Officials Debate SAPFO Trial Run

Representatives from Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Orange County primarily focused on the SAPFO implementation timeline and decision points at the Assembly of Governments meeting, which usually occurs twice a year, once in April and once in October.

SAPFO involves delaying the construction of new neighborhoods until there is enough room for the amount of projected children in these neighborhoods.

Additional school facilities might have to be built before developers begin building.

At the Assembly of Governments meeting, Orange County Planning Director Craig Benedict discussed the timeline for SAPFO.

"As it stands now, there is just some fine-tuning before it goes on to the school districts in a few weeks," Benedict said.

"It was always anticipated that there would be similar growths between the two school systems."

But some elements of the ordinance created dissension among several members of the Chapel Hill Town Council and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, who are concerned with large developers taking over small developers.

Some also cited equal treatment of each school system as a concern.

"I see it beginning to erode when we say we'll separate out the two school systems and treat them differently," said council member Pat Evans. "We're changing the rules to fit the situation as it goes along."

Benedict said both districts, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Orange County Schools, will implement the ordinance at the same time.

According to the timeline, the deadline for enacting SAPFO is Feb. 15, which Benedict said could be achieved.

But Orange County Commissioner Alice Gordon said she would like to see it progress much sooner.

"I think it's time to take a crack at this in November and to make some sort of decision as of what to do," Gordon said.

Members from the two area school districts also attended the meeting. Orange County Board of Education members presented a new idea to deal with SAPFO -- a trial run.

"We agree to go through a practice run or a trial run so we see how this whole process plays itself out," said Dana Thompson, chairwoman of the school board.

Throughout the trial run of SAPFO, meetings about it would continue to be held, Thompson said. She compared the trial run to test-driving a car before actually deciding to buy it.

Thompson also said that with a trial run, people could see the positive and negative effects of SAPFO and "scrutinize the plan as it unfolds."

Then one year from the starting date, the real plan could commence.

Council member Bill Strom said he does not support the proposed trial run.

"We'd be behaving in a different manner by not implementing the plan for real," Strom said. "It just doesn't seem practical.

"When test-driving a car, it's voluntary," he said. "You're not signing the sales agreement."

No decisions were made regarding the proposed trial run, leaving SAPFO's implementation date and timeline to be discussed at future meetings.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.