Old favorites join forces for Chapel Hill 2020

Today, community members will gather to decide what major issues Chapel Hill 2020 planners will address in one of the first steps toward a new plan for town growth.

And two people — project co-chairs George Cianciolo and Rosemary Waldorf — will lead that meeting and the entire Chapel Hill 2020 initiative.

This summer, an initiating committee chose the co-chairs to lead the process, which is set to involve 10,000 people before its June 2012 completion.

A pivotal part of their job will start tonight, as they begin to hammer out the details of the planning process and select concrete plans for what committees will make their focus.

Members of the initiating committee, a group of 15 appointed by the town council, said they chose the co-chairs for their community and leadership experience.

George Cianciolo

The initiating committee said Cianciolo’s commitment to Chapel Hill earned him a position as co-chairman of Chapel Hill 2020.

Cianciolo, a Duke University associate research professor of pathology, has lived in the town for 22 years and has served on many town advisory boards.

“I think they were looking for people they thought had experience in Chapel Hill and had an interest in seeing Chapel Hill grow and prosper,” he said.

Some of the boards Cianciolo has served on include the transportation board and the planning board.

He has also been on the Community Design Commission and the Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force.

“In all of those boards, you review proposals for new developments in Chapel Hill,” he said. “So you learn a lot about the existing comprehensive plan.”

Members of the initiating committee said it was Cianciolo’s wealth of experience that made him a good candidate.

“He is clearly dedicated to this process and to the town of Chapel Hill and our goal of inclusiveness,” said David Knowles, a committee member and director of economic development and regional engagement at the Renaissance Computing Initiative.

“He strikes me as a very thoughtful and careful leader,” Knowles said

Cianciolo said the plan’s Sept. 27 kickoff was a success, but a combined effort between the planning board, stakeholders and the co-chairs will be necessary to continue to drive the initiative.

“If the process is a boat out in the water, the co-chairs are the outriggers that keep the boat steady,” Cianciolo said.

“But the stakeholders are the oars that move it through the water and the rudders that guide it.”

Rosemary Waldorf

Rosemary Waldorf’s history and reputation made her a good candidate to fill the position as co-chairwoman of Chapel Hill 2020, initiating committee members said.

Waldorf served as town mayor between 1995 and 2001. She was the first female mayor of the town, and prior to that she was on town council from 1993 to 1995.

During that time, she built up a history of trust and integrity, said Lee Storrow, a member of the initiating committee and candidate for town council.

He said Waldorf has always listened to new ideas and has been able to lead panels of diverse people.

Waldorf’s personal qualities and dedication to championing the public appeal of Chapel Hill 2020 set her apart, said Mary Jane Nirdlinger, assistant director of the town’s planning department.

In her new role, Waldorf will help oversee Chapel Hill 2020’s outreach committee, a group that looks to increase the town’s appeal to existing and potential residents.

She will attempt to encourage people to live, work and spend free time in Chapel Hill.

Waldorf said she will ensure that local groups and interests are heard throughout the planning process.

The focus on bringing young people to the area has been an exciting and vibrant process, she said.

“We must always focus on what interest groups are not being reached out to,” Waldorf said.

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