The Real Estate Report (May 2009)

May, 2009

	The Real Estate Report Local Government News Impacting the Real Estate Industry

New Development Traffic Analysis Detailed for Carolina North By the year 2025 Carolina North will double the amount of traffic in Chapel Hill, mainly on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, according to a draft of a traffic impact analysis released earlier in May. Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., the consultants for the analysis, explained that vehicle, park and ride, transit, pedestrian, bike and others would increase from 40,000 to 80,000. The study does point out that MLK Jr Blvd will see a major increase in traffic regardless of whether the project is built and that the traffic improvements made by Carolina North will make the flow of traffic much better than if the project is not built. For the full story from The Herald Sun, click here. Carrboro Subdivision Denied Colleton Crossing, a development proposed for Reynard Road between Fox Meadow and Highlands, was unanimously denied by the Carrboro Board of Alderman on May 21. The project was designed to be a 39-dwelling subdivision on 31.6 acres of land. Residents were not supportive of the project due to concerns over traffic. For the full story from The Carrboro Citizen, click here. Schools Northside Elementary Construction in Question According to Orange County’s Budget Director, with Orange County nearing its 15 percent debt limit it is unlikely that there will be money available to build Northside Elementary 11 as planned for 2011. County Commissioners approved construction of the school, between McMasters and Caldwell Street, last year but current economic circumstances have put budget spending on hold. The Board of Commissioners will continue to meet the rest of the month to discuss options. For the full story from 1360 WCHL, click here. Orange County OWASA Requests Higher Water Rates Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) is calling for a 9.75 percent rate increase, raising the water bill of a typical, 5,000 gallons per month residence from $68.24 to $74.92. The rising prices of chemicals that clean wastewater are driving up costs. The public hearing to discuss rate increases will be May 28 at 7 p.m. in the Chapel Hill Town Hall and will also be televised on local cable channel 18. For the full story from the Chapel Hill News, click here. Property Tax Rate Decrease Proposed for Chapel Hill Chapel Hill’s Town Manager Roger Stancil is calling for a property tax rate reduction of 14 percent from last year, lowering the current rate of 58 cents per $100 of assessed property value to 49.7-cents. The proposal would include no job layoffs or furloughs and no salary increases for town employees. Stancil says that last year when the economy began to plummet the Council started taking money saving measurements that were so effective that Chapel Hill has room to reduce property taxes. Approximately $20 million will be delayed in taxpayer-authorized borrowing so as to not increase an already heavy debt burden. For the full story from The News and Observer, click here. Carrboro Proposes Budget Carrboro Town Manager Steve Stewart unveiled a 2010 budget proposal on May 12 that includes a property tax rate decrease from 68.63 to 58.94 cents per $100 valuation. The rate is considered revenue neutral meaning Carrboro will not see any increase in revenue despite increases in property valuations. Stewart said that because of the economic decline over the past months his proposal is a “conservative and very safe” route to take. The Aldermen were pleased to see the proposal include a revenue-neutral tax rate while maintaining services. A public hearing for the recommended budget will be held May 26 at 7 p.m. at Carrboro Town Hall. For the full story from the Carrboro Citizen, click here. Community Visioning Task Force Seated After the Town Council voted to expand the Community Visioning Task Force earlier this month, it voted to seat the Task Force on May 18. Several seats were designated for various segments of the community including business and university. Glen Greenstreet of Greenstreet Builders will be the business community representative, Gordon Merklein for UNC-Chapel Hill, and Etta Pisano will represent UNC Health Care. Civil engineer Bruce Ballentine will also be on the Task Force, which is charged with examining Chapel Hill’s comprehensive plan and making recommendations for how it can manage future economic growth. From Staff reports Orange County and MLS Figures According to the Triangle Multiple Listing Service 57 homes were sold in Orange County in April representing a 48 percent decrease from that month last year. April’s inventory for sale represented a 6.5 month supply, up from 5.9 a year ago while the median price fell 11 percent to $258,000. Overall, Triangle statistics for the past few months are trending better. For instance, 1,628 homes were sold in the Triangle in April, which is the highest monthly total in the past six months. Supply for the Triangle is also dipping from 14.9 months in November to 7.5 months in April. For the full story from Triangle Business Journal, click here. Orange County Manager Proposes Closing Libraries Orange County Manager Laura Blackmon’s budget proposal, given May 19, may close Carrboro Branch and Cedar Grove Libraries and decrease school funding by $3.1 million. In order to reflect this year’s property revaluation, Blackmon proposed a budget of approximately $177.6 million. This three percent budget decrease from last year would be reached by decreasing the tax rate from 99.8 cents per $100 assessed property to a “revenue neutral” 85.8 cents per $100. With the closure of the libraries, Blackmon suggested transferring staff to the new main county library opening in Hillsborough in the fall. At least one commissioner, former-Carrboro Mayor Mike Nelson, opposed Blackmon’s proposal to close the libraries. The county must adopt the budget on or before its final meeting of the fiscal year on June 16. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here. New Plans for University Square of Chapel Hill University Square, located on Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill, is likely to be replaced with a mixed-use development, according to plans developed by UNC-Chapel Hill. The redevelopment would be on a site including Granville Towers, which currently houses 1,300 students. Last year the university’s support foundation reported it would purchase the property from an affiliation with the Kenan family for $45.75 million. The foundation will own the property while the university will handle management and development. The deal is scheduled to close July 1. For the full story from the New and Observer, click here. Football Hikes Chapel Hill Economy Chapel Hill and Orange County economies received $6.5 million plus $325,000 in local and state tax revenue from the crowds of the 2008 North Carolina-Notre Dame football game. Nathan Tomasini, of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Sports Leadership, says this study also shows that of the football game attendees from North Carolina, 38.6% were from the Triangle and 45% of all attendees planned to attend all Carolina home games. Programs like “Touch Downtown Chapel Hill”, designed to entice fans to start early and stay late, focused on benefiting 100 restaurants and 50 specialty stores. The program will be continuing in 2009. For the full story from the Tourism Newsletter, click here. The Triangle Local Counties Ace Clean Air Report Orange and Chatham counties rank among America’s cleanest for short term particle pollution along with two others in North Carolina, according to the American Lung Association. This annual report assigns a report card grade for counties across the country based upon three components—annual particle pollution, 24-hour particle pollution, and smog and ozone levels. Durham County received a passing C for 24 hour pollution but an F for ozone levels. Along with some of the cleanest counties, North Carolina’s Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury Metropolitan Statistical Area and Rowan County had two of the worst ozone levels in the country. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. Jordan Lake Bill Moving Through State Legislature A bill was recently passed by the House that would require Durham and surrounding communities to take responsibility for Jordan Lake’s cleanliness. The bill represents a compromise between the City of Durham, environmental groups and legislators over how best to improve water quality in Jordan Lake. The revamped bill will not require communities to develop catch basins or reduce impervious surface in already developed areas unless those areas are being redeveloped. The original bill that emerged from the NC Environment Management Commission required such efforts. Communities in Jordan Lake’s watershed will be required to begin planning public-education efforts in the coming months and if no water quality improvement occurs by 2014 new measures have to be identified. For the full story from the Herald-Sun, click here. Chatham Alters Budget Spending Next year’s Chatham County budget proposal includes a slash in merit based salary increases, a three percent decrease from current spending and a “revenue neutral” tax rate. Chatham recently underwent a property revaluation similar to Orange County and County Manager Charlie Horne is recommending that the property tax rate be reduced from 65.3 cents per $100 valuation to 60.32 cents. After excluding debt payments, County spending will actually be seven percent lower than previously due to departments cutting funding from some positions. Although these changes are painful to make, Horne says the county is in better shape than the state and most other local governments. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. Chatham Passes Liquor by the Drink Chatham businesses are now able to apply for liquor licenses after County residents voted 65 percent in the affirmative for a liquor by the drink referendum. Jeffrey Starkweather, one of the main proponents of the change, says that not only will business owners have the opportunity to acquire licenses, but that he is going to work with East West Partners to bring a new hotel to Powell Place. Without being able to offer liquor by the drink, a hotelier likely would not be interested in Chatham County. Opposition for the change came from people concerned with the rise in alcohol-related vehicular complications. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. Durham City Manager makes Budget Proposals City Manager Tom Bonfield proposed a 2009-10 fiscal year budget that would eliminate 35 jobs whose incumbents will either be laid off or forced to take on a different position on city staff. Bonfield’s budget will also cancel annual merit-based wage increases for all but fire personnel and sworn police officers. If passed, the cuts would be the first for Durham since 1996. Town Councilman Mike Woodard supports Bonfield’s proposal because the layoffs are not just positions at the bottom of “the city hierarchy.” Woodard explains that it is important to understand what these eliminations and cuts will mean “operationally and programmatically.” For the full story from The Herald-Sun, click here. DPS Board Rejects County Budget, Proposes Tax Increase On May 11, the Durham School Board voted to add $2.1 million to the superintendent’s budget, a decision opposing the county manager’s proposal for a $2.5 million budget cut. Instead of cutting 377 teacher and assistant positions, board member Stephen Martin’s new proposal would keep 33 teacher and 25 teacher assistant jobs. Martin also motioned for a 2-cent increase in property taxes to create $4.6 million, which would allow the county to meet its spending goals and keep a popular after school program, Encore!. Martin’s motioned for a tax and spending increase was unanimously approved. For the full story from The Herald-Sun, click here. Grubb & Ellis Reports Triangle Market Trends Triangle retail vacancy reached a new high, surpassing 8 percent, with 1.5 million square feet of vacancy in the first quarter 2009, according to Grubb & Ellis Research on retail market trends. Even though Orange County had a lower retail vacancy rate than Downtown Raleigh, Cary, and Central Durham at the end of March, Grubb & Ellis predict vacancy will continue to rise for the entire Triangle throughout the year. Research also shows that the leveling out of the unemployment rate in the Raleigh-Cary and Durham-Chapel Hill areas is due more to the increased discouragement of workers than of stabilization in the job market. For the full story from Grubb and Ellis, click here. State and Nation State Passes Smoke-Free Bill A bill enforcing smoke-free restrictions in all North Carolina restaurants and bars was signed into law by Governor Bev Perdue recently. Supporters noted the 2006 Surgeon General Report that states no amount of second hand smoke is healthy and that putting employees of restaurants and bars at risk for health issues in exchange for a paycheck was unethical. Fines of up to $200 will be issued to establishments that do not enforce the new law along with $50 fines for smokers who do not abide. For the full story from The Herald-Sun, click here. Minority Populations Growing Exponentially According to a recent US Census Bureau report, North Carolina may be headed toward a future similar to the United States where Asian, Black, and Hispanic minorities outnumber the Caucasian population. In 2010 minorities are estimated to make up almost 33 percent of the state’s population. Presently, 45 percent of children in North Carolina under the age of 5 are minorities. The Hispanic population in North Carolina grew by 79 percent between 2000 and 2003, with Asians in second place growing by 48 percent, and Blacks by 13 percent. Census officials are now predicting that minorities will outnumber the Caucasian population in the U.S. by the year 2050. For the full story from the News & Observer, click here. The Real Estate Report is produced monthly by the Chapel Hill Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Chapel Hill Association of Realtors

The Real Estate Report (April 2009)

Volume 4, Issue 4

April, 2009

	The Real Estate Report Local Government News Impacting the Real Estate Industry

New Development UNC Plans Hospital in Hillsborough UNC Health Care has filed for permission to build a 68-bed hospital in the Waterstone Economic Development District just south of Hillsbrough. UNC Hospitals main campus has 725 beds at its main facility and is running close to capacity. The move to Hillsborough would help alleviate some traffic congestion on campus and expand the hospital's capacity to serve its patients.The project is estimated at $227 million. While the purchase of land by UNC would remove some land from the property tax rolls, the hospital could draw in new medical related businesses to the Waterstone Economic Development District that has been stagnant for some time. For the full story from the Triangle Business Journal, click here. Plans for Hotel at Southern Village Dropped DR Bryan, developer of Southern Village in Chapel Hill, dropped plans for a 90-100 room hotel originally planned for the central business district of that neighborhood. It was hoped that the hotel would bring new shoppers and customers to the village businesses but the plan ran into opposition from the neighbors. Instead of building the hotel, Bryan plans to aggressively market village businesses this summer and help capture greater sales from visitors to nearby Southern Community Park. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here. Greenbridge Builders Propose Property Tax Freeze Developers of the Greenbridge project in downtown Chapel Hill are proposing a property tax freeze for the Northside neighborhood, immediately adjacent to the Greenbridge project. Residents of Northside have said the project will raise their property tax rates and force them to leave. In response, developers have looked at projects in Indiana and Washington, D.C. that keep property taxes at a fixed rate even when property values go up. County officials have not expressed optimism that the freeze could be implemented, and even if it could, it would need to be passed by the State Legislature. For the full story from the Daily Tar Heel, click here. Schools East Principal Retiring East Chapel Hill High School Principal Dave Thaden announced his retirement in mid-April. Thaden has served as principal for thirteen years and has worked in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School district for another 17 years in various positions. Thaden cited health issues as part of the reason for his decision to step down. For the full story from the Carrboro Citizen, click here. Schools Considering Major Cuts The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board is considering major cuts in the district's budget due to reductions in funds from Orange County and the State. Next year's budget incorporates $700,000 in budget cuts but according to Superintendent Neil Pedersen, it may need to be cut by $4 million. Cuts are targeted at arts, music, physical education, the world language program and teachers for the academically gifted. For the full story from 1360AM WCHL, click here. Orange County Transfer Tax Issue Resurfaces Almost one year after voters smashed the transfer tax at the ballots, Orange County Commissioners voted on a resolution stating, "support for the ability of all local governments to apply impact fees and/or taxes and to implement real estate transfer fees and/or taxes." Should the State Legislature approve new revenue options for the County, including a transfer tax increase, the Commissioners could enact the fee without local voter approval. Commissioner Steve Yuhasz was the lone opposition to including the transfer tax in the Board's legislative priorities list. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. Downtown Partnership Hires New Executive Director The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership has hired a new executive director to replace former director Liz Parham. Jim Norton, current president of Tulsa (OK) Downtown Unlimited, will start at the Partnership on June 1. Norton has served as president of Downtown Unlimited for nearly 20 years and chaired a statewide effort in Oklahoma to approve tax increment financing and advocated for residential development in the downtown. For the full story from the Daily Tar Heel, click here. Unemployment Down in County Orange County's March unemployment figures were down by 0.4 percent over February to 6.1 percent. The unemployment rate remains the lowest in the state. Overall, 84 counties saw a decline in unemployment rate in March, which is a great sign. Neighboring Durham County dropped from 8 percent to 7.7 and Chatham County moved from 8.6 to 7.9 percent during the same period. For more unemployment data from the North Carolina Employment Security Commission, click here. Chapel Hill Town Council Adopts Improved Parking Regulations At their meeting on Monday, March 16, the Chapel Hill Town Council adopted a number of important downtown parking policy changes including a "courtesy ticket" and improved parking signage. The changes were put forward by the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership and were unanimously adopted by the Council in a 9-0 vote. Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber President Aaron Nelson spoke in support of the recommendations at the meeting. The new "courtesy ticket" will give first-time parking offenders a free warning ticket that tells visitors and patrons of downtown they've parked illegally or overstayed at a meter instead of issuing a financial penalty. The move is aimed at welcoming and encouraging visitors to come downtown. Further, Town parking lots (Lots 2, 3, 4, 5) will be renamed to more geographic names giving people a better sense of their location and when combined with new, improved signage should make it easier to locate parking downtown. The Council also asked the Town Manager to review the impact of potentially making parking free in Town lots after 6pm and increasing on-street meter rates by $.25 per hour to offset the difference. Other changes include the following: developing a parking board to oversee policy and parking operations for the Town, move toward unified payment systems for all parking, evaluate event parking fees, work to add additional public parking using private lots, and begin planning for the future needs of parking. >From Chapel Hill eNews IFC and Carrboro Merchants Begin Dialogue The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service is looking at a location in downtown Carrboro to potentially house a full-service food operation. The change in location comes as IFC is working to relocate its Community House, currently on West Rosemary Street, to a former Duke Energy building in northern Chapel Hill. The food service operations, also currently housed in the West Rosemary building, will need to remain in a downtown according to IFC's Board of Directors. IFC is eyeing its property at 110 W. Main Street where the food pantry is currently located but the relocation has local businesses concerned that panhandling and loitering will come with the relocation. That concern has prompted IFC director Chris Moran to start a dialogue with business owners in Carrboro about where the best location for a soup kitchen might be. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. New LED Lights Installed in Downtown Chapel Hill A new pilot program between the Town of Chapel Hill and Duke Energy launched last week when Duke installed light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, along part of East Franklin Street. The project is a 12-month program that is testing the performance of the lights, which are supposed to use less energy, burn brighter and last longer than traditional high-pressure sodium lights. The LEDs came from RTP company Cree and cost about eight times more than traditional lights. Chapel Hill is the first town in North Carolina to try the lights and will use data and information from the pilot to decide whether to use LEDs more broadly. Residents are encouraged to submit comments about the lights here. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. County Economic Developer Working on Solar Cluster Brad Broadwell, Orange County Economic Development Director, is moving forward with the creation of a solar technology cluster that would expand the commercial tax base and bring new jobs to the county. A cluster is a geographic concentration of similar businesses and their suppliers and supporting businesses. Broadwell is working with existing solar companies like MegaWatt Solar and Solar Tech South to boost their image in the region and is looking to tap into stimulus funds. Broadwell has approached the developers of Buckhorn Village about potentially creating a solar technology park in place of the originally planned retail project. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. County Looking to Sell Surplus Buildings In an attempt to generate some revenue, Orange County Commissioners agreed to put four properties up for sale. The properties are the Clerk of Court Annex, 112 N. Churton St., Hillsborough; the Graham Building, 118 N. Churton St., Hillsborough; the Homestead Community Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill; and the old ABC store, N.C. 49, Cedar Grove. The County will get appraisals on three of the properties before selling them. The appraisals are part of the standard devestiture process the county uses to sell buldings. The tax value of all of the buildings except for the ABC store was $850,000. For the full story from the Carrboro Citizen, click here. Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force Receiving Applications The Town of Chapel Hill is now receiving applications for the recently created Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force. The Task Force is the idea of Mayor Kevin Foy and is charged with making recommendations to the Council "regarding the design, timing, scale and appropriate location of higher density, mixed use" and "sustainable development along major transportation corridors in Chapel Hill." The Task Force will consist of 11 members, five citizens-at-large and six members from various town boards and commissions. If you are interested in applying to be a part of this important task force, click here. The Triangle Chatham Gearing Up for Mixed Drink Referendum Supporters and opponents of mixed beverage sales in Chatham County are preparing for a show down at the ballot box on May 5. The vote will determine whether Chatham County will allow businesses to sell mix drinks, something supporters say would be an economic boon to the county. Supporters also point out that DWI arrests in dry communities such as Asheboro are higher than in Greensboro or High Point, which allow mixed drink sales. Opponents say the sale of mixed drinks will lead to more alcohol-related vehicular accidents. For the full story from the Herald Sun, click here. More Development Eyed at Southpoint WRS Realty Inc, a developer of Wal-Mart shopping centers, has made an offer of more than $20 million for a 55-acre plot of land near Southpoint Mall in Durham. The 55-acres are west of Fayetteville Road in the Kentington Heights neighborhood. While a deal has not yet been reached, Kentington residents have sought to sell their land for some time to a commercial developer. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here. Local Option Sales Tax Clears House The North Carolina House of Representatives approved House Bill 148, local option sales tax, on April 22. The bill would allow voters in all North Carolina counties to approve a sales tax increase for transit-projects. Specifically, it would allow voters in Forsyth, Guilford, Wake, Durham and Orange counties to approve a half cent sales tax increase and a $2 increase in car registration fees. Voters in the other 94 counties to approve a quarter cent sales tax increase. Mecklenburg County already won approval and used its half cent sales tax increase to fund an ambitious light rail project in its downtown. The next step for the bill is approval in the Senate. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here. State and Nation New Commercial Tenants Leasing Smaller Spaces Robert Bach, Chief Economist with Grubb and Ellis, reported last month that real estate tenants nationwide are using less space per deal. Bach sites that the average industrial lease signed in the first quarter of 2009 was 22,974 sq ft, which is the lowest its been this decade. In the office category, the average lease signed was 12,808 sq ft which is 50 percent smaller than the quarterly average from 2000 to 2008. The report states three reasons for the reduction in square footage: 1) Tenants signing new leases may have recently laid off staff and are "right-sizing" their space, 2) Tenants may be less optimistic about future expansion plans and are less aggressive in the amount of space being leased, 3) Smaller companies are scooping up the good deals being offered by landlords while larger companies are waiting for the economy to improve. From Grubb and Ellis "Weekly Market Insight" The Real Estate Report is produced monthly by the Chapel Hill Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Chapel Hill Association of Realtors

Real Estate Report (March 2009)

March, 2009

New Development Carrboro Aldermen Approve Claremont The Carrboro Board of Aldermen approved the fourth and fifth stages of the Claremont development in Carrboro. The project is located along Homestead Road and will include 27 townhomes and 69 single-family homes once built. The central issue in the approval of the project's final stages was the connection of the new development with the neighboring Wexford development. Wexford neighbors were deeply concerned about a road connection between the neighborhoods and the amount of new traffic it would create. The Carrboro Aldermen reached a compromise over the connection issue by requiring the Claremont developer to build a bike and pedestrian connection with a roadway sufficient enough for a firetruck. The roadway would be blocked by bollards and only used in case of emergency. For the full story from the Carrboro Citizen, click here. Council Denies Aydan Court Project At a Chapel Hill Town Council meeting last week, the Council voted unanimously against extending the R-SS-C development zone beyond downtown setting up a furious hearing with Aydan Court developer Carol Ann Zinn. The Aydan Court project followed the R-SS-C zoning discussion and needed the zone to be approved in order for the condominium and townhouse project to potentially be approved. Zinn aleged the Council was unfair in its process saying, "I think what you have done is outrageous. I think it's a discredit to the trust that we as citizens put in you for a fair process with integrity and transparency." Click here to hear Mayor Kevin Foy's response to Zinn on WCHL 1360AM. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. Carolina North Fiscal Impact Study Finalized Economic planning consultant TischlerBise released the fiscal impact study of the first (15-year) phase of development at Carolina North. The report shows that sales and property tax revenues would offset the costs incurred by local governments. The Town of Chapel Hill is the one jurisdiction that stands to lose somewhat in the project as the report shows a $12 million loss over 15 years, largely coming from a fire station that would need to be built in year 9. "This [report] says it shouldn't be terribly difficult to make this fiscally neutral," said Jack Evans, the Carolina North project's executive director. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here. Schools Schools Looking for Ways to Trim Budget The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District is facing a budget shortfall of $875,000 for fiscal year 2009 and is looking at ways to close the gap. Superintendent Neil Pedersen submitted potential action steps that include reductions in non-personnel expenses in the central office and the loss of a reading teacher at East and Chapel Hill High. Other potential cuts include reductions in after school programs and media center specialists. Click here to hear a sound clip from School Board Chair Lisa Stuckey and for more information about this story from 1360AM WCHL. CHCCS Releases Reading Results Students in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools continue to outperform their counterparts across North Carolina in reading, despite a drop in reading test performance. This year, significant changes were made in the tests given to students in grades 3-8, including setting higher standards for attaining proficiency. As a result, 78.5 percent of CHCCS students posted proficiency in reading while in 2008, that number was 93.4 percent. The drop in scores in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro district is approximately one-half of the decline seen statewide. “In raising standards, we may make students better readers in the end, but the presentation of the results the first year with new standards can be demoralizing to students and staff," said Executive Director for Testing and Program Evaluation Diane Villwock. For the full story, click here. Orange County Chapel Hill Town Council Adopts Improved Parking Regulations At their meeting on Monday, March 16, the Chapel Hill Town Council adopted a number of important downtown parking policy changes including a "courtesy ticket" and improved parking signage. The changes were put forward by the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership and were unanimously adopted by the Council in a 9-0 vote. Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber President Aaron Nelson spoke in support of the recommendations at the meeting. The new "courtesy ticket" will give first-time parking offenders a free warning ticket that tells visitors and patrons of downtown they've parked illegally or overstayed at a meter instead of issuing a financial penalty. The move is aimed at welcoming and encouraging visitors to come downtown. Further, Town parking lots (Lots 2, 3, 4, 5) will be renamed to more geographic names giving people a better sense of their location and when combined with new, improved signage should make it easier to locate parking downtown. The Council also asked the Town Manager to review the impact of potentially making parking free in Town lots after 6pm and increasing on-street meter rates by $.25 per hour to offset the difference. Other changes include the following: developing a parking board to oversee policy and parking operations for the Town, move toward unified payment systems for all parking, evaluate event parking fees, work to add additional public parking using private lots, and begin planning for the future needs of parking. From Chapel Hill eNews Orange County Manager Resigns County Manager Laura Blackmon, the first female manager in Orange County, sent a letter to County employees on March 9 announcing her resignation. In the letter, Blackmon announced she and her husband are leaving to go to Tennessee and she will be resigning in June. Blackmon will have been manager for about two and a half years by that point and did not give specifics for her resignation in the letter. The resignation comes amidst an $8.7 million budget shortfall and citizen uprising over recent property revaluations. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here. Planning Board to Bring New Petition Before Council The Chapel Hill planning board submitted a new petition to the Town Council at the March 23 meeting regarding a Land Use Management Ordinance text amendment. Citizens and developers spoke against a past petition by the planning board saying it would force more commercial projects through the Special Use Permitting (SUP) process and add unnecessary delays to projects. The planning board responded by delaying the issue and and instead submitted a new petition that would allow redevelopment and renovation projects greater than 20,000 square feet in the downtown to be exempt from the SUP process so long as there are no exterior building changes or additions in square footage. From Staff notes Commissioners Say "Too Late" To Rescind Revaluations In a work session last week, Orange County commissioners agreed it was too late to rescind the property revaluations that have alarmed thousands of property owners in the county. County Attorney Geoff Gledhill advised the commissioners that state law does not allow counties to rescind revaluations. Were the revaluation rescinded, commissioners pointed out that it could double the current $8.7 million budget shortfall and exacerbate major budget cuts. Regarding the impact of the increases, tax assessor John Smith said the majority of taxpayers would see a tax increase. Data from the county show that more than 250 households saw an increase of more than 100 percent in their home value. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. Carrboro Merchants Launch WalkCarrboro.com Jesse Kalisher, president of the Carrboro Merchants Association, has led a new effort to draw residents and tourists to 22 Carrboro businesses through a Web site called www.walkcarrboro.com. The Web site lists various Carrboro businesses and also includes a map helping people navigate the town and parking. Beyond the site, Kalisher printed 10,000 copies of the map, which was designed by Carrboro artist Richard Clout. For the full story from the Chapel Hill News, click here. New LED Lights Installed in Downtown Chapel Hill A new pilot program between the Town of Chapel Hill and Duke Energy launched last week when Duke installed light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, along part of East Franklin Street. The project is a 12-month program that is testing the performance of the lights, which are supposed to use less energy, burn brighter and last longer than traditional high-pressure sodium lights. The LEDs came from RTP company Cree and cost about eight times more than traditional lights. Chapel Hill is the first town in North Carolina to try the lights and will use data and information from the pilot to decide whether to use LEDs more broadly. Residents are encouraged to submit comments about the lights here. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. Water Partnership Inches Closer Orange County Commissioners moved closer to joining the Jordan Lake Regional Water Supply Partnership, electing to place a draft memorandum of understanding for the Partnership on an upcoming agenda. The Partnership brings together the cities of Durham and Cary, Chatham County, Orange County and the Orange Water and Sewer Authority to jointly address water supply planning, future allocation requests, and a possible future intake facility. Commissioners expressed some reservation that the City of Durham would act as the lead agency in the effort and that no elected officials would be part of the partnership management team. The Commissioners will vote on the draft memorandum on Tuesday night. For the full story from the Herald Sun, click here. Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force Created The Chapel Hill Town Council approved the creation of the Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force at a recent Council meeting. The Task Force is the idea of Mayor Kevin Foy and would be charged with making recommendations to the Council "regarding the design, timing, scale and appropriate location of higher density, mixed use" and "sustainable development along major transportation corridors in Chapel Hill." The Task Force will consist of 11 members, five citizens-at-large and six members from various town boards and commissions. At the Council meeting, members modified the committee somewhat agreeing that at least one spot be reserved for a businessperson. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. County Facing Major Budget Shortfall Orange County Government is facing an $8.7 million budget shortfall this year, which amounts to 5 percent of this years $183 million budget. The shortfall is equal to 6.2 cents on the county's property tax rate. County Manager Laura Blackmon has listed various ways to make up the shortfall including service reductions and school district funding. For the full story from the Chapel Hill News, click here. The Triangle Durham Sales Tax Figures Bring Relief Durham Commissioners got a Christmas present in March as December sales tax figures came in 12 percent higher than 2007 figures. The increase was surprising given the November 2008 numbers were off by 20 percent compared to 2007. County Manager Mike Ruffin was pleased with the figures but cautioned that "one month does not make a trend." For the full story from the News and Observer, click here. More Development Eyed at Southpoint WRS Realty Inc, a developer of Wal-Mart shopping centers, has made an offer of more than $20 million for a 55-acre plot of land near Southpoint Mall in Durham. The 55-acres are west of Fayetteville Road in the Kentington Heights neighborhood. While a deal has not yet been reached, Kentington residents have sought to sell their land for some time to a commercial developer. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here. Durham Crime Dropping in 2009 Crime figures for the first two months of 2009 were down considerably compared to that period of 2008. Violent crime, which includes murder, rape, robbery, and agravated assault, was down 36 percent. Property crime was down 1 percent. According to Police Chief Jose Lopez, police have worked hard to identify suspects in multiple robberies which likely has reduced the violent crime rate. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here. Poll Shows Initial Support for Transit Sales Tax A new poll released by the Regional Transportation Alliance, a Triangle business leadership group, cites some support for a regional transit system funded through a sales tax. The poll interviewed residents of Orange, Durham and Wake Counties and found that 53 percent of respondents would vote in favor of a half-cent sales tax increase for new and/or expanded public transportation. The same poll shows that 57 percent of residents would not support a property tax increase for public transportation. Interestingly, only 9 percent of those surveyed said regional transit should be a top priority for elected officials. Twenty-nine percent of residents said attracting more jobs to the area should be elected officials' top goal. For the full story from the Triangle Business Journal, click here. Census Shows Raleigh Area is Fastest Growing Census figures released last week show the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area is the fastest growing area in the country. The Raleigh-Cary area includes Wake, Johnston and Franklin counties and grew by 4.3 percent from July 2007 to July 2008. The closest area in terms of growth is Austin, Texas which grew at a rate of 3.8 percent during the same period. The figures for Raleigh-Cary do mark a slowdown for the area from the previous two years when it great at a rate of 4.7 percent. The Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area did not crack the top ten but still grew at a steady rate of 2.5 percent. Durham, Orange, Chatham and Person counties make up that area. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here. State and Nation New Commercial Tenants Leasing Smaller Spaces Robert Bach, Chief Economist with Grubb and Ellis, reported last week that real estate tenants nationwide are using less space per deal. Bach sites that the average industrial lease signed in the first quarter of 2009 was 22,974 sq ft, which is the lowest its been this decade. In the office category, the average lease signed was 12,808 sq ft which is 50 percent smaller than the quarterly average from 2000 to 2008. The report states three reasons for the reduction in square footage: 1) Tenants signing new leases may have recently laid off staff and are "right-sizing" their space, 2) Tenants may be less optimistic about future expansion plans and are less aggressive in the amount of space being leased, 3) Smaller companies are scooping up the good deals being offered by landlords while larger companies are waiting for the economy to improve. From Grubb and Ellis "Weekly Market Insight" MBA Estimates Major Increase in Originations The Mortgage Bankers Association upped its expectations for 2009 saying the low interest rates and new federal programs will spur significant refinancing. MBA's original national estimate for 2009 originations was just shy of $2 trillion; its revised figure is $2.78 trillion. Should the numbers this year actually pan out, it would make 2009 the fourth-biggest mortgage year in history. For the full story from the Triangle Business Journal, click here. Federal Action Helping Local Real Estate Market Local real estate agents say they are seeing some positive signs after the Federal Reserve's purchase of more than $1 trillion in troubled mortgage debt and treasuries. Sammy Martin, one of the owners of Franklin Street Realty, says he's seen rates around 4.75 percent for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage and that there are 275 homes for sale in Chapel Hill that are less than $350,000. Martin says sales were really slow during January and February but that March figures are triple the amount seen in the previous two months. For the full story from 1360 WCHL, click here.