“Viewpoints” is a place on Chapelboro where local people are encouraged to share their unique perspectives on issues affecting our community. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work, reporting or approval of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com. If you’d like to contribute a column on an issue you’re concerned about, interesting happenings around town, reflections on local life — or anything else — send a submission to viewpoints@wchl.com.
A Voter’s Perspective on the 2025 Chapel Hill Municipal Election
A perspective from David Adams
As early voting begins, the issues in this municipal election are similar to those in 2023, some with more urgency. The difference is that voters have little choice. Mayor Anderson is running unopposed and with four seats open, four of the five candidates running for town council will be elected by default. Moreover, the three non-incumbent candidates were all hand-picked by the mayor to serve on the Planning Commission and thus bring the same mindset. The major issues are as follows.
Flooding
The experience with tropical storm Chantal has elevated concern over stormwater control. Unfortunately, the town got rid of most boards and commissions, including the Stormwater Board that brought in valuable local expertise. Chantal taught us that if you build in flood plains and exacerbate flood prone areas by clear-cutting acres of upstream trees for residential development, stormwater damage will result. Yet we continue to ignore this basic lesson. Take for example, the Legion-Ephesus-Hamlin Park watershed above Eastgate. The town is proceeding with demolition of the Legion Park dam and beloved pond early next year followed by building houses on nine acres above the dam. A constructed wetland will only be installed in the final phase of the project (est. 2029). In addition, another fifteen acres of trees will be clear-cut to allow residential development in Parkline above the Clark Lake dam that protects the Pope Road neighborhoods.
Taxes
The recent property revaluation raised the combined 2025-26 taxes for the average Chapel Hill homeowner by as much as 29%. Such an increase could drive many homeowners out of town, offsetting the town’s many affordable housing initiatives. All candidates stress the need to expand our commercial tax base, but it hasn’t happened. Chapel Hill’s audited reports stopped publishing the residential/commercial tax base split after 2011, so we can only estimate Chapel Hill’s organic commercial base, which has been growing only 4–5 % per year compounded, slightly above inflation. The town’s budget should reflect these realities, yet included a 5% across the board employee pay raise; over twice the 2.3% annual rate of inflation. Personnel salaries and benefits are the largest item in the budget with most administrators making six figures and more staff being added. This despite a $60M+ backlog of essential needs (police, fire, streets, garbage collection). There is also the cost of aspirational “wants” such as expensive greenways that must be maintained and are difficult to connect (e.g., Parkline to Eastowne requires crossing 15-501). In times of economic, federal and state government funding uncertainty, essential services should be prioritized.
Development
A year ago, planning consultant Rod Stevens gave his assessment of the Complete Communities project (https://chapelboro.com/town-square/viewpoints-what-went-wrong-with-complete-communities). It is worth reprinting excerpts from his analysis, since his points remain valid today (italics mine).
“There is no comprehensive plan for where and how to grow, the infill approach of missing middle won’t come close to meeting the town’s needs, and the council has adopted the housing equivalent of Ronald Reagan’s trickle-down theory to approve more large, drive-to luxury apartment projects that are divorced from their surroundings…With public consensus and good management, Chapel Hill could spend half to two-thirds of what it now does on planning salaries and consulting fees and still achieve its goals…The town’s first order of business should be rebuilding [the] sense of community. That means leaving identity politics behind and building agreement about what everyone will benefit from.”
Parkline, which was supposed to be a model for Complete Communities, has instead devolved into the same project-by-project approach in which developers build what they want and not what the community needs. Importantly, neighbors’ concerns are often disregarded.
The Complete Communities framework is part of overall land use management, whose regulations are contained in the LUMO for Chapel Hill; ODU for Carrboro.
The Chapel Hill town council will vote on and likely approve changes to the LUMO at its October 22nd meeting. These changes look a lot like the form-based code that led to the mess that is Blue Hill. Among many significant modifications, the proposal will:
- restrict the Planning Commission to simply document compliance with the LUMO. (What if there is compliance with some but not all requirements as happens now?)
- eliminate concept plans and allow proposals to provide only a “general layout” without any detail whatsoever.
- significantly constrict public testimony, replacing this with “public information meetings” as an occasional alternative.
In contrast, the consultant for Carrboro’s UDO recommended to their council “if a developer wants to deviate from the rules, that will require more review and more public participation” (https://thelocalreporter.press/carrboro-cant-achieve-all-its-development-goals-consultant-says/).
Affordable housing
At a council work session on housing, a consultant emphasized that a desirable place to live will always have an affordability problem. Chapel Hill has made significant and laudable progress on its affordable housing goals, but necessarily at the expense of other town needs like its environmental goals to preserve tree canopy and expand parks and green space. Indeed, since the town purchased the Legion property in 2017, nothing has been done to create a park. Despite council perceptions, housing is not simply a supply and demand market (see https://jacobin.com/2023/09/yimby-housing-supply-land-monopoly-rent-prices). Building more luxury apartments has not lowered rents or contributed a meaningful number of truly affordable units (£60% AMI).
Public engagement
Currently, the more interest in an issue, the less time the public gets to speak at council meetings – from a very brief three to only two minutes. Council members rarely respond to public comments even when a petition has over a thousand signatures. We need town halls on major issues where council members can explain their positions and bring in the community along. We need to record how members voted on important issues. Incumbent candidates could then be accountable for their voting records.
What to do?
Vote! The ballot allows four write-in votes for town council. I strongly endorse Renuka Soll, who ran in two previous municipal elections, and will bring a much-needed new perspective on town issues (https://chapelboro.com/town-square/viewpoints-the-chapel-hill-we-pass-on).
“Viewpoints” on Chapelboro is a recurring series of community-submitted opinion columns. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work or reporting of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com.
