel Hill (unless I say otherwise, of course).
In other news, Tuesday September 27th is OrangePolitics' second birthday! (Or is it an "anniversary?")
I'd like to have a little celebration and maybe invite all the current candidates to come. Anyone have suggestions for a location or other ideas?
Pages
About Us
OrangePolitics is a not-for-profit website for discussing progressive perspectives on politics, planning, and public policy in Orange County, NC. Opinions are those of their authors. Learn more.
Community Guidelines
By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by
WeebPal.
