The Carrboro Town Council approved its Downtown Area Plan on Tuesday night, giving the local government a new framework for both the town and developers to follow while considering development.
The council voted 6-1 to approve the plan, which had been created and edited over the last year-and-a-half by the engineering consulting firm Freese and Nichols alongside town staff. Council Member Randee Haven-O’Donnell was the dissenting vote.
The Downtown Area Plan is based on five central goals identified during the public engagement process: build for climate resilience and incentivize green infrastructure; ensure a range of housing choices, including affordable and workforce housing options; improve pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure while reducing traffic and expanding public transit; support small businesses, entrepreneurs and minority-owned enterprises; and maintain the integrity of historic buildings while encouraging compatible development that aligns with Carrboro’s identity. Council members reviewed a draft in May before the town conducted additional engagement workshops in August. Tuesday’s vote came after the review was extended from the town council’s Oct. 21 meeting after an extended public hearing from community feedback.
As part of the guidance, the plan identifies current characteristics and future visions for four nodes: the downtown core, the Jones Ferry Road corridor or “core extension,” surrounding neighborhoods and the historically Black Lloyd-Broad community. Commercial development and density will be focused on the downtown core and core extension areas, while infill housing is a priority for surrounding neighborhoods and minimizing negative impacts from redevelopment is a priority for the Lloyd-Broad neighborhood — with details like height and size based on the context of the surrounding area. The implementation section of the Downtown Area Plan lays out recommendations for improving visible infrastructure, reviewing policies to allow for downtown activation and set guidelines on development, and building out town operations and programming.
Much of the public’s consternation and confusion around the plan began with the inclusion of different renderings included in the draft plan by Freese and Nichols, which were meant to show similar types of development desired by the community, but were not projected within any existing part of Carrboro. On Tuesday, the town council ultimately moved the renderings to the plan’s appendix. Mayor Pro Tem Danny Nowell, who made the suggestion, said he believes the renderings provided generic context for how development could look in relation to a street, sidewalks or greenway — but not providing any sense of their connection to Carrboro was “counterproductive.”
“It’s not doing anything for us,” said Nowell, “and it has persistently been a problem in community buy-in and reading this document and how we want it to feel. It doesn’t look like how many of us imagine Carrboro. And while that’s sort of not a problem as an operational document, it’s not appropriate as like a public document.”
Haven-O’Donnell said she agreed with Nowell’s idea, and his recommendation to add the language of “green infrastructure” more throughout the plan in regards to planting trees. But her main critique was about how she feels like the plan lacked the “sense of place” Carrboro has.
“I would encourage council to pause and think about how we can add that into the conversation,” Haven-O’Donnell said, “because that’s the most important part of the conversation. You know, we can all figure out what kind of buildings we need to have, and how we have to step back, and how we can fit in pocket parks. But once the place is built, it’s really hard to input the feeling. And I’m hearing that from from people on on all kinds of levels.”
The other council members, though, were in agreement about passing the plan to kickstart the opportunity to rely on the document for future projects and other ongoing land-use discussions, like its Unified Development Ordinance updates. Council Member Jason Merrill said he supported the plan because it gives the town “a shared vision” to help future development proposals be “shaped by Carrboro’s goals rather than by chance.”
“Nothing in this plan directs anyone to change their home or property,” Merrill added. “Future redevelopment will still move through our normal processes, and adopting the plan does not commit the town to building anything or raising taxes. What it provides is a clear framework so that when proposals do come forward, we evaluate them consistently and in ways that reflect community priorities rather than treating every project as a one-off. Carrboro works best when our community works together, and this plan gives us tools to uphold our values as we grow — and it helps ensure that the choices we make today leave room for future generations to thrive here as well.”
Statements in Support of Immigrant Communities and Criticizing ICE’s Tactics
To begin Tuesday’s meeting, the town council unanimously passed a resolution authored by Council Members Eliazar Posada-Orozco and Cristóbal Palmer in response to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol activity in the Triangle. As part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s goal of cracking down on illegal immigration and conducting mass deportations, federal officers swept through Raleigh and Durham on Tuesday to make arrests.
While none were reported in the Carrboro community, the impacts of ICE’s presence were felt — with many immigrant community members staying home and many leaders speaking out against the fear being created by the federal agencies’ tactics. Posada and Palmer were among those, co-authoring a joint statement signed by dozens of other elected officials statewide, and the pair presented the resolution for the Town of Carrboro to formally endorse.
“[This resolution] not only highlights the history of Carrboro being a welcoming town for our communities,” said Posada-Orozco, “but also reinstates our determination to make sure that we’re doing everything in that power to protect our community members — regardless of the country they were born in, regardless of their status, legal status near in in our communities — because Carrboro is for all of us.”
The full resolution, as read by Palmer, is:
A Resolution in Support of Immigrant Communities and Fourth Amendment Rights for All Orange County Residents.
WHEREAS, the Town of Carrboro has pursued equality and safety for all residents through the adoption of the Language Access Plan, the Racial Equity Action Plan, and the Carrboro Comprehensive Plan and more. And…
WHEREAS, on November 18th, 2014, the Town Council approved a resolution declaring Carrboro to be a welcoming community for minors seeking refuge from violence in their home countries and urging the federal government to ensure that those seeking safety in the United States received due process and legal representation. And…
WHEREAS, on November 14th, 2017, the Town Council approved a resolution supporting the expansion of the Temporary Protected Status Program and urged the Department of Homeland Security to renew the program for Nicaragua and another on April 4th, 2023 for Guatemala. And…
WHEREAS, on March 19th, 2024, the Town Council approved a resolution supporting immigrant communities in Carrboro, committing to foster a welcoming environment for immigrants in the town and empowering Carrboro law enforcement to take steps to build trust in the immigrant community. And…
WHEREAS, on May 20th, 2025, the Town Council voted unanimously to designate the Town of Carrboro a Fourth Amendment workplace, reinforcing the Town’s commitment to honor and uphold the 4th Amendment rights of all of our residents. And…
WHEREAS, on the weekend of November 15th, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents launched numerous operations to detain, arrest, and harass immigrant communities within a two hour radius of Charlotte, resulting in arrests of undocumented residents and U.S. citizens as well as heightened fear and distrust in law enforcement. And…
WHEREAS the threat of unconstitutional and discriminatory seizure of property and persons by federal authorities is preventing immigrant households from safely engaging in public life, including pursuing education and employment. And…
WHEREAS, the Town of Carrboro has a long history of supporting immigrant communities and creating a welcoming town to all, no matter their place of origin. And…
WHEREAS the Town Council unequivocally supports our immigrant communities and understands the vital role they play in the Town of Carrboro, the State of North Carolina, and the United States of America.
Now, therefore, be it resolved, the town, excuse me, the Carrboro Town Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the ongoing discriminatory actions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies acting under the direction of the current federal administration in North Carolina.
Be it further resolved, the Town Council reaffirms the Town’s status as a Fourth Amendment workplace and urges all local business, schools, healthcare facilities and other town institutions as well as the governments of peer municipalities and boards of education in Orange County and county government of Orange County to review their 4th Amendment policies and or create policies and goals in service of protecting our immigrant communities.
And finally, be it further resolved, the Clerk of the Town of Carrboro is instructed to deliver copies of this resolution to the governing bodies of the other municipalities and boards of education in Orange County, and to the board of county commissioners and county manager of Orange County, North Carolina.
Mayor Barbara Foushee also read a joint statement she made alongside the other mayors of Orange County on Tuesday, affirming their support of immigrant community members during the heightened tension brought by federal agents.
Featured image via the Town of Carrboro.
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