Pittsboro/Chatham growth

[RaleighRob]

Haven't seen a thread on the Triangle's SW corner: Chatham County yet. I think it's worth starting one, seeing as they're beginning to see plenty of overflow from Cary and Chapel Hill now. (Mods: If I'm wrong, just feel free to move this. I just couldn't find one.)

Big topic recently is the proposed "Pittsboro Place". (Article here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/654814.html )

This one boggles the mind. They're wanting to put a commercial sprawling development that's larger than Crossroads Plaza on the northern side of Pittsboro. I just can't imagine anything down there that huge.

[Jones_]

Chatham is so beautiful as is. The Highhouse Davis folks in Cary need to understand that their unwillingness to want dense development near them leads to this sort of thing in far away places.

[carynative]

Jones, I agree.. and you have to keep in mind that the sprawling mess that is called "Beaver Creek" at U.S. 64/N.C. 55 in Apex is only about a 15/20 min. drive from Pittsboro. I know that site is comparable to Crossroads and is growing constantly. I can't imagine that Pittsboro would even need anything like what's proposed for years to come.

[Jones_]

Does anyone understand the details of how such a pro-development county board ended up in place a few years back when it seems like every Chatham resident I see quoted is for much more carefully planned growth if any growth at all.....I know the Indy had a big story a while back and it all sounded very shady....but hey so do lots of things nowadays

[RaleighRob]

Well, in the last election (actually, the last primary since Chatham is almost all-Dem), a bunch of the pro-development commissioners were replaced with "smart growth" ones. I think they have the majority now, and we should start seeing the results of that.

As for the individual towns, Pittsboro, Siler City, etc, I dunno which way they lean exactly. I know Pittsboro's mayor ran last time on a smart-growth platform. But for the rest of the town council, I don't know.

[ChiefJoJo]

I saw this article the other day about Chatham Co looking at larger lots to reduce sprawl.

"The more you increase lot sizes, the more you increase sprawl," Commissioner Mike Cross said.

He's only correct if land is sufficiently priced such that developing large lots is profitable, which is rarely the case in NC. I believe that is why Orange Co is so rural outside Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough, because the minimum lotsize (~3acres/unit min) is so large, a subivision is typically not practical for a developer. Frankly, we should do something along the lines of that, or development rights, etc, in Wake Co to limit sprawl and help preserve farmland.

[RaleighRob]

Interesting. Yeah, if lot sizes are increased enough, you reduce sprawl by making it rural instead of suburban. At least that's what I would think. *shrug*

I guess it would be counter-weighed better if inside city/town limits you decrease lot sizes and encourage multiple-family residences, in a dense smart growth pattern.

Again it all goes to the question that Pittsboro and Chatham leaders will face over time....do you want to be more like Chapel Hill/Carrboro or Cary/SW Wake? Choose wisely.

[ChiefJoJo]

Chatham looks to zone certain corridors... that's right, I said zone, not rezone. Many areas have never been zoned in the first place. The intent is to prevent strip commercial development and maintain the rural character of the county.

[RaleighRob]

Wow...some of those against it have some pretty crazy quotes. "Maybe we need a few more parking lots".... um, Ok.

[Creasy336]

Wow...some of those against it have some pretty crazy quotes. "Maybe we need a few more parking lots".... um, Ok.

[ChiefJoJo]

Pittsboro declares another morotorium on new construction because they cannot find the $34M to build a new wastwater treatment plant. More evidence that growth doesn't pay for itself.

[Jones_]

Pittsboro declares another morotorium on new construction because they cannot find the $34M to build a new wastwater treatment plant. More evidence that growth doesn't pay for itself.

[RaleighRob]

and that despite having $970,000 in grant funds from the federal government for a wastewater project of their choosing.

[Jones_]

That's a drop in the bucket of the actual costs for such a facility.

I suppose they could pass a bond to pay the rest...then put a surge in the impact fees to pay it off.