Hunter views fighting climate change as an integral part of larger policy solutions. As such, her solutions center around transportation issues, specifically, reducing car dependency. This is a smart way of looking at the problem, and her detailed plan to encourage sustainability in Chapel Hill by increasing walkability through expanding greenways and a more robust busing system will have big impacts on our energy consumption in the future.
Downtown Development (A-)
Hunter understands that developers aren’t a boogeyman, and that downtown needs to attract more business in order to be sustainable. Hunter plans to revitalize the downtown area by promoting mixed-use developments, which will be effective in promoting growth of businesses and a larger resident population, both of which are essential to a vibrant downtown.
Diversity and Inclusion (B+)
Hunter understands that sometimes minority residents and students feel unsafe and marginalized, both as a result of unfair policing and due to an unwelcoming climate. Going forward, her call for more cooperation between University and Town police could be helpful in promoting a more inclusive town. Although we're not sure if the police are the best institution for making marginalized communities feel safe, working toward reform could be productive if minority voices are centered in the dialogue.
Amy Ryan (A-)
Affordable Housing (A)
Ryan brings a needed empirical vision for the affordable housing crisis in Chapel Hill. Her deep knowledge of Chapel Hill’s zoning and land use laws are complemented by her background in land planning. She points to a zoning law restricting the amount of residential units per acre as a key obstacle to better development that must be changed. Understanding that affordable housing also has deep social roots, she will combine expertise and vision to provide affordable housing in Chapel Hill.
Transportation (A-)
She has a robust working knowledge of the goals that need to be accomplished for further development of transit in Chapel Hill, strongly advocating for bus rapid transit. She sees the expansion of service hours and complementing busy transit corridors as a way to ease congestion and take cars off the road. However, her vision for working toward regional transit isn't completely fleshed out.
Climate Change (B+)
She understands the problem, but it’s unclear if she understands the urgency. Nevertheless, she puts up several good proposals, namely electrifying and expanding public transit and improving the greenway system for transportation and carbon sequestration. She also promotes greening our building codes and making residents aware of how they can be involved in sustainability efforts.
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Downtown Development (A-)
Ryan brings an innovative vision for downtown, hallmarked by a plan to incentivize downtown expansion down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. This would complement existing student housing, as well as provide additional room for new businesses. Not to mention that MLK is already a huge transit corridor that is accustomed to plenty of traffic. She claims that this expansion will ease pressure on traditional neighborhoods, which is the most creative plan we heard on this topic.
Diversity and Inclusion (A-)
Ryan is clearly passionate about social issues, and understands that her proposals have deep social impacts in a community like Chapel Hill. She's an advocate for protecting and uplifting low-income and minority residents through affordable housing and development that takes pressure off historic communities. Her plans show that she understands the importance of diversity and inclusion in Chapel Hill, and will work to protect and proliferate it.
Michael Parker (A)
Affordable Housing (A)
Coming from an understanding of the deep social issues surrounding affordable housing, Parker has a broad and informed plan to create affordable housing in Chapel Hill. He sees the challenge in two pieces: first, incentivizing developers to build housing through higher in lieu payments and other incentives; second, using Town land and capital to make developers more willing to build affordable units. He is clearly knowledgeable about current policies and solutions and their shortcomings, and he proposes innovative solutions to address them.
Transportation (A)
Proud of the success of our current system yet cognizant of its issues, Parker understands the urgent need for strong public transit. He has plans to coordinate local and regional growth simultaneously, and make Chapel Hill a more walkable and accessible town. His plan includes the creation of a two-trunked BRT system offering North-South and East-West Routes, improving regional connections to other parts of the Triangle. He also promotes making Chapel Hill more walkable through more compact development along transit routes, and the introduction of e-bikes. As chairman of the board for GoTriangle, he also sees a future for commuter rail, but said he is open to whatever solution will serve the population best.
Climate Change (A)
Parker was quick to point out the two big elephants in the room, transportation and land use, and proposed solutions to both problems. He says incentivizing more compact development along transit routes is certainly important, as well as improving public transportation and providing infrastructure for electric vehicles. He also picks up on less-discussed issues, such as reuse and socially equitable development when tackling climate change. His passion for quick and effective solutions is apparent, and is the kind of attitude we need on the Town Council.
Downtown Development (A)
Knowing that downtown development requires a balance between the needs of residents and businesses, Parker has a deep-seated plan for sustainable and profitable development for Chapel Hill. His vision for downtown truly encapsulates what makes downtown Chapel Hill iconic, yet proposes policies that would enhance and support the town into the future. He sees it in three dimensions: more jobs and 12-month residents, more destinations for tourism and residents and using the future land use map as a tool for continued development. Parker's philosophy is that full economic and social potential can be unlocked by a combination of residential and commercial development, and enhanced by cultural centers and attractions.
Diversity and Inclusion (A)
Parker's perspective is intersectional. Always pointing to the social implications of his plans, he wants social justice, diversity and inclusion to thrive in Chapel Hill in every way. His passion for social justice is reflected in his plans for affordable housing, climate change and equitable development and transportation access. A man who sees people first in every situation? Perfect for public office in a place like Chapel Hill.
Jessica Anderson (A)
Affordable Housing (A)
Anderson hopes to develop a plan to get a baseline to understand the need for housing. She wants to leverage the $10 million bond to get as many units as possible and develop the master leasing project with Glen Lennox to subsidize housing for lower-income families. She also wants to continue to advocate for additional mixed-income housing development projects such as those at 2200 Homestead Road to minimize segregation within our town, and stresses the importance of letting the public know of changes and advancements.
Transportation (A)
Anderson wants to expand on the bus rapid transit system to make a heavily traveled route better and quicker. In the long-term, she'll look at more routes to connect current riders and projected riders to Chatham Park, Hillsborough and the Research Triangle. She hopes to use data-driven approaches to serve lower-income residents, and reduce parking at places with high transit to motivate the use of public transportation.
Climate Change (A)
She wants to improve transit and place newer developments along transit corners. She has a variety of ideas: charging stations around town, replacing town vehicles with electric ones, adjusting land ordinance rewrites and requiring developers to be more environmentally friendly. She wants to connect greenways and bike paths, as well as ask developers to take into account stormwater infrastructure. She also hopes to engage young people in local sustainability efforts, as they will be most impacted by climate change, and they usually have ways of communicating with each other and have the most innovative ideas.
Downtown Development (A)
Anderson notes that Chapel Hill has an excellent new development director, and wants the council to fulfill their budget requirements and get out of the way to enable them to do their work. She believes that downtown needs to advocate for more residents to support local businesses, and cited efforts by the council to make downtown more accessible (ex. festivals, pop ups, etc.). Anderson also wants to open a larger parking deck and looking at multimodal options to get people downtown, allowing the opening up of smaller surface decks so they can be redeveloped into something exciting.
Diversity and Inclusion (A)
On Confederates marching: “Honestly, they have a First Amendment right to rally peacefully, but do I personally want them here? Good god, no.”
She would like the community to be more diverse and seen as a progressive community, integrating as many socioeconomic groups and allowing the people who work here to afford to live here. Anderson is very active in the community; she spoke to people about the sexual assault issue before the recent news coverage, and works on the Youth Homelessness Demonstration project. She also has a master's in public policy, and uses it to improve educational support and services for youth experiencing homelessness.
While we are not endorsing the following candidates, we believe that they are honorable mentions who are deserving of consideration:
Tai Huynh (A-)
Affordable Housing (A)
Huynh brings an excellent perspective to the affordable housing issue. He understands that race is at the core of the issue, and has been on the Housing Advisory Board for some time. His proposals are comprehensive and varied, from pursuing more project-specific grants to building more varied developments, like duplexes.
Transportation (A-)
Huynh has a good understanding of the roots of the issue and how to solve the problem on a larger scale. Reflecting on the shortcomings of the light rail proposal, Huynh has innovative proposals, like an electric bus system that will truly make Chapel Hill’s transportation more efficient and convenient. He also touches on the racial equity concerns of the current system, citing that it is not friendly to non-9-to-5 workers.
Climate Change (B+)
Huynh combines his perspectives on affordable housing and transportation to his proposals to fight against climate change. His plans to reduce car dependency and building more duplexes and other housing developments show that he understands the underlying mechanisms that must be addressed to lower our energy consumption.
Downtown Development (B+)
Huynh’s entrepreneurial experience helps him understand why Chapel Hill is having problems retaining businesses. His goal is to create a better entrepreneurial ecosystem by creating more office space and resources for businesses. Through working with the University, he has a comprehensive approach to growing downtown Chapel Hill with the entrepreneurial vision it needs.
Diversity and Inclusion (A)
Huynh understands the multi-faceted struggles that marginalized communities because he’s lived them. As the son of refugees, he has unique perspectives on how many of the biggest issues of the day, like affordable housing, have unique impacts on marginalized communities. Most of Huynh’s proposals embody this knowledge and focus on innovative ways to help marginalized communities feel welcome through things like providing more equitable police protection to ensuring they have an affordable place to live.
Renuka Soll (A-):
Affordable Housing (B+)
Although she seems to have the big picture right, we’re not sure if she has the knowledge of the details to get her proposals done. She doesn’t seem as familiar with land use ordinances or zoning laws as some other candidates. It’s also unclear that she recognizes affordable housing in Chapel Hill is going to be an ongoing issue, paired with development of downtown in particular. Nevertheless, she does have some good ideas, namely incentivizing density through land ordinances and zoning laws and using Town-owned land for housing.
Transportation (A-)
She’s a strong advocate of Bus Rapid Transit as the future of Chapel Hill Transit. She’s adamant that electrification of buses is necessary, and that development along major East-West and North-South corridors is essential. She’s also innovative in her plan to further utilize the greenway system for foot traffic. Her regional vision is a little underdeveloped, but she sees that the need is paramount.
Climate Change (A)
Soll puts forward a rigorous climate plan and emphasizes urgency. She recognizes that transportation and buildings are the two biggest sources of emissions. She thinks that we need to provide new ways to get people out of cars through transit development and committing the Town to the Architecture 2030 project, which calls for all new buildings, developments and renovations to be carbon-neutral by 2030. She also supports mixed-use development, an important aspect for building density and staying all-around sustainable.
Downtown Development (A-)
Soll sees the future of Chapel Hill as a combination of development and keeping the town’s charm alive. A staunch advocate for providing supports and incentives for new, local businesses, she pairs her vision with a more pedestrian-friendly downtown with canopy trees, walking spaces and art installations. It’s unclear if she sees the downtown area growing in size over the years, but she’s got the right goals and values to keep downtown Chapel Hill as good as ever.
Diversity and Inclusion (A)
Soll's vision for Chapel Hill is multicultural, diverse and inclusive. She’s consistent with talking about a community that’s open to “mixing” between people, believing that it makes Chapel Hill a better place for all. We wholeheartedly agree.
Nancy Oates (B+)
Affordable Housing (B+)
Oates’ solution focused on working with developers to adjust the affordable rate, which is sometimes skewed based on the vacancy rate in housing. She believes that we need to focus less on luxury housing, since it increases rent baselines across town, and more on affordable options. She has previous experience advocating for affordable housing and would like to partner and work more closely with the UNC administration to keep more undergraduates on campus.
Transportation (A)
Oates is a member of the Transit Partners board, and she wants to tweak the bus schedule to serve people working at UNC, both on campus and in the healthcare system (the two biggest employers who employ people with non-traditional hours). She hopes to focus on serving commuters better to help with traffic and parking issues, and to connect them with regional transit east and west, as we currently have Bus Rapid Transit moving south. She also hopes to implement a plan to begin serving Chatham and other areas across the Triangle.
Climate Change (A-)
Oates is hopeful to put together a climate action plan as a council and decide on a budget to hopefully push more eco-friendly options, such as electric buses. She particularly would like to get individuals and the community involved with things like Ban the Straw month and compostable to-go boxes at restaurants and keeping awareness levels up. In comparison to other candidates, her plan for climate change action was slightly less extensive and actionable.
Downtown Development (B+)
Oates vows to lobby for affordable housing downtown, and she mentions her desire to implement sufficient parking and transit to support businesses downtown. Oates envisions the area increasing with commercial office retail space.
Diversity and Inclusion (B+)
Oates has a lot of confidence in the police for being able to keep people safe, as well as the new town manager from Charlottesville who has dealt with racial tension. She would like to work closer with the UNC administration to ensure the safety of students, as well as work to keep more undergraduates living on campus longer. She enjoys canvassing and working with the community, and has a personal goal of getting more people involved on advisory boards, regardless of their viewpoints and backgrounds.
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