On February 9, 2010, The Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force adopted a set of Guiding Principles for growth in Chapel Hill. They are listed below in no particular order of importance.
- Balance growth with the respect, preservation, and enhancement of Chapel Hill’s natural resources, open space, rural buffer, tree canopy and natural beauty.
- Build a diverse local economy that provides adequate training, local resources and opportunities for local high quality jobs. Intentional plan to create, attract, and retain commercial/retail activity and increase the commercial tax base.
- Create and preserve affordable housing for all residents by achieving a better balance of housing options w/regards to price, size, type, location, and access to transit.
- Design future growth to avoid exceeding locally available natural, financial, and community resources.
- Development should consider the context and site of the community by planning holistically and assessing cumulative impact.
- Encourage attractive human scale dense development along transportation corridors, particularly downtown and or on existing brownfield areas. Density should balance compact nodes with open space and take note of environmental concerns and infrastructure limitations.
- Minimize growth of automobile traffic in town by maximizing low carbon transportation connectivity, bus, bike, pedestrian, and light rail.
- Preserve the historic character of the Town and it's neighborhoods
- Promote diversity and equal opportunity in all manners for all residents including equitable access to public facilities and resources.
- Require environmental sustainability in building and design including reduction of energy consumption, strong water quality controls and green construction technology.
The last meeting of the Task Force was held on held on March 9, 2009. On April 12, 2010 the council recieved an update on the status of the Task Force from the Task Force chair. Click this link to view the council discussion of this item
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