Can Carrboro be both quirky and affordable?

GOVERNMENT

CARRBORO–“It is much easier to code for bland and boring than to code for quirky,” Chad Meadows of Codewright Planning told the Carrboro Town Council this month.

Carrboro is revising its land-use code to create a new “unified development ordinance” (UDO) and has hired the Codewright consulting firm to work with town staff on the two-year process. The UDO will set zoning regulations, encourage the creation of affordable housing, set stormwater and flood-management requirements for new development, set tree-preservation standards, and lay down rules for sidewalks. In the words of the town’s website it will “govern everything from what kind of new housing developments are easiest to build in Carrboro to how simple it is to add a shed behind your house.”

Meadows made a progress report to the council on Feb. 11. During his presentation, he asked the council members how much preserving Carrboro’s character should shape the UDO

Does character matter?

Meadows said the four pillars the council wants the UDO to support are climate action, racial equity, attainable housing, and predictable development processes. After talking to members of the community, the Codewright team has begun thinking of community character, “the things that make Carrboro recognizable,” as a fifth pillar. Meadows said Carrboro actually had several different characteristics: a tight urban core, inner-ring neighborhoods, and more suburban areas than rural outskirts.

According to Meadows, character is shaped by design: how tall the buildings are, how close they are to the street, and the amount of open space. In a word, “What does it feel like to walk down the sidewalk?”

However, designing the UDO to take community character into account is tricky. Controlling design to make buildings fit into Carrboro would make regulations more complex and housing more costly. Given that affordable housing is a priority, the UDO will have to find a balance between the two.

Who fits the community?

“Carrboro’s not its buildings,” said Council Member Catherine Fray. “It’s its people.” She said it would be a mistake to think the heart of Carrboro’s character lies in the look of the homes and stores.

Fray added that, in many places, discussing community character has been “a racist dog whistle. I would suggest being very cautious in how you allow that to pull you with regard to the rest of the project.”

Councilor Danny Nowell said what shaped Carrboro’s character was offering cheap rent close to the University of North Carolina. So, how do you define the town’s character when that’s no longer true? “We know it’s gone. It’s not possible any longer to pretend.”

Council Member Cristobal Palmer asked if the strip mall he used to shop at would count as part of Carrboro’s character simply because it’s been around so long. “Things that are static and unchanging are not a vibrant community.”

Meadows replied that in Codewright’s community outreach, they’d heard a lot of enthusiasm for Carrboro’s quirkiness and small-town feel, enough that he recommended considering it when drafting the UDO. He said the town should think carefully before adopting zoning rules that allow for a significant change in what can be built in a given area.

Council member Eliazar Posada said that even though he’d settled in Carrboro because of its quirkiness, he didn’t think the community’s character was as important as affordable housing and racial equity. “I do not see community character as a pillar; I see it as something to keep in mind.”

The legislature has spoken

Meadows said another factor that will shape the city’s regulations is State Bill (SB) 382, a bill the legislature passed last year that restricts local governments’ power over development. Many zoning changes (limiting the number of property uses allowed, for instance) could only become law if the owners of every developed lot affected by the change consented to it.

Meadows said this poses multiple problems: If property is tied up in probate or other legal issues, who gives consent? Is consent permanent or could an owner change their mind later? Governments affected by Hurricane Helene — “There are rivers in North Carolina where they weren’t before” — are unsure how to change their zoning to fit the changed landscape. Several municipalities are waiting for the courts to weigh in before complying with SB 382.

Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed SB 382 last year, but the Republican-dominated legislature overrode him. Meadows said there’s a bill in the House to undo the change but none in the Senate. Multiple bills are also pushed by local governments or groups of governments requesting an exemption from the new state rule. Meadows said the Senate seems to favor granting exemptions over repealing the rules. Council Member Cristobal Palmer said that could become an easy way for legislators to reward their friends and punish their enemies.

The timeline for drafting the UDO calls for community outreach in the coming months, followed by an initial UDO draft late this year or early in 2026.

Fraser Sherman has worked for newspapers, including the Destin Log, the Pensacola News-Journal and the Raleigh Public Record. Born in England, he’d still live in Florida if he hadn’t met the perfect woman and moved to Durham to marry her. He’s the author of several film reference books and has published one novel and several short story collections. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocal Reporter.press.