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NEXT NC Action Fund 2021 Endorsements

The NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro Action Fund, a local, community-based 501(c)(4) focused on affordable housing, transportation alternatives, and economic development, has made the following endorsements in Chapel Hill and Carrboro for the 2021 municipal elections.

Chapel Hill Mayor—Pam Hemminger

Chapel Hill Town Council—Camille Berry, Paris Miller-Foushee, Karen Stegman

Carrboro Mayor—Damon Seils

Carrboro Town Council—Barbara Foushee, Danny Nowell

Our endorsements were based on the answers given at candidate forums, on candidate questionnaires, and the voting records of incumbents running for re-election. The NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro Action Fund evaluated the candidates on their relevant experience, and depth of knowledge of critical issues facing our community. NEXT believes that growth should support affordable housing that is inclusive of both renting and homeownership, multi-modal transportation infrastructure, climate responses that reduce the carbon footprint of our towns, and a diverse and equitable community.

While NEXT did not endorse in the race for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, we appreciated the answers of three candidates. In particular, we liked George Griffin’s proposal for zero down payment mortgage programs for CHCCS teachers, Riza Jenkins’s suggestion that CHCCS partner with Chapel Hill Transit on providing bus service, and Mike Sharp’s support for a greenway that connects Seawell Elementary, Smith Middle, and Chapel Hill High School with area neighborhoods.

We have posted our candidate questionnaires here. For more information, please contact us or take our community survey.

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The Greene Tract and the Value of Putting Community First

The members of NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro Action Fund, a local organization that advocates for affordable and diverse housing options and transportation alternatives, call upon local leaders to support the Greene Tract development process. The Greene Tract offers a once in a generation opportunity to create affordable housing, foster economic development, and provide access to parks in a historically Black community that has long been neglected and overburdened. 

Over the last year, Friends of the Greene Tract, an organization with few ties to people who live in nearby neighborhoods, has led a misleading and increasingly negative campaign to convince Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents that there is a clear and present danger to the property. We believe that the “Friends” campaign harms our civic process and attempts to sideline community members who have long engaged in a good faith effort to reach an equitable solution for all parties.  With this statement, we hope to re-establish a few facts about the piece of land that we now call the Greene Tract.

The Greene Tract and the Historic Rogers Road Area

History of the Greene Tract

In 1984, Orange County, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro purchased 164 acres of land in north Chapel Hill with plans to build a landfill. This landfill was to be the latest in a series of environmental injustices inflicted upon the Rogers Road-Eubanks community, whose Black and immigrant families have long borne much of the costs of population growth while receiving little of the benefits. Families who lived in our community for generations were denied access to municipal water and sewer, but were forced to put up with a large landfill on Eubanks Road that polluted their well water and decreased the value of their land. 

Neighborhood activists organized  to convince local governments to forgo their plans to build another landfill, which would have been located on part of what we now call the Greene Tract. Instead, for the last two decades, the three governments have worked with the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association to produce a path forward for this land that preserves green space, provides affordable housing, creates jobs, educates young people, and builds community. NEXT values the ‘community-first’ orientation that led to the Mapping Our Community’s Future report regarding potential uses for the Greene Tract.

The Future of the Greene Tract

Orange County, The Town of Chapel Hill and the Town of Carrboro, are working on possible uses for this land that balances local needs while also attempting to repair past harms. Potential uses of this land include mixed-income housing, green space, a recreational center, and a public school. To be sure, a portion of the land will be preserved for recreation and preservation of sensitive natural areas. In fact, 60 acres is already set aside for a Headwaters Preserve. Providing for affordable and diverse housing options is essential, and should be part of any plan for the future of the Greene Tract. 

Members of Friends of the Greene Tract continue to misuse a detail from the Mapping Our Community’s Future report to suggest that the neighbors called for 80 percent of the Greene Tract to be preserved. This is a willful misrepresentation of the outcome of that process. During public hearings in 2019, Hudson Vaughan, co-founder of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center and one of the facilitators of that community-first effort, noted the following in his remarks to the Chapel Hill Town Council:

The Friends of the Greene Tract have been using one bullet in the plan which says, in parenthesis, that ~80% of the Greene Tract should be preserved. This number is taken out of context in several ways. First of all, at the time, we were talking about the Greene Tract as a much smaller piece of land (before the recombination, it was more like 64 acres, I believe). Neighbors were also estimating important conservation areas, which have since been further researched.  Furthermore, the neighbors hoped to see the densest development on the Neville Tract adjacent to the Greene Tract, which would have given significantly more acreage to affordable housing and other uses supported by folks.  Since that plan, I believe both the development of the Neville Tract has been found to be much more difficult than we thought, and research has pinpointed more specific environmental areas for conservation, including the headwaters preserve. These factors are critical to the conversation, and would likely have changed the conversation about percentages. Certainly, they should going forward. Regardless, this 80% figure should not be used as some benchmark that came from neighbors when it is taken out of context like this.

We look forward to a continued ‘community-first’ public engagement process that centers those most affected by changes to this land: the residents of the Rogers Road-Eubanks area. Through this process, our community will be able to provide input into how the land should be used. There are NO specific plans for the land’s use yet. Changes to the land will not come for a number of years. Any current activities on the land are simply to maintain the trails. No one is bulldozing the land.

The Greene Tract is a unique opportunity for our local governments to provide a number of resources for our community using publicly owned land. NEXT believes that local elected officials, as well as candidates for local office, should commit to working within the negotiated memorandum of understanding between the county and towns, and refrain from making specious attacks on neighborhood residents, local leaders, and government employees who are trying to follow a community-centered process.  

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A letter of support for Aura

In May 2021, the Chapel Hill Town Council and its advisory boards will vote on Aura, a major development proposed for a 16.2 acre piece of land at the corner of Estes Drive and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. As a local organization committed to advancing economic development, affordable housing, and transportation alternatives, NEXT supports Aura, which we believe will help our community achieve these goals. While this development has been hotly debated in recent months, we would like to emphasize the following points.

Aura is already a compromise. We need visionary development.

If Chapel Hill were fully committed to making our community more prosperous, equitable, and sustainable, we would be discussing a much more ambitious project. A 16.2-acre property located less than two miles from downtown Chapel Hill—and on the planned North-South Bus Rapid Transit line—could support a project with five times as many homes. By asking the developer to limit building heights, the town has already ensured that Aura won’t provide as much housing, office space, and retail as it could. In the future, we hope that the town can encourage developers to set their sights higher.  

We need alternatives to driving, not another traffic study. 

The town’s new traffic study shows that the Aura project will not significantly impact traffic on Estes. But it will attract people who bus, bike, and walk to school and work, making our roads safer for all. In addition, approving Aura will help the town make the case for the North-South Bus Rapid Transit project, which will allow our community to realize its environmental, economic, and housing goals. Finally, Aura will help fund the completion of the Estes Drive Connectivity Project, creating a safe route from Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to Phillips Middle School and Estes Hills Elementary School. If the town declines to approve Aura, this critical connection might go unbuilt for a decade or more. 

We need housing, including apartments and townhouses.

Aura will add 418 homes, both apartments and townhouses, to Chapel Hill, including 54 apartments reserved for people making between 65 and 85 percent of the average median income. While we would like to see even more housing on this site, including affordable housing for low-income families, this project will make it easier for people to live and work in our community. Although we often hear complaints about “luxury apartments,” the only real luxury housing in our community are single-family homes built on large lots. Single-family homes in Chapel Hill sell for $500,000 and up, more than five times the average median income for a household of four. If we want our community to live up to its values of being inclusive and equitable, the high cost of land requires that we increase housing density. By building apartments and townhouses, we can ensure that more people can afford to live in our community. 

Let’s make Estes Drive a 15-minute city. 

We believe that Chapel Hill residents should live no more than 15 minutes, via bus, bike, or foot, from schools, parks, shopping, and work. The town council has already made major investments in this area, including planning for the N-S BRT and the Estes Drive Connectivity Project, which will add greenways connecting Aura with Phillips Middle School and Estes Hills Elementary School. We think that the town should prioritize the construction of bike lanes on Elliott Road (as outlined in the town Mobility and Connectivity Plan), which would create a safe, protected route from Aura to the Blue Hill District, giving residents in Aura and the surrounding neighborhoods easy access to grocery stores, restaurants, shopping, and more. In addition, the town should make Aura a station for its planned e-bike share network, which will help bike riders of all ages and abilities navigate the hilly terrain. 

We can make Chapel Hill a better place.

We have the great fortune of living in a community that values diversity, inclusivity, and progress. While growth has its challenges, we believe better planning and an optimistic vision for the future of our community can ensure that the Chapel Hill of 2050 is even more vibrant, sustainable, and equitable than it is today.

Note: A version of this letter was sent to the Chapel Hill Mayor and Town Council

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Public Transit During the Pandemic and Beyond

Friday, August 28, 12-1pm

Join us for a virtual discussion of:

  • What BRT (bus rapid transit) is, and Chapel Hill’s BRT plans
  • How BRT has worked in other cities, with a case study on Indianapolis
  • How COVID-19 has changed how both systems have operated

Click here to register for this virtual event, accessible over Zoom. Learn more about our speakers.

Jerome Horne

Jerome A. Horne is the Ridership Experience Specialist at the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (IndyGo). Currently, he is working on revamping IndyGo’s wayfinding program, focusing on better ways to get information to riders and figuring out innovative solutions to integrate technology into the transit system. Prior to this, he was the Special Projects Coordinator focusing on outreach and research for the agency’s capital projects and updating the agency’s service standards for fixed route buses. He joined IndyGo in 2016 as the Community Engagement Coordinator where he successfully started the Transit Ambassador Program which is a group of trained volunteers who assist with outreach and communication efforts dealing with IndyGo service improvements and changes.

Jerome is the founder and current Board Chair for the Young Professionals in Transportation Indianapolis chapter, Deputy Director of Communications for Young Professionals in Transportation International, and a 2018-2020 Transit Cooperative Research Program Ambassador. Additionally, Jerome is a member of the American Public Transportation Association Emerging Leader Program Class of 2022 and featured in Mass Transit Magazine’s 40 Under 40 2020 list.

In his free time Jerome enjoys, working out, biking, dancing, riding transit for fun, checking out local coffee shops, reading, moderating the popular Facebook group New Urbanist Memes for Transit Oriented Teens and listening to podcasts.

Jeffrey Sullivan

Jeffrey Sullivan is the Community Outreach Manager at Chapel Hill Transit, in Chapel Hill, NC. Jeffrey oversees external relations with residents of the Town of Chapel Hill, the Town of Carrboro and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, managing communications, customer service, community outreach and public input. He sees his role as “ensuring the community’s voice reaches the right ears within the agency and the agency’s voice reaches the right people in the community.

Prior to his work at Chapel Hill Transit, Jeffrey worked for GoTriangle in the Research Triangle Region of North Carolina as a Community Engagement Specialist working on the region’s first fixed-guideway plans and later as a Marketing Specialist local transit services.

Sullivan has planned and supported over 500 meetings between local residents and agency staff to assist the development of various transportation plans. He has developed innovative ways of engaging community members, including transforming transit buses into historic tours, where, residents and visitors could ride the bus and listen to onboard announcements, informing riders about the history of Durham, NC.

In his spare-time, Sullivan mentors middle and high school students at his church; fosters community and connection between young adults at his church by leading the events planning team; serves on several community boards and committees, reads, hikes and is an avid TV and movie watcher.

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Community Survey: Biking and Walking During COVID-19

More people have been on bikes during the pandemic than ever before. The jury is still out on whether walking is up, however.  We at NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro wondered what biking and walking behaviors were happening in our community. NEXT administered a survey from May 3 to June 3, 2020 to learn about the experiences people in our community had while walking and riding bikes during the stay-at-home order. We also asked about people’s hopes for walking and biking in Carrboro and Chapel Hill.

This survey was completed by 160 individuals who reside in Carrboro and Chapel Hill, NC. A summary of the results is below.

Summary of questions about walking

How has your walking changed during the stay at home order?

Walking amountPercentage
Less than usual7.0%
More than usual61.1%
Same as usual27.4%
Different from usual4.5%
Total Responses157

“I expect that I will maintain my current level of walking after the stay at home order is lifted.”

Maintain walking level?Percentage
Definitely false1.9%
Probably false26.1%
Probably true51.6%
Definitely true20.4%
Total Responses157

Summary of questions about biking

How has your biking changed during the stay at home order?

Biking amountPercentage
Less than usual13.4%
More than usual45.2%
Same as usual33.8%
Different from usual7.6%
Total Responses157

“I expect that I will maintain my current level of biking after the stay at home order is lifted.”

Maintain biking level?Percentage
Definitely false8.3%
Probably false19.7%
Probably true42.7%
Definitely true29.3%
Total Responses157

Free form answers to what people wanted included:

  • People driving cars to be more courteous and to slow down around people walking and biking
  • Wider sidewalks
  • More connected networks of paths for walking and biking
  • More amenities like: benches. Trash cans and destination/way-finding signage
  • Maintenance of obstructions to trails, sidewalks, paths by hedges etc.

Biking and Walking Experiences

We developed word clouds using the responses to each of these four questions.

“While walking I’ve really enjoyed…”

 “While biking I’ve really enjoyed…”

“While walking, I’ve wished…”

“While biking, I’ve wished…”

What changes do people want to see, and where?

Downtown Carrboro: Bike lanes that don’t start and stop to allow for parking; More sidewalk space and wider too; The gravel and twigs were swept out of the bike lanes; less road noise; legal trails; Safer and more comfortable facilities; less cars or patient drivers; the speed limits on town roads; better connectivity

All around Carrboro: Less obstacles on sidewalks (overgrown bushes, trash and recycling bins); The bike lanes on main roads on Carrboro had less debris and dirt from construction in them; wider sidewalks and more protected bike lanes, Less car traffic and wider paths for social distancing; less road noise; more public trash cans accessible for dog poop; More hills and varied landscapes; Roads were narrower to slow down car traffic; better connectivity

Wilson Park: Bathrooms present

Davie, Fidelity, Poplar area: Sidewalks in more places; wider sidewalks

Estes Drive Extension: Railroad tracks across it did not exist

Libba Cotten Trail: More sidewalk space; The gravel and twigs were swept out of the bike lanes

Downtown Chapel Hill: Bike lanes that don’t start and stop to allow for parking; More sidewalk space and wider too; The gravel and twigs were swept out of the bike lanes; less road noise; Safer and more comfortable facilities; more different places to walk; more trails around town

Brumley Forest Nature Preserve: Interconnected trail and greenway systems; even more local trail systems available

Plantation Acres neighborhood: Minimizing the fast and frequent traffic

Adams Tract, along Bolin Creek: Wider sidewalks and more protected bike lanes, Less car traffic and wider paths for social distancing; less road noise; don’t pave Bolin Creek; cleaner roads; Estes drive ped project that has been delayed for years would start; For a way to get to the woods faster

Along Damascus Church Road: Creation of walking/bike path

Duke Forest, CNF, Little River Regional Park, Bolin Forest neighborhood: For Durham to have more interconnected trails; Also that Orange would not lose this spirit of supporting a robust biking community; more technically challenging trails like CNF used to be 8-10 years ago; less trash; roads had shoulders; greenways were connected; roads had less hazards closer to the white line (holes and cracks); signs promoting trail etiquette; more trails that are accessible from town; more trails and preserved nature; education on understanding needs of cyclist safety; rules ensuring that pump track is open for kids; For a way to get to the woods faster; easier dirt trails; sidewalks on both sides of the major road

Carolina North, specifically: More trail markers; more sidewalks to get from one place to another; more protected paths, large bike lanes; more wooded single tract biking trails

MLK Park: Pump track would be open

Dogwood Acres Drive: More sidewalks

Smith Level to 15-501 and up Greensboro Road into Carrboro: Bike lanes all the way

Southern Village to S. Columbia Street: Safe way for kids to ride bikes

Brumley Johnston Mills: More parks were open

Weatherhill neighborhood: Presence of sidewalks everywhere; fewer disappearing bike lanes.

Pleasant Drive neighborhood: Trash receptacle at the end of Pleasant Dr, making trails official; trail that connects Northside Neighborhood to N. Greensboro, maybe at Parker St.

Intersection of N. Greensboro and Weaver Streets: Roadways were safer for bicyclists in general, especially coming into downtown areas

Hillsborough road to N. Greensboro through downtown Carrboro: Better sidewalk infrastructure including crosswalks

Merritt’s Pasture to Morgan Creek: More bike lanes, greater connectivity between good places to bike, creation of sidewalks; cars were better at passing cyclists without endangering oncoming traffic

Southern Village: More trails, especially singletrack (dirt trails) to connect areas together

Elliott Road: Drivers were more aware, and patient; more complete greenway system and local trails

Hidden Hills: Quiet roads

Horace Williams property: Quiet roads

Pumpkin loop: Quiet roads

Millhouse & Eubanks Road area: Benches or sitting areas near sidewalks; Orange County road guide app for cyclists

Old Cates Family Homestead: Bike lane along the entire length of Homestead as well as more official county bike lanes, not just in city/town limit

Homestead Rd connecting Stratford with Claremont: Better sidewalks

Old Fayetteville Rd: Bike lane past the Hillsborough intersection

Hillsborough: For a way to get to the woods faster; easier dirt trails

Ridgefield: No beg button; more loop detectors

McDougle School area: Less traffic or better bike lanes

Beckett’s Ridge: Trails were less crowded

NC-54 to the Botanical Garden: All of the great resources were better connected; connected in other ways besides the highway

Coker Hills, Coker Hills West neighborhoods: More protected bike lanes, bike lanes of any kind, and accessible greenways that would allow us to reach more areas of Chapel Hill by bike.

James Taylor Bridge: Creation of bike bridge

Table 1. Descriptive Demographic Characteristics
 N/Mean%/SD
Age45.4912.12
Gender  
Female7650
Male7046.1
Non-binary/third gender32
Prefer not to say32
Prefer to self-describe00
Race  
White13892
African American42.7
Asian/Pacific Islander10.7
Native American21.3
Other53.3
Ethnicity  
non-Hispanic/Latino1444
Hispanic/Latino696
Education Level Attained  
Less than high school10.7
High School or equivalent42.6
Vocational/Technical School (2 year)21.3
Some College10.7
College Graduate (4 year)5032.7
Graduate Degree9562.1