The issue of rural representation in Chapel Hill’s Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment came up in a special joint meeting Thursday between the Orange County Board of Commissioners and the town leaderships of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
The Chapel Hill Planning Commission recently recommended the Joint Planning Area and Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (JPA/ETJ) member of the commission and Board of Adjustment be replaced with a Chapel Hill resident.
JPA/ETJ areas are rural buffers surrounding Chapel Hill.
Debbie Mozgala, a resident of the JPA/ETJ areas, saw the move as an attempt to usurp her and her neighbors' representation in local government.
“Why wouldn’t my neighbors have representation?” Mozgala asked. “JPA/ETJ areas are greatly different in form and function than Chapel Hill in-town limits.”
This move to change representation comes from planning commission findings that state JPA/ETJ areas only represent 6.7 percent of the Chapel Hill population, but hold 11 percent of the commission’s seats.
“This is the recommendation of the commission,” said Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt.
Council member Jim Ward gave the other opinion.
“Its important that the JPA folks have a representative,” Ward said.
A compromise measure called Option B, that would replace the JPA/ETJ seat with an ETJ or JPA resident within 90 days of vacancy could be enacted by the planning commission. The Chapel Hill Town Council would be able to appoint a resident after the 90 day time period.
Mozgala said she supports Option B because the seat would retain their titles as JPA/EJT representatives, even after the 90 day vacant period and after the seats were filled by Chapel Hill residents.
The meeting also touched on Audrey Spencer-Horsley’s plan for continued community outreach involving more affordable housing.
Spencer-Horsley did not attend the meeting due to a scheduling misunderstanding, but the topic of affordable housing brought a wide-ranging discussion of the county's future.
Jacquelyn Gist, a Carrboro Board of Aldermen member, said she worried the focus on affordable housing may push out middle income families.
“The middle class can be very neglected,” Gist said.
Earl McKee, chairperson of the Orange County Commissioners, warned of the need for more senior centers in the county as the aging population continues to grow.
The Orange County population of citizens over the age of 65 is expected to increase by 31 percent from 2012 to 2017, a statistic McKee said prompted his concern.
Board of Aldermen member Sammy Slade said he believes the county should join the Tiny House Movement, a national affordable housing campaign to place low-income individuals in tiny homes about the size of 100 square feet.
As a prominent issue in Orange County politics, housing likely will be the focus of many more meetings to come.
Notable:
The construction for a library in Carrboro, a project more than 25 years in the making, has been put off again due to issues with finding a suitable site.
Quotable:
Orange County Board of Commissioners member Mia Day Burroughs said, “Watch out for the Silver Tsunami!” in response to the need for more affordable housing for the aging population.
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