Walmart
on Smith Level Road
Lee-Moore Oil
C.o is considering development of a Walmart or other big-box store
on its parcel of land on Smith Level Road where it intersects with
15-501 at the Orange-Chatham line. Although it has not filed any paperwork
with the Chatham planning department, it has been in talks with the
Department of Transportation about building a driveway to the property,
one of the first steps in development. The Board of Alderman has said
that it will seek a delay in negotiations on the project due to several
concerns that include protecting the land within the watershed, providing
safe avenues for students going to the soon-to-come Carrboro High
School, and making it safe for cars going in and out of driveways
along Smith Level Road. For
full story, click
here.
Changes
in Williams Corner Plan Negatively Received
Blake and Associates, in conjunction
with Luis Rios of Zapolski and Rudd are building a new development
on 15-501 between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro. Originally the 500,000
square-foot Williams Corner was to include retail space, medical offices,
and 40-60 townhouses. However, at a recently held meeting, the two
developers proposed cutting the residential units to add more medical
offices and a 115 square-foot retail store. Residents did not like
this proposal, arguing that a big retail store would compete with
local businesses and cause traffic congestion. Blake and Rios plan
to hold more community meetings to discuss their proposal. For full
News and Observer coverage of the story, click
here.
Chatham
County Attracts Residential Developers
As land prices in Raleigh,
Durham and Chapel Hill continue to rise, farm and forest land in Chatham
County has become more attractive to developers. This “underdeveloped
jewel of the Triangle” has recently hit a residential growth
spurt as home sales leapt from 425 in 2002 to 1,100 last year. The
average sale price for a home in the county in 2005 was $310,000,
second in the triangle only to Orange County and $75,000 more than
the average in Wake County. East West Partners of Chapel Hill is building
Powell Place, a 148-acre project that will include lots for about
1,000 homes, a hotel and a commercial center at the corner of U.S.
64 Bypass and N.C. 15/501 about a mile north of Pittsboro. Several
other extensive developments are in the planning stages.
From
Triangle Business Journal: Homes
Shortbread
Lofts to be Constructed on Rosemary Street
Larry Short, developer of The
Warehouse apartments on Rosemary Street, wants to demolish an office
building and a 20-unit residential structure on the south side of
West Rosemary Street between Mitchell Lane and Church Street in order
to construct the Shortbread Lofts, which would feature 180,584 square
feet of retail and residential space. The development proposal include
230 underground parking spaces, retail space on the street level,
and 160 residential units. The building will feature single story
apartments and one-and-a-half story lofts ranging from 600 to 800
square feet targeted at young singles and adult couples who want to
live downtown. For
full story, click
here.
Hillsborough
Agrees to Annex 40 Acres
The Hillsborough
Town Board has agreed to annex 40 acres between Rabbit Road and Strouds
Creek Road on the west side of NC 57. The land will be rezoned for
light industrial use. Companies that are interested in the land must
submit and have their plans approved by the town before they begin
building.
From
Herald-Sun
Brownfield
Property Reuse Act Amended
The NC House
has passed a bill that amends the Brownfield Property Reuse Act. Brownfield
Properties include sites that are abandoned or underused, at which
expansion or redevelopment is hindered by actual environmental contamination
or the possibility of environmental contamination. Under the bill,
properties that are on the National Priorities List cannot be considered
a Brownfield Property and cannot enter a Brownfield agreement with
the Department of Environment and National Resources. The bill clarifies
the language used in the Act, reduces the period for public comment
on a proposed Brownfield agreement from 60 to 30 days, and reduces
the time periods involved in requesting a public meeting on a proposal
from 30 to 15 days. The bill becomes effective Jan 1. 2007.
From
NCCBI Legislative Bulletin
No
Tax Increase for Chatham County
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners adopted a budget with no
tax increase for the 2006-2007 fiscal year. The rate will remain 59.7
cents per $100 valuation. The county increased their budget 1.5% to
$70 million dollars. The budget calls for increased spending on law
enforcement, telecommunications and social services, a 21 percent
increase in the county attorney's retainer fee, and $30,000 in raises
for the county manager, sheriff and register of deeds. To avoid a
tax raise, the board decided to use $6.5 million from their fund balance.
For
full story, click
here.
Durham Tax
Rate Rises 2 Cents
The Durham City Council raised the property tax by 2 cents to 60.3
cents for each $100 of assessed property value. They also increased
water and sewer fees by 5%. The tax increase, officials said, is largely
because of increased spending to replace worn out vehicles and infrastructure,
to maintain the current level of service at the Durham Area Transit
Authority, and to make payments incurred from $110 million in bond
improvements approved by voters in November.
From Herald-Sun
Board
of Aldermen Needs More Research on Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning
At a meeting
on June 13th, the Board of Aldermen decided it needed more research
on mandatory inclusionary zoning before implementing it in Carrboro.
Inclusionary zoning requires developers to build affordable housing
in high-end neighborhoods. They already have a form of inclusionary
zoning in place, but it is voluntary. Mandatory inclusionary zoning
would require all developers to comply. The board decided to review
other towns that already have mandatory inclusionary zoning before
making any final decisions.
From
Herald-Sun
Cary
and Chatham County Discuss Joint Land Use Plan
A
public meeting held by the Town of Cary and Chatham County was recently
held to discuss a joint land use plan between Jordan Lake and the
Chatham/Wake County line. At the open house meeting they discussed
the future direction for development and growth for the area. The
purpose of the meeting was to raise awareness to citizens of the planning
process and to hear their input. The planning will occur over summer
and fall, and in order to become official it must be adopted by separate
acts of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners and the Cary Town
Council. To learn more, click
here.
Changes
in Tax Rates Vary in Orange County
Depending
on where you live in Orange County, your property tax rate will increase
by 6 cents or more for 2007 fiscal year. Chapel Hill and Carrboro
have no increase in property tax rate, but Hillsborough and the Chapel
Hill Downtown Service District have both increased property taxes
by 5.4 cents and 3.7 cents, respectively. All properties in Orange
County will have to pay an additional 6 cents per $100 assessed property
value for the Orange County tax.
From
Herald-Sun
Schools
No
Merger, but School Equity Remains Hot Topic
The Wake County School Board has given
preliminary approval for the guidelines that will be used to select
which elementary schools will become year-round. School size will
be the most important factor in the decision. Year round schools can
serve more students by keeping the buildings in constant use. The
public will be able to comment on the guidelines until July 18 on
the district's Web site at www.wcpss.net/growth/
index.html or by filling out a form available at schools. On July
18, the board will adopt the guidelines. On Aug. 15, school administrators
will identify the schools to be converted. Administrators want the
board to give preliminary approval for those schools Aug. 22. For
full story, click
here.
Carrboro
High School will Open in Fall 2007
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools plans
to open Carrboro High School in the fall of 2007. They have currently
narrowed down the district proposals to two options. Under Plan A-1,
students in the southern part of the district would attend Carrboro
High. It moves 649 students from Chapel Hill High and 104 from East
to the new school. Plan D-1 moves the line for the new school farther
south. Under that plan, 690 students from Chapel Hill High and 217
from East would go to Carrboro. A map of the plans can be viewed here.
Schools
Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO)
In 2003, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, the
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Orange County adopted the Schools
Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO). The ordinance requires
all residential development projects to acquire a Certificate of Adequate
Public Schools (CAPS) from the school system before beginning construction.
However, if elementary schools exceed 105% of capacity, the school
board will stop issuing CAPS, preventing approved projects for proceeding
to construction. Current enrollment projections predict that our elementary
school enrollment will exceed the 105% capacity by 10 students in
the 2007/08 school year. Without modification or a waiver, the schools
would stop issuing CAPS when the overage is discovered, likely to
be September or October, 2007. This could delay or derail critical
public and private development and redevelopment projects in Chapel
Hill and Carrboro and cause avoidable school overcrowding. To help
prevent this, contact members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners
and encourage them honor their commitment to SAPFO by fully funding
Elementary School #10 to open in the 2008/09 school year and to waive
the limits for any minor exceeding of capacity projected for the 2007/08
school year. Click
Here to Email the Commissioners.
County
Rising
Home Values in Orange County Driven by Chapel Hill Market
Orange County home values rose 8% last
year, 4 percentage points higher than the increase in Wake, Durham,
Johnston, and Chatham counties. Development in Chapel Hill has been
the primary driver of Orange County’s housing market. Most of
the new home sales in 2005 were in Lake Hogan Farms, Meadowmont, and
Providence Glen subdivisions. The average sale prices of the subdivisions
were $448,474; $730,916; and $207,452, respectively. The average price
of homes in all of Orange County last year was $325,000. “Home
price is driven by a great quality of life, strong public schools
and slow growing supply,” said Aaron Nelson, executive director
of the Chapel Hill – Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. The number
of homes beginning construction in Orange County dropped last year,
however there are several new developments planned for downtown Chapel
Hill over the next five years.
From
Triangle Business Journal: Homes
Five-Year
Plan Calls for $125,000 in New Commercial Construction and 5,000 new
Private Sector Jobs
The Orange County Economic Development
Commission hosted a countywide economic development summit at the
Friday Center in January in order to come up with an economic plan
for the county. The overall goal of the plan is “to create 5,000
new private sector jobs and increase the assessed value of non-residential
property bye $125,000 in Orange County by June 2010.” They will
do this by focusing on business climate, infrastructure, workforce
development, and quality of place. To view the full plan, click
here.
The
Triangle
Population
Growth in the Triangle will be Highest in Johnston and Wake Counties
The Research Triangle Regional Partnership
has released data gathered from ESRI Business Information Solutions
on the projected annual population growth from 2005-2010 in the region.
Johnston and Wake counties are expected to have the highest population
growth in the 13-county region with 3.1% and 3.0% annual growth, respectively.
Warren and Vance counties will be the slowest growing counties with
0.0% and .2% annual growth. Orange County falls in the middle with
a projected population growth of 1.5% this year.
From State of the Research Triangle Region 2006
Court
Bans Durham County from Charging Impact Fees
The State Court of Appeals has upheld
a lower court decision to ban Durham County from charging developers
with impact fees to help pay for the cost of building schools. The
ruling ordered the county to pay back the $7.5 million that has been
collected in the past 2 ½ years as well as an 8% interest of
$605,000. Durham County plans to challenge this decision in the State
Supreme Court. The money they collected is being held in escrow until
a final resolution is made.
From Herald-Sun
Hispanic
Growth in the Triangle
The latest census estimate shows that
growth in the Hispanic population continues to outpace all other ethnic
groups in the Triangle and Statewide. North Carolina’s Hispanic
population grew to more than 550,000 between 2000 and 2005, a 46 percent
rise. It was the fifth-largest jump in Hispanic population in the
nation, behind Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina and South Dakota.
The new number, part of the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual population
estimates, show that Hispanics are no longer a largely migrant population.
Since an influx in the early 1990s, Hispanics have become a key part
of the state’s work force. Paul Williams of the N.C. Home Builders
Association said Hispanics now make up about one-fifth of the state’s
construction work force. “What we’re seeing now are Latino
workers that are forming their own businesses,” he said. “They’re
not just laborers any more.” For
full story, click
here.
State
Governor
Easley Signs $18.9 Billon Budget for NC
Governor Mike Easley has signed an $18.9
billion budget for NC for the 2007 fiscal year. The budget increases
spending on education with an average 8 percent raise for public school
teachers and at least 6 percent for university and community college
staff. Mental health programs received an additional $95 million to
improve treatment, and $328 million to replace two mental hospitals
and complete work on a third. The budget also cut the state sales
tax by a quarter-penny and the individual income tax rate for the
highest wage earners from 8.25% to 8%. Most state workers will get
a 5.5% raise.
Governor
Easley Signs Senate Bill 1381 into Law
Two weeks ago, Governor Mike Easley
signed Senate Bill 1381 into law. This statute affords the region
the option to convert the section of I-540 under construction near
Morrisville to a turnpike route in order to reduce the gap for proposed
area turnpikes.
From RTA Reports
Eminent
Domain Legislation Approved
The House and Senate approved legislation
Thursday, July 20, that addresses the controversial issue of Eminent
Domain. House Bill 1965 restricts the purposes for which Eminent Domain
may be used by private and public condemners. Under the bill, the
authority to exercise the power of eminent domain does not apply to
economic development projects unless revenue bonds for the projects
were approved by the Local Government Commission prior to July 1,
2006. The bill would become effective July 1, 2006 and has been sent
to the governor for his approval.
From NCCBI Legislative
Bulletin
Federal
IRS
Closes Tax-Exemption Loophole for Some Home Buyers
The Internal Revenue Service ruled last
month that nonprofit down-payment-assistance programs do not qualify
for tax exemptions if they transfer money from the seller to the buyer.
In the last decade, these nonprofits have helped about 600,000 families
buy homes without saving the 3 percent down payment that that Federal
Housing Administration (FHA) requires. IRS examiners will use the
ruling to decide whether to strip organizations of their tax-exempt
statuses.
For full story, click
here.
Other
Hurricane
Season Predictions
Forecasters are predicting a very active
season for the 2006 north Atlantic. The prediction is 13 to 16 named
storms, with 8 to 10 becoming hurricanes, of which 4 to 6 could become
major storms of Category 3 strength or higher. However, it only takes
one hurricane to hit your area to make it a bad season. For a short-form
summary of predictions, click
here. For a long-form full report, click
here.
