Okay. Maybe I’m projecting my feelings a bit. I am, after all, a Duke fan and this is, after all, basketball season.

But let me share a snapshot of developing property in Chapel Hill.

The Town Council approved plans for The Residences at Grove Park (346 condos) last Wednesday. To be approved, the builders had to meet the following nine criteria, emphasis my own:

1.      Promotion of affordable housing on-site and off-site when appropriate, that complies with or exceeds the Council?s current affordable housing policy.
2.      Implementation of an energy management and conservation plan that addresses carbon reduction, water conservation and other conservation measures that comply with or exceed the Council?s current energy management/ conservation policies.
3.      Encouragement of a balanced private and public transportation system that promotes connectivity and safety for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians including direct and/or indirect improvements to the community?s transportation systems.
4.      Support of a healthy downtown district by identifying or providing reasonably accessible pedestrian/bicycle and non-vehicular access to downtown.
5.      Promotion of Art (Private or Public) in private development that is visually accessible to the public and/or providing direct/indirect opportunities for public art.
6.      Protection of adjoining residential uses and neighborhoods with appropriate screening/buffering and/or architectural design elements that is congruous and sensitive to the surrounding residential areas.
7.      Protection/restoration of the natural environment by implementing program(s)  addressing stream restoration, wildlife habitat, woodland, meadow restoration, steep slope protection, and exotic invasive vegetation management, including programs that encourage private/public partnership to restore and enhance environmental resources.
8.      Promotion of green and ecologically sound developments.
9.      Encouragement of a community character that promotes economic vitality, environmental protection and social equity.

To give you some idea of what these vague platitudes produce in real life, consider some examples of what the builder had to do to meet the Town Council criteria. 

Promote affordable housing [$85,000 + ???] – sell/rent 26 units at a below-market, government-set price AND pay $85,000 as “payment-in-lieu” and an unlisted “transfer fee associated with sale-resale of properties”

“Balanced transportation” [$260,000] – pay $200,000 to public transit AND $50,000 for a “pedestrian refuge” on MLK Jr. Blvd. AND $10,000 for traffic calming

Promote art “visually accessible to the public” (what does that mean?!) [$25,000] – pay $25,000 payment-in-lieu

Eesh. Yet one more reason to turn my nose up at Chapel Hill.