Name of Candidate: James I. Merritt
Address: 106 Crest Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Contact Information: 919-929-8825 - jimmmerritt@nc.rr.com
1. We talk a lot about growth and where it should occur. Clearly the Town Council can influence the rate of growth through its planning and zoning powers, granted by the NC Legislature.
What are your goals and objectives for growth? Building on a question asked at the Visioning Task Force focus groups, how much growth can Chapel Hill support and still maintain our values, the things that people like about living in Chapel Hill? How would you determine growth rates that are "sustainable"?
According to the latest census, Chapel Hill has a population of approximately 55,000 citizens. We have to consider how much growth that we can accommodate. Chapel Hill is a transitional town, with the average citizen staying here for at least fifteen years. With our growth rate growing at 1.5% each year, it won't be long before we will not have available housing or land to build on. The services that we provide to our citizens will be stretched tremendously to continue preserving the quality of life that we enjoy. To balance our growth, we must sustain growth based on our ability to utilize our natural resources and not destroy or over extend our environment.
2. New development occurs on vacant land, or developers buy properties to redevelop for a completely different purpose. Examples of the latter are East 54 and Greenbridge, and proposed projects such as Rams Plaza, University Mall and University Square. Development of any type can bring desired amenities for the Town but can also cause undesirable consequences, such as a changed Town character, environmental damage, the loss of affordable housing, increased traffic, and the migration of small scale retail from present locations.
Given that development and change are inevitable, please suggest ideas about how each of the unwanted consequences could be addressed in future development proposals.Progress is essential and development is necessary in order for the town to advance to the future.
Greenbridge is a prime example of what can happen, if left unmonitored by the community in which it is located. Our citizens must be an integral part of our decision making process in order to preserve our way of life. The Northside area has historically been an area of town where African American small businesses were able to flourish and meet the needs of the community. Greenbridge has disrupted that way of life, because small businesses will eventually have to move from the area. Primarily, because the type of units being marketed for that building are not traditionally what has been in that area of town.3. Chapel Hill prides itself on an open public process with fair, consistent rules and development review process. Citizen Advisory Boards ensure that citizens are involved in decisions that affect them. A Concept Plan process helps guide developers toward a concept desired by the Town.
3. Chapel Hill prides itself on an open public process with fair, consistent rules and development review process. Citizen Advisory Boards ensure that citizens are involved in decisions that affect them. A Concept Plan process helps guide developers toward a concept desired by the Town.
Please comment on whether the Town's process is working as it should, and offer specific ways it could be improved. Is the process achieving the results we want?
I feel that the development review is working as it was designed to do, but as in almost any working document changes could be made to improve it. I have heard builders and developers complain about the development review process, but I would need to do research on the average time from the beginning to the end in this process. I feel that the process could be enhanced by including members who are affected by this ordinance. Developers, planners and builders are the ones who know what slows down the process and should be the ones that are appointed to the various advisory committees. When a developer or builder submits an application for a (SUP) "Special Use Permit", they would already have documentation on the ordinance that applies to the development of a specific property (low density, medium density, etc) and community input for that area. Consideration should be given to beginning and ending dates in which projects shall begin and end. Reasonable timelines should be given based on the scope of the magnitude of the proposed project.
4. For the last few years the Council has embraced a policy of encouraging higher densities along major transit corridors through zoning changes based on certain assumptions about transit and population estimates, e.g. a planned hotel on MLK near I-40, and the 54 East project already built at the proposed transit hub. Do you support the policy of putting density on major transit corridors and why? What changes, if any, would you want to make in the policy?
I would encourage growth along the major transient corridors for high density. I think that light rail will be the most economical transportation of our future. As the cost of fuel for automobiles increases, the demand for public transportation will also escalate. Residents of high density areas are less likely to drive their cars to work. They will begin to depend on jobs that are closer to where they live and shop in areas near their residences. I support balanced growth, where we will continue to protect the rural buffer and regulate the buildings to reasonable heights that are consistent with the values desired by the citizens of Chapel Hill. We need to have transportation sub-stations at major destinations throughout the Town to protect our citizens from the weather elements while they are waiting on transferring to different types of transportation.
5. Chapel Hill and UNC signed a Development Agreement in June 2009. NRG worked with the Town of Chapel Hill and UNC to ensure that interests of Chapel Hill neighborhoods were taken into consideration, particularly in transportation planning. Our recommendations and neighborhood concerns are found at http://www.nrg-nc.net.
When the review of the Development Agreement comes up, name three issues that you will consider to determine whether or not the Agreement is a success, and discuss in general terms what you will be looking for as measures of success.
I was only involved on the "Development Agreement" during my appointment to council for about six months. I do feel, however that every consideration was given to the recommendations that were made by the NRG. The exact wording that was given by the NRG was not utilized, because of legal terminology needed to create a binding document. There were on-going compliance checks throughout the development process, so as not to continue the development agreement without checks and balances.
One of the first things that I as an elected official would be looking at would be the transportation impact analysis to assure citizens that our traffic patterns can handle the additional traffic that will be diverted to Carolina North. Second, would be is exactly how much disturbance is being made to the environment and our greenways. Additionally and not necessary in a particular order, has Carolina North complied with the Development Agreement in the original context for the citizens of Chapel Hill.
6. Public participation cuts across all aspects of Town Government. During the Carolina North planning process, many neighbors emphasized the importance of improving public participation. See attached NRG recommendations report. What is your view of public participation in Town Council decisions, and your ideas for updating Town strategies to reflect current]day technologies and media?
Public input should be the first priority of this agreement. The public should be kept informed of the process as often as possible and definitely sooner if a decision is made that would affect their neighborhood. I think public hearings should be scheduled in an ongoing basis to provide information to the community through public forum, the Town's website and published through the news media. Public participation is essential to reflect transparency to our citizens.