The recent talk by John Quinterno has been distorted again by CHALT, somehow taking the fact that Chapel Hill and Orange County have grown the least by far of any area of the Triangle and using that as proof of the Town Council's out of control growth policy. The talk specifically has a slide that says that Chapel Hill has been growing "at a modest pace," and will continue to do so, and yet CHALT characterizes that as "tremendous" growth.
“Many incumbent council members believe that Chapel Hill needs to grow at a much faster rate to make up for lost time and to keep pace with neighboring communities. To that end, the council has championed a trajectory of faster growth led by high-end, high-rise residential construction. ”
That is absolutely not true. What has happened is during the 2008 crash development almost stopped, and as the economy came back development naturally started to pick up again. The council is championing Smart Growth, which is exactly what the Sierra Club and every other organization and expert involved in city planning recommends as being the best for communities and the environment. They council has no control over how many land owners decide to build, they can only work with zoning and the permitting process.
The average growth rate for towns Chapel Hill's size was 2.4% per year, and Chapel Hill has grown at 2% a year. How in the world does that equate to an out of control growth rate?
The projected share of growth in the Triangle for Orange County (including Chapel Hill) between 2010-2030 is only 6%, meaning the vast majority of new Triangle residents will be moving elsewhere.
The bottom line is that CHALT has a history of either not understanding or distorting facts to fit its agenda. In either case it's not fit to have a seat at the grown-ups table come November.
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