TITLE: Title
Discussion of Possible Community Conversation on Options for Downtown Development
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is for the Board of Aldermen to consider a possible strategy for engaging property owners and the community on development options for the area bounded by Center, Short , W. Weaver and N. Greensboro Streets.
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DEPARTMENT: Mayor's Office; Planning
CONTACT INFORMATION: Mayor Lavelle - 919-918-7310; Patricia McGuire - 919-918-7327-pmcguire@townofcarrboro.org
INFORMATION: Board members are aware that the presence of an active application for land use permits that involve quasi-judicial procedures limits their ability to communicate with parties interested in the applications. All land use permits are inherently sensitive since they involve personal matters - financial, aesthetic, historical, and aspirational. Some applications are particularly complex, making the need for a base of common knowledge and identification of the broad range of issues even greater. A recent land use development proposal and requested rezoning of a key, high-profile location in the downtown is especially emblematic. Since that project has not reached a conclusion, ongoing uncertainty about the future of this crucial location in downtown continues to generate questions amongst the community and of staff and members of the Board of Aldermen.
The quasi-judicial nature of the decision associated with this particular proposal has limited the conversation, the open sharing of information, and the opportunity to seek a satisfactory outcome for most. Following a recent meeting on this matter, an idea emerged. This idea is to test a community conversation process. In this process, the community, the property owners, and town officials would meet to evaluate and explore the area and try to develop a shared vision, if possible, or at a minimum, a set of clear ideas and values for how we might proceed. This idea has come to light recently and sta...
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