GUEST COLUMN
by R.L. Juliano
Chapel Hill Town Council’s recent decision to eliminate its advisory boards (https://thelocalreporter.press/divided-town-council-votes-to-eliminate-eight-advisory-boards-at-work-session/ ) seems like the final step in Council’s move to insulate itself from meaningful public input. Apparently, the Council is tired of hearing from people who have the temerity to disagree with its policies. That is so sad.
For several years, the Council has pursued the goal of ‘smart growth’ involving high-density developments that supposedly would be mixed-use, transit-friendly and provide affordable housing and public amenities. These developments would also solve the Town’s financial problems through increased tax revenue.
Unfortunately, that is not what has happened. Instead, developers have sucker-punched Council in every instance. Promised mixed-use developments have morphed into hulking apartment blocks with almost no provision for affordable housing, commercial space or green space. All this ugliness might be bearable if the supposed financial benefits had materialized, but they have not. Instead, the Town has been forced to raise its property tax rates, already among the highest in the state.
Council’s misguided policies have put it in direct conflict with the interests of middle-class homeowners who comprise a key part of the community. The thousands of expensive apartments built recently may benefit wealthy students and some professionals who commute to RTP or elsewhere, but they clearly do not benefit Chapel Hill homeowners. Instead, the new high-rise apartments have brought more cars and traffic to a road system that is nearing saturation. The situation is only going to get worse since the Town doesn’t have the resources even to fix its deteriorating roads or upgrade its antiquated traffic signals.
Town Council has admirably espoused, and in some cases acted upon, a commitment to affordable housing. However, the failure to rein in property taxes is undermining the ability of middle-income people, especially those on fixed incomes, to own a home in Chapel Hill. But what about rentals? In theory, the construction of thousands of new high rise apartment units should increase affordability by increasing competition. However, that does not seem to be the case. According to my trusty AI consultant, the monthly cost of a 1-bedroom apartment in Chapel Hill has gone from $1408 in 2020 to $1753 in 2024. Whether these figures are precise or not, they suggest that the enormous surge in apartment construction has not increased affordability.
Thus, Council’s supposed ‘smart growth’ policies have not improved affordability and have not blunted rising property taxes. What they have done is to impose a burden on the current residents of Chapel Hill in the form of increased traffic, an uglified environment, and the demise of local businesses. All in the name of growth.
There are many people in Chapel Hill who could say to Council “I told you so!”. Who could say that Council was looking at supposed smart growth projects through rose-colored glasses and that the anticipated benefits would never emerge. Many of those people were Chapel Hill homeowners who felt their neighborhoods threatened by out of scale apartment projects. Some of those people served dutifully on the Town’s advisory boards and tried to sound warnings. But over the last few years Council has increasingly devalued the input of its advisory boards and now has abandoned them.
The advisory board system has been criticized for being inefficient and for being costly to support. Both are true to some extent. Nonetheless, there were people on advisory boards who are highly knowledgeable about their board’s area of responsibility and who also know the community well and thus could provide excellent advice to the Town at modest cost. Instead, the Town spends hundreds of thousands a year on outside consultants who are often ill informed about the community.
What will come after the demise of advisory boards? Not clear. Council talks of more diverse and equitable input, of special task forces. To me, all of this sounds like an attempt to shield Council from unwelcome criticism and from broad-based public input. Inevitably, in the absence of counterbalancing public input, developers will be only too happy to help Council reach its decisions.
For decades I enjoyed living in Chapel Hill, savoring its college town ambience, its leafy neighborhoods, its unique local businesses. But I am glad I no longer live there. It would break my heart to see, every day, the ugliness that Council has imposed on my beloved town.
R. L. Juliano lived in Chapel Hill for 36 years. In the early 2000’s he served on the Chapel Hill Transportation Board and two decades later on the Transportation and Connectivity Advisory Board. He now lives in a retirement community in Chatham County. Mr. Juliano was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of Friends of Local Journalism, the publisher of The Local Reporter. However, this column solely represents his personal views and not those of TLR or FLJ.
It’s so sad. I am appalled every time I drive along Fordham Blvd. by Eastgate and gaze at the cookie-cutter apartment monstrosities on both sides. No character. Flat roofs. Ugly colors. No trees. Absolutely nothing that coordinates with the historic nature of the core of Chapel Hill building styles. The “modern” styles just don’t enhance the wonderful red brick colonial look of the town. I’m sure some modern styles could. But there is a total lack of creativity and beauty. The town is definitely being “uglified”. It’s like some cheesy architects somewhere offer builders a set of blocks that they can configure in the cheapest, ugliest fashions to save the most money…but still charge a fortune for an apartment! When will this end? How can it be stopped before Chapel Hill becomes “Ugly Town”?
Lol you’re using an ai chatbot for apartment prices? What, you couldn’t make up fake numbers on your own?
The town council is disgusting, as was the previous mayor who encouraged all of this, likely to her own benefit.
The most enthusiastic advocates for fast, dense growth, former town manager Roger Stancil and former economic development officer Dwight Bassett, have left the area(the latter never lived here, telling the News&Observer that he would never live in Chapel Hill because the property taxes were too high).
The advisory boards were a way for council to hear from constituents. It was also a way for residents to learn how the town runs, and proved an effective starting point for people who went on to run for council. Several of the town council are former advisory board members, so it is puzzling as to why they have pulled up the ladder behind them.
Do you have a counter proposal to high density development or are you just whining?
I am in total agreement with your remarks. I am dismayed by the developments in Chapel Hill. A frequent visitor to Homestead Park, I was angered to see thousands of trees destroyed and animal habitats wiped out by the development happening within view of the park. I am also tired of how much litter is in the park, especially after soccer matches. One of only three trash cans in the park disappeared months ago. I am leaving Chapel Hill and North Carolina in the spring.
I used to live in Chapel Hill and it’s an expensive area because they’re limited land available and there’s tremendous regulations. What is affordable housing, is it subsidized because it’s not cheaper to build in Chapel Hill as a matter of fact, it’s more expensive and that has nothing to do With the city council other than their regulations
The Fox and the Grapes: The story concerns a fox that tries to eat grapes from a vine but cannot reach them. Rather than admit defeat, he states they are undesirable. The expression “sour grapes” originated from this fable. (Wikipedia)
I totally agree with this article. I am native of Chapel Hill and is brokenhearted at the deterioration of affordable housing in Chapel Hill over the years and seemingly the lack of concern over affordable housing by those that have the ability to make a difference in this arena. The middle class have been force to move out and those that have struggled to maintain in this area are struggling with paying taxes and is in fear of losing what they have worked hard to attain.
I live in an affordable home in Chapel Hill, from the original affordable homeownership project the town underwent to administer some 36 years ago.The theme seems to have taken a turn from an affordable home idea to something less permanent in the shape of apartment dwelling that matches more our transient college town’s requirement for housing.Affordablity is left behind for many that wished for a sense of community and dare I say social housing.
I grew up in Chapel Hill but moved to the west coast for 10 years. I moved back here and was shocked how unrecognizable the town was. Growth is always inevitable, but what was happening in Chapel Hill was something else. It was rampant toxic greed, and a local government incapable of keeping it under control.
Thank you for your frank and insightful article. There is, unfortunately, a big “I told you so component” to this situation. Many people worked hard during the election last year to set the town on a different course; the influence of developers and their investors won out. Growth is always perceived as an unalloyed good, whatever its substantial costs. Our local leaders are misguided, and I think your image of “rose-colored glasses” is a good one. You also comment honestly on the failures of the affordable housing ‘project,’ as rents do not come down. We aren’t preserving our green spaces and forests either at the town core or the margins: there are no margins now as density itself sprawls (“tall sprawl”) and trees are regularly clear cut for yet more market-price/luxury housing. My hope is that we can vote out these council members as their terms come due.
My wife and I are both UNC GRADUATES with a total of 3 degrees between us.We had always thought that Chapel Hill would be a great place to retire but that is simply impossible now.. Best wishes to everyone in Chapel Hill
Thank you Rudy for the hindsight perspective, which was the foresight of our citizen group ignored by most of the council. The only beneficiary of this recent growth is the corporate landlord of apartments and chain businesses. Each new citizen is a drain on county resources — schools, roads, social & emergency services, etc. Not to mention our cooling and lovely greenery being destroyed. (Aside — I drove by Carolina Inn yesterday to find the two gorgeous (apparently healthy) oaks being removed, why???). Unmitigated expansion just because the land is there does not make financial sense.
Deborah — the consultant Jennifer Keesmaat that the CHTC hired in 2023 (at a fee of almost half a million dollars) recommended curtailing many forms of public/community involvement in housing projects in order to streamline the approval process for developers. IMO ending the Advisory Boards is part of this (anti-democratic) strategy. More evidence that our ‘progressive’ TC primarily supports developers and their big-money investors.
Bryan — there are many reasons why density is not the panacea that many proclaim it to be. It generates traffic and living-space congestion, destroys urban forests (as we see in CH), burdens infrastructure (ditto), and tends to spread outwards to become ‘tall sprawl’ (ditto). Housing affordability problems will not be solved, IMO, without social housing, breaking the power of big corporations and private equity companies, and taxing the rich. Everything else is just cosmetic.
Amen.
Austin rents have fallen 22% from their peak because they have made it easier to build. I wonder why that happened. It’s a complete mystery!
Local anti-development activist denounces the housing crisis he helped create. Moved to the country. Hilarious