Cary, NC — There has been a lot of discussion at the Council table, online and in the papers regarding the proposal for an updated Golf Course Noise ordinance. 

Noise Ordinance Proposal

Because the ordinance language can be a bit confusing, I took the liberty of making a spreadsheet to show what is changing and what is not.

I often do this sort of thing as I’m preparing to vote on a complex issue so that I can make sure that I understand all sides of the issue.

Considerations

First off, my mind is not yet made up here. I have concerns with changing an ordinance that will impact people whose homes and quality of life may be affected. Changing the rules in the middle of the game is not something that I take lightly.

But, at the same time, I look at the bigger issue and problem:

1. There have been very few (no) complaints brought before two of the golf courses in the last few years (some in the last month or so, as this discussion began). Another golf course had a few complaints, but they were amicably settled.
2. Many folks that purchased homes on the golf courses were aware of the potential noise issues when they bought or built their houses.
3. I understand the economic vitality that golf courses bring to our community.
4. Some of the issues with the ordinance are ambiguous and need to be codified more specifically so that everyone understands the rules.

So, having said all of that, here is a chart I put together, along with some explanations, that will guide me at the council table. I hope that it helps you understand the changes, the issues and the impacts. I’d be interested, as always, in your feedback.

The proposed ordinance language is here.

*Golf courses stipulate that “golf course greens” are defined by the USGA as all the grass on the course (i.e. fairways, tee boxes and putting surfaces). Cary has typically enforced the laymen’s interpretation that to “mow the greens” is defined as cutting the grass on the putting surface specifically. Anything outside of that was not allowed by ordinance.

This is one reason to codify the ordinance.

** Typical and routine work includes the mowing, blowing and raking of all of the course’s playing surfaces, using equipment operated with all the manufacturer’s standard mufflers and noise-reducing equipment in use and in proper operating condition.Typical and routine work does not include the use of chainsaws, chippers, shredders or equipment that is used on a sporadic, irregular basis.

Definitions & Explanations

What’s being changed?

1. The proposed changes would allow golf courses to be prepared for play on all playing surfaces beginning at 6 am, 7 days/week April – September. The ordinance already allowed golf courses to mow the “golf course greens,” referring to the putting surfaces. However, the proposed updated language in the ordinance expands that to “all playing surfaces.” The golf course management stakeholders believe that that the “golf course greens” included the other playing surfaces, and they have been maintaining those surfaces in their current practices. As such, golf course management does not believe this is a change from their current practice, although it was not codified in our ordinance till now.
2. The current ordinance specifies “mowing” – the updated ordinance specifies “mowing, blowing, and raking of the sand traps” as permissible activities for the golf courses to perform beginning at 6 am. Also added to this detail is that chain saws, chippers, shredders, etc are specifically NOT exempted by the “typical and routine work”, in the new ordinance. Therefore, that means that in order to use those, they would have to be under 60 decibels if used before 7 am during the week or 9 am on Saturday and Sunday. This matches the current general practice of the golf courses.
3. Measurement of the 60db(A) has to be, and will continue to be, taken at or within the residential property line of the complainant. Added to this ordinance is that the sound measurement shall be averaged over 1 minute, and that it is a violation of the ordinance if it exceeds the average reading of 60db(A), or if any sound exceeds 62db(A) at any time during the measurement period.
4. Also, staff has added a proposal for an additional exception to allow this same activity on the golf courses for the months of October – March. This proposal would allow work to begin at 7 am on Saturday and Sunday. The current ordinance would only allow that work on Saturday and Sunday at 9 am. Keep in mind that anyone across the Town of Cary can mow their lawn at 7 am Monday through Friday. This exception, to start at 7 am on Saturday and Sunday, would only apply to golf courses. We have been informed that this matches the current practice of the golf courses in the area.

What does 60db(A) sound like?

60db is equal to a conversation at three feet.

Anyone can do anything as long as it doesn’t exceed 60db. This is not a change. Note: this is a similar definition that is used by Industrial Noise Control, Inc. A chart by Industrial Noise Control can be found here for their specific wording.

What type of activity is being restricted?

There is no type of activity that is restricted from being performed at any time, rather, it is the level of noise created by that activity that is restricted. Said another way, anyone can cut grass at midnight, so long as they do not exceed 60 decibels at the property line of a person that complains about that midnight mowing. Anyone can do anything as long as it doesn’t exceed 60 db. This is not a change and has been allowed for years.

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Photo by Penn State.

It’s Budget Time

Wake County Commissioners just passed their budget, and the NC General Assembly just dropped a big budget document on all the members’ desks on Tuesday, June 16, 2015.

For a vote on Wednesday, June 17, 2015. That’s right. The very next day.

The good news is that, here in the Town of Cary, we have a participatory budget process. It allows lots of time for involvement from you, our citizens.

Feedback

For our Fiscal Year 2016 budget, we received feedback via:

– Facebook – 19 comments
– Twitter – 2 comments
– Email – 26 comments
– Public Hearings – 4 comments
– Voicemails – 1 comment

Not a lot, but some. And we’ve had more feedback in previous years.

This feedback started in October 2014, when we expressly solicited feedback from you, and, also, when we look for feedback during our two public hearings in May and June. There are about eight weeks between the posting of the proposed budget and our final vote.

Often, comments we receive make it into the budget process, and, sometimes, as in the SK8 Park and Pickle Ball enthusiasts, they make it into our Master Plans.

So, What’s in the Budget?

-Total Budget of $295M:

• $218M operating budget
• $77M capital budget

-$1/month increase in solid waste fee to help with cost recovery

-$3.8% increase in water and sewer rates, an average of $2.75/month (the result of rate smoothing to pay for the $300M water treatment plant).

-Increase taxes of 2 cents from 35 cents per $100 valuation to 37 cents to pay for voter approved bond projects (approximately $40/year for a $200K home) – still keeping us in one of the lowest taxes in Wake County. (Originally, this was 3 cents, but additional electricity tax revenue came in, allowing us to remove the additional penny).

-24 new positions including hires of a new police officer, three firefighters, customer service reps in Public Works, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources and more (reducing staff to 8.1 staff per 1,000 Cary residents).

The Budget Process

It’s hard to believe, but budget planning starts almost as soon as the budget is signed. The Town of Cary Fiscal calendar starts July 1st, so our budget must be approved by the last council meeting this month, which is June 25, 2015.

By law, the balanced budget (yes, local government MUST have a balanced budget, even though the Federal government does not) by June 30th.

I, and my fellow members of the Town Council, take this job and our fiduciary responsibilities to the citizens with utmost care and responsibility. There are many additional projects that each of us would like to see added to the budget – but money always seems to get in the way.

During this process, if there is something that we want added to the budget, that means that some other project will have to be removed or slimmed down. Those are hard decisions, just like you make at home everyday.

Adding to this struggle is the fact that the General Assembly removed the Town’s ability to levy a privilege tax on businesses. Despite how we might feel about that tax, it did bring in an additional $1.5M in revenue to Cary. We have to make up for that lost revenue in some other manner.

There are various ways to make up for the lost revenue – reducing spending, of course, or raising taxes.  And no one wants to raise taxes. The math for raising taxes works this way – if we raise taxes by 1 cent – that generates about $2.2M in revenue.

Raising taxes is not what anyone wants to see, and Cary has been lucky to have an amazing Town Staff that run a highly productive and tight ship – keeping our productivity and efficiency of our employees high while providing some of the highest quality of life in the Triangle.

We have not had a tax increase that wasn’t for voter approved bonds in 25 years…since 1990. Pretty amazing.

What’s In?

There are a number of great projects on tap for this year – some of those funded with voter-approved bonds from 2012.

• Support for deployment of gigabit fiber services by telecom companies AT&T and Google Fiber ($821K)
• Support for new positions, from Planning, Parks, Public Works, and Engineering
• Addition of wellness programs at Mills Park Middle School ($7700)
• Parks Master Plan update to include the Joint Planning area for Cary in Chatham County ($100K)
• Expansion of the successful Project PHOENIX ($130K)
• ADA and access improvements at Sertoma Aphitheater and Koka Booth ($550K)
• Renovations at Thomas Brooks Park Fields ($275K)
• Kilmayne Water Storage Tank ($3.5M)
• Replacement of a Fire Pumper truck($650K)

There are many more that you can read about in the budget

What’s Missing?

I’m sure that there are lots of folks that would weigh in on wanting more out of our budget, and I hear them, as well. As of today, we have a list of items that might be in or out of the budget. (We had a work session on a few of them Tuesday, June 16, 2o15).

Open Data – discussed on Tuesday. A small request that I think will make for HUGE inroads in citizen engagement, visibility and public information availability.

Expansion of Crossing Guard program at Schools – this item did not get funded this year. The proposal would have added an additional $250K to the police budget. Cary currently spends $100K to provide crossing guards at 11 elementary schools. We plan to reach out to Wake County to see what additional resources they might provide. Side note: Cary also pay for School Resource officers in the high schools, today.

Paper map of Cary – suggestion: to find a private or not-for-profit that will step up.

On-location Cary TV program – too costly.

Increase in recycling pickup frequency – although many folks have shared that their recycle bins are becoming fuller more quickly than their regular can, this would be a significant increase in costs to the Town (one time cost of $2M for new equipment and annual costs of $595K).

Sunday C-Tran service – although I would love to see Sunday service, this is a difficult item. Currently, Wake County is considering a November 2016 referendum on a sales tax increase to support transit. If we expanded our service now, it would not make that service eligible for that funding. So, we are in a “wait and see” mode.

So, Overall…

So, overall, I think we are close to having a completed budget. There is still room for improvement, and I always value your input. Although we might not be able to do something in this year’s budget, please give us your thoughts. They, and you, matter.

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From the blog of Lori Bush, At-Large Member of Cary Town Council. Photo by R. Nial Bradshaw.

Since I’ve been on Council these “retreats” have been planned to be in areas where we can learn from the local experience. For instance, when we went to Winston-Salem, we spent time with the local folks getting a sense of what it took for them to revitalize their downtown. What did they do? How did they do it? What would they NOT do again?  The idea being that we could learn so much from others who have attempted much of the same thing.

This time, our retreat agenda was focused on exactly THAT – but in Charlotte. We know we aren’t Charlotte and folks would probably say that we don’t want to be Charlotte, but there are always things that we can learn from another municipality that has, and is, facing similar issues and struggles.

Since I know that Councilman Frantz is posting HIS feeling on our trip, I’ll try not to cover what he did, and focus on what I learned during my “sick stupor” in the Queen City. (Yes, it’s true that I was sick during the whole trip – my biggest worry was that I didn’t want infect anyone while there.)

All Aboard

When we were first discussing Charlotte as a location, I asked if we could take the train, and what a great plan that was. The trip was fantastic – a real opportunity to use our transit system while having time to connect with staff and other council members. We had lunch on the train so that we could hit the ground running when we arrived.

Getting ready to board the train

Don, Harold, Jennifer and Lori – ready to go (Jack and Ed were already in their seats!)

We were lucky enough to have our own train car for our group of folks. After settling in we had several presenters from Amtrak that provided us with background on the Piedmont Improvement Program underway. This program’s goal is to make the train more reliable and safer, and the results are pretty impressive. The Carolinian (train from Charlotte to Raleigh and the return) has gone from a 4 hour 20 min trip in 1990 to a 3 hour, 10 min trip now. With their safety awareness outreach programs, they have seen a reduction in fatalities on the tracks as well.

Here are some interesting stats:

• Travelling at 55 MPH, it takes a mile for a train to stop

• Trucks are involved in 10 times more accidents than trains

• It is illegal to walk on the railroad tracks, they are private property

• Amtrak in NC also allows you to check a bicycle as luggage for free!

• Because of the increase in interest and ridership, a new midday service has been added between Raleigh and Charlotte

• The Cary Amtrak Station received an award from OneRail for being a National Example of Success

• The Cary Depot is the 4th busiest station in NC with 89,000 passengers

• The Cary Depot is the 2nd in the nation for customer satisfaction with a 94% customer satisfaction rate

• NC Train volunteers all over the state act as good will ambassadors – and they volunteer their time to help passengers. A number of Cary citizens are volunteers, including the president of the Train Volunteers, Bob Warner, who was on our trip

• The NC Train Volunteers are having their annual meeting in Cary this year, to be held at the Cary Theater!

Me and Bob Warner (Train volunteer extraordinaire)

The View

Seeing Cary and Morrisville from the train was so enlightening.  The new underpass at Morrisville Parkway is coming along nicely, and seeing the impact for many miles on either side of that, gives you a real view of the investment that Amtrak is making in NC.  We also slipped by the new bridge on Hopson Road, hopefully all of these improvements will improve the speed and reliability of the train schedules, as well.

Looking up Morrisville Parkway towards Target, from the train

Part of the drainage work, south of Morrisville Parkway

Shhhhh. It’s a Secret.  (Not really!)

One last set of cool items to share.

In case you were wondering, the colors used on the trains are the colors of the NC State flag. (Who knew?) And, the locomotives used on the NC Piedmont area are named for cities along the Raleigh-Charlotte rail corridor. The number of each locomotive corresponds to the incorporation date of the city that it is named for. For instance, the “City of Salisbury” is #1755. And…. (drum roll please)…  there is a new locomotive to be added soon, to be called the “Cary #1871.”  (Obviously, Cary’s incorporation date is 1871.)  How cool is that?

The NCDOT equipment program uses refurbished locomotives, which ends up being about half of the cost of newly purchased locomotives. The train that will be the Cary was originally built in the 60’s, and retired in 2013. It will cost about $900K, but a new car, fully decked out is about $4 million. They will start the refurbishing process once acquired, and all of the materials for these refurbished trains are sourced from NC businesses (from the textiles for the carpets and seats, to the wiring, brake shoes and lighting.)

The christening of the Cary locomotive will be this fall, with our own Mayor doing the honors. It should be a lot of fun!

First Stop, The Met

Our first stop was a redevelopment project called the Metropolitan.

We were met by Peter Pappas, the CEO of Terwillger Pappas who described the history of the property, from Charlottetown Mall, to Midtown Square mall, to what it is today in Midtown.

Talking about the history of the Metropolitan

The mall was the first enclosed shopping mall in the Southeast when it opened in 1959. But over time it declined, and eventually became an outlet mall. Eventually, Pappas purchased the property (2001ish) and turned it into the current mixed-use development. The 23 or so acres includes a few anchors such as Target, as well as a 10 story mixed use building that includes Trader Joe’s, Best Buy and others. It also includes condos. The discussion centered around public/private partnerships – where Charlotte worked with the owners on connections to greenways, infrastructure improvements and structured parking. It was an interesting history lesson and a long process, that goes to show you that nothing in this area of redevelopment is quick, or easy.

The urban feel of the Met

We toured the Metropolitan, and although a nice development, it’s VERY urban feeling. I wish we went to see the other Pappas property, Birkdale. I have visited that development and really like that implementation of mixed use development, and can see something like that in Cary, for sure.

Next was dinner at King’s Kitchen – a really cool not-for-profit restaurant. stablished in 2010, The King’s Kitchen donates 100% of their profits from sales to feed the poor in the Charlotte region. They also partner with local area ministries to and provide all types of training, guidance and employment internship opportunities to folks that need help.

The sweet potatoe fritters, ohhhh… right…. but Don covered that in his blog.

Day 2 – Center City Partners and Transit

We started with an overview of the Center City Partners, an organization that seems like a mix between a Chamber of Commerce and an internal city economic development group. This organization is funded by an additional (very small) tax on the area they support in Center City.

The Center City Partners have a small staff and a board of directors, and their goal is to promote the economic, cultural and development of the area. They manage events such as the Thanksgiving Parade, bring arts into the community and work closely with the Charlotte Planning department.

During our discussion with the folks from the planning department, learned of their planning framework used called the “Centers, Corridors and Wedges Framework.”

This framework is used as their planning guide for the areas within Charlotte, to help guide their development and to provide guidance on their infrastructure investment. The picture shows how they have used the visual (see, the centers as darker blue? And the wedges created by the purple transportation corridor?) From this framework, they have another 60 (?) planning guides, that details the guidelines for these specific areas.

What I like about this document is the overall visual it provides, and the direction for the expected types of uses in the areas. The guiding principals apply to the areas on the map. For instance, in the transportation corridors, you expect to see higher densities, compared to the “wedges.” Of course, Charlotte has 775,000 citizens (in the urban area, 1.5M including the surrounding area) and almost 300 square miles; where we in Cary have 150,000 citizens and 55 square miles. So, size wise, there are differences for sure, but there are always lessons that we can learn from each other.

Transit

We got a great overview of the Transit Plan and Charlotte’s commitment to light rail.  The first 9.6 miles of the light rail went live in 2007, at a cost of more than $460 million.  It was originally proposed in the1980’s, when the voters in Mecklenburg approved a ½ cent sales tax to fund it in 1998.  The extension of the Lynx is in development now, an additional 9.2 miles for about $1 Billion.  Its cost increases are due to the routes of the trains – going over bridges, to the medians, and underground, all of which increases the cost. I was a bit surprised at the numbers, and thought that they were low.  Yes, low.  Why?  Because in the Wake County Transit Advisory meetings, we were told that Light Rail averages $100 million for a 1/4 of a mile.  So, these cost estimates looked way better.

I really loved riding the Lynx; it was easy, clean, and the Lynx app helped me figure out when the train was coming.  I could see something like this in Wake County – SOMEDAY.   But I’m not sure we have the current need.  But transit is about vision, and a strategic look for our community and our future as well as the current requirements.  Here were some of the “truths about transit” that were shared with us:

Check out more at :  Truth about Transit

South End

We hopped on the Lynx to South End, a redeveloped community along the transit route.

This historic area sits right on Charlotte’s 1st railroad – and way back when it connected it’s textile manufacturing community with Charleston, SC.

We met with the son of the original developer, hearing how the name came about (his dad just slapped up “South End” on one of the chimneys!), their commitment to leveraging the original buildings and how they created this urban area that now contains a mixture of shops and high end residential aimed at the millennials.

The apartment communities had an urban feel, with lots of concrete, metal and contemporary furniture. They had amenities that you would expect – pools, grills, fitness centers and even dog parks and stations – but they also had “transit rooms” – just outside the stations where a rider could comfortably watch for their train while sipping free coffee and watching the news. Not bad. But, these weren’t cheap apartments, with 1 bedrooms starting at $1500 for 800 sq ft.

Since transit is a key amenity of these apartments – it’s not surprising that some of these apartments have less than a single parking space for each unit.

This area is in transition – changing from dismantled warehouses, to a new urban transit hub, and it’s surrounded by poverty, and some high crime areas. Another challenge for this redevelopment area.

We went to lunch at a cool little place called the Ice House via the Atherton Mill development project. Within that project was a really unique little market – called Atherton Market – with all types of vendors selling everything from pickles, to baked goods, to soaps and more. Eclectic, fun, and truly interesting, with one of the original trolleys sitting in the back of the market.

Talking about the original trolley system

More redevelopment, art and more

After that we strolled around the area, getting a walking tour of the Camden Dilworth project and Camden Road redevelopment, the process and plan from the architect and founder of Centro Cityworks and the founder of the Historic South End. Interesting how this area redeveloped, up and down Camden Road, not all concentrated in one area as I expected. We talked about the pros and cons to having retail on the street level, the difficulty in obtaining financing, and the TIF financing that Don spoke about in his blog. The rest of the crew went to the Elder Art Gallery – but I bowed out and went back a bit early to the hotel to take care of my bronchitis.

Last Day – Bus Tour

We headed out first thing to drive around Charlotte communities. Seeing the more established areas like Dilworth and Myers Park, we got a real sense of the differences between the communities, and the identity they each have, and are proud of.

Stopping at Plaza Midwood, we spoke to a representatives from the Charlotte Neighborhood and Community Partnerships and from the Merchants Association. They spoke of the programs that have helped with the revitalization of their neighborhood from façade improvement programs (we have that!), to outreach with new developers to get the kind of development they want in their community.

Harris Teeter on the corner

Walking through this neighborhood several of us noticed that the new Harris Teeter had some great features, many of which wouldn’t currently be allowed if it was built in Cary. An example was the transparency requirement – this building had integrated art, which really accomplished what I think we want to see via our current transparency requirement. The Harris Teeter was also positioned in a way, on a corner, that made the front of the building more inviting, what we call “activating” a corner. It had a great rooftop seating area (in a Harris Teeter!) with a green roof! Talk about great sustainability, in a grocery store.

Side of Harris Teeter with integrated art

Green Roof on the Harris Teeter

Another “take away” was some of their crosswalks. The crosswalks we saw used what is called Thermoplastic paint, and added a great way to uniquely identify and delineate the crosswalks. Our current plan for crosswalks in the downtown area are focused on using different paving materials, much more expensive, and not as visually appealing, I think. Seeing these crosswalks, how they have worn (really well), and how visually appealing they were, was a real eye opener.

Unique painted crosswalks

Crazy Council Members

Along the way – we saw some of the newly implemented (and somewhat controversial) reverse angled parking. Instead of pulling into a parking spot, cars back into their spots along the street.  I actually like the idea.  Studies have shown (and our tour guides agreed) that it has slowed down traffic in the area.  It’s also safer, and provides more parking than traditional parallel parking.

Reverse angled parking

Finally we visited another unique place… a Lowes Home Improvement Store with parking on the roof. Nice to see how a store like this can fit in a more urban area, and still not take up a lot of horizontal parking.

Lunch and the Music Factory

We had lunch at Amelie’s French Bakery – a well known spot in NoDa (Northern Davidson’s Art District) where we were joined by the Mayor Pro-Tem of Charlotte and the Charlotte city manager and a member of the University City Partners.

BRIEF DESSERT INTERMISSION

An amazing dessert (photo by City Guide)

Ok, I had the best dessert I’ve had in years there – called a Salted Caramel Brownie.

I found the recipe soon after – this sucker is getting made at my house, soon. (If you make it, let me know!)

Finally, we headed to the Music Factory. It was really a combination of everything we have seen – the unique use of older buildings to reinvigorate and spur economic development, while still preserving the historic area.

Home Bound

Afterwards, we headed to the train for our trip home. One of the best parts of taking the train was the ability to work and connect while traveling. On the way back we debriefed, shared our thoughts and just relaxed. It was a long trip, and considering I was sick, it seemed even longer. But all in all, it was a great trip and I believed I learned a lot, and hope to take it into account as we move forward in Cary.

This retreat felt a bit different than last time – a little more relaxed, with more deep dives into some of the specific issues headed our way rather quickly. Last year’s retreat was more of the strategic, longer term planning – where we made some decisions regarding our Bond referendum (now since passed), the Cary Community Plan (in full planning mode), and received more information regarding demographic trends impacting our community.

Our Town Council retreat (which is ANYTHING but a retreat, more like a MOVE FORWARD) includes Town Council members, a facilitator, the Cary Department Directors and Administration, Town Clerk and a few others.  We generally arrive Thursday night, work all day on Friday and through about 3:30pm on Saturday.  

Thursday

All of Council traveled to New Bern, NC (the site of this year’s event) on Thursday afternoon so that we can have dinner together.  We enjoy this “down time” – catching up on everyone’s family updates, talking about our hobbies, vacations and just about everything BUT Town Council work.  We all pay our own way and invite anyone else that wants to attend, but it’s been just us the last two years.  Thursday night was rainy, and we all piled into my car for the short drive to and from the restaurant. That’s real togetherness.

Friday

Councilman Ed Yerha and I joined Sue Rowland for breakfast to brainstorm on ways to help our boards and commissions be more effective and to ensure that these tremendous volunteers have what they need to get their job done.  If you haven’t met Sue Rowland, our Town Clerk, you need to.  She’s got this uncanny way of seeing gaps or problems, or the potential for an improvement and she proactively addresses it.  She hardly says “NO” first – she’s more likely to say, “Maybe.”  She’s a true gem.

After our focus on the Ground Rules – we went straight to work.

Spotlighting Success

Photo by Town of Cary

This year, staff presented what we called “Spotlights” – an analysis and deep-dive focus on two major, multi-departmental, town wide projects. The first one was Aquastar.  I will write a more detailed blog post about this with pictures and more, but I have to admit, that although I had read a lot about it, I came away with a great appreciation for this new system. Here are the highlights I gleaned from the presentation:

1. Aquastar is our new Advanced Water Metering Infrastructure system
2. Originally proposed in November 2009
3. Reducing carbon emissions by taking 71,000 miles of meter reader trucks off the road, and 7,000 gallons of fuel
4. Originally projected to save town $2.4 million, is now projected to save $10.2 million dollars
5. Saved $1.9 million dollars in staff hours (including reduction of headcount (10 people), retirement savings, and more)
6. Aquastar has 63,000 meters being read, providing more than 500 million data points in a year
7. Web access to your data can help you spot leaking toilets, etc. (My data was CERTAINLY interesting.)
8. The new Web portal will be launched in March.  (I’ll share more about that later, but here’s a quick peek into an example homeowner’s water usage chart.)

Planning, Zoning and Development Process

The goal of this set of three sessions was to brainstorm on ways to make the development process less complex and time consuming.  This is for everyone, not just for developers.  We’ve heard complaints that it can be complex for our citizens to understand, for development to maneuver, and can cause confusion.

Jeff Ulma set the stage by giving us a “lay of the land”, details on how all of the processes work, what is out there, today to help, and what the challenges really are.

One of the tools shown is the award winning video of Cary’s Virtual Interactive Planner. (VIP) It’s a great interactive tool to help you understand the current process for rezonings, etc.

Our goal was to focus on the process itself, not specifically any rules or regulations.  There is a reason for this, as well.  There seems to be a shift at the state level, to limit government regulation.  We have seen that by the NC Supreme Court ruling on the inability to implement APFs in Cabarrus County. This limitation of municipality authority will impact how we move forward.

Here are some of the highlights from our brainstorm session:

1. Council felt that we should streamline processes, and make the Mixed Use process the same as the current Zoning Process.  That means that all Public Hearings on these issues will come to Council first.
2. We still believe that CPAs (Comprehensive Plan Amendments), meaning changes to the overall plan that is in place, should be in line with rezonings.  That is, that if a developer or property owner wants to amend the plan AND rezone for a different use than was originally planned, those 2 requests should come together to council.
3. Consensus that we need to re-look at the approval thresholds done administratively (by staff) moving forward.
4. Discussion regarding sketch and concept plans, and whether they are enforceable if provided
5. We reviewed the process used by other municipalities (what they called the BIG 14 including Raleigh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Asheville, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, and others), the length of time it takes and how they involve citizens and developers
6. How can we get the right information to citizens so that they are aware of the process, and how changes will impact them.  We discussed adding more public information sessions as part of the process.
7. Discussion on how to ensure that we GET what we EXPECT from a rezoning, what we called “results on the ground”

• We also reviewed two case studies to understand the process and flow –

1. Sears Farm PDD started in 2001 with multiple tweeks along the way, and some concerns raised by council members regarding the uses, the positioning of the commercial buildings
2. Stone Creek Village – started in 2002, ended up close to expected results

An Aging Population

Picture from Town of Cary -Creating Active Retirement Years brochure

Our 2010 census data revealed that one of our fastest growing populations is our Senior community – 65 and older. That’s a surprise to no one considering the buildout of Carolina Preserve (an almost 1000 acre Del Web community), the new expansion of Glenaire and new approvals for new residences that have recently come to council.

Juliet Andes presented an update on the trends in this area – giving us detail on the difference between what we call the “Greatest Generation” and “Baby Boomers.” (Yes, I’m a Boomer – the last of the Boomers born in 1964 – no jokes, please.)

The discussion on this topic was focused on how we can best ensure we have the services we need for this demographic, and to make sure that we are an “age-friendly” community.

Highlights from this discussion were:

1. Cary median age has changed: 33.7 in 2000, 36.7 in 2011
2. Percentage of people over 65 has increased: 12% in 2000, to 22% in 2011 with 2000 Cary citizens turning 65 every year
3. 78.2 million Boomers (1946-1964) in the US
4. 40% of Boomers expect their adult children to move back in with them (say it ain’t so)
5. 30% of Boomers expect their parent to live with them (Uh oh)
6. By 2050 the number of people 65+ will be double
7. Boomers don’t like to be called Seniors. (I guess that’s true, since I’m not…yet.)

Seniors/Boomers needs and wants :

1. Walkable and bicycle friendly communities
2. Needs for outdoor spaces, transportation, housing, health services
3. To engage and participate civically, like to volunteer
4. Want to “age in place” with new housing trends on the rise (Generational housing)
5. Boomers made up more than 50% of the Cary Community Plan applications
6. I suggested we look at having a Senior Council – similar to our Teen Council, that could look into ways to engage our senior community

Saturday

Saturday’s focus started with a fun topic – APFs, LDOs and TDFs (say that 10 times fast…)

That’s Adequate Transportation Public Facilities, Land Development Ordinance and Transportation Development Fees.

As you know, a recent NC Supreme Court ruling in Lanvale vs Cabarrus County has caused us to relook at our current Roads APF. That ordinance allowed us to ensure that when a development was built, the Town could ensure that we could address traffic, safety and road congestion during the development process by using the APF as the mechanism to do so.

Now, because of this recent NC Supreme Court ruling as well as the courts’ evolving reading of local government’s ability to adopt zoning and development laws, we need to relook at our processes. As a council, we have a fiduciary duty, as caretaker of your public dollars, and in doing so, we need to find a way to implement a process and approach that is in keeping with the Supreme Courts ruling, while still adhering to the way all of our citizen’s expect Cary to look and feel.

Having said all of that, we looked at a number of ways to move forward, while getting an update from staff on the process so far.

1. Moving forward on repealing the “Roads Ordinance”
2. Moving traffic studies to rezoning
3. Reviewed the process with P&Z in a work session and subsequent meeting (they voted 9-0 recommending approval of the LDO amendments, but they are concerned with how long this “temporary” solution will be in place)
4. Feedback from development community regarding the length of time and impact on current development in the pipeline, as well as on the threshold for sending subdivision/site plans to council being too low/restrictive
5. We DO have authority for TDFs – and have the ability to increase those fees to help bridge the gap in loss of road improvements via the APF
6. We will discuss the 9.32% increase in TDF fees at an upcoming Council meeting
7. Staff will be taking all of our, P&Z, and the Development Community feedback and coming back with alternative solutions.

Business Development and the the “New Normal” 

The final session (before the 2nd Spotlight series) was around Business Development or “the New Normal.” So what does that mean? Council members have heard from a number of businesses that today’s financial environment is very different than 4 years ago. That change is also apparent in Cary. We only have 10,000 acres left of developable land and we are beginning to reach our boundaries. Much of that 10,000 acres will be infill, redevelopment, and some of that is not readily developable land.

Some interesting highlights:

1. Many are uncertain about the future, taking a “conservative approach to funding and investing”
2. We are seeing more competition from our neighboring localities 
3. Multi-family rezonings and developments are on the rise
4. Less demand for office space (14% vacancy rate today), more “work from home”
5. Not likely that we will ever return to the hey day of pre-recession housing buildout, what we have lately, is probably what we will have moving forward
6. Our last 5 year permitting, water, and sewer fees average is more likely what we will see in the future – which is significantly less than in 2007 (2007 total: ~$2.7M, 2012 total: $1.7M)
7. Our growth last year was 1.9%, about 2500 people
8. Our investment earnings have taken the biggest hit. In the “good ole days” a large part of our projects were funded by the investment earnings.
   1. In FY2008, our investment earnings were $19.6M, last year, $1.6M
   2. The loss of that revenue (about $18 million dollars) can mean a significant impact on our tax rate. Our town has done a great job adjusting to this new normal.
9. Cary’s unemployment rate (currently 5.4%) continues to be much lower than other municipalities and groups (Wake County(7%), RTP(7.6%), NC(9%), US(7.4%))
10. 76% of our property tax base is residential, 24% commercial
11. Staff has done a great job managing the changes in our revenue stream, with one of the most efficient staffs in NC, if not the country. They have found ways to alter their processes, to reduce costs while working hard not to impact our quality of life. For instance, we have delayed some of the maintenance of our roads, lengthening the time between resurfacing.

Mock Development Review Process

We then had an opportunity to get a hands-on experience on what our Development Review Committee (DRC) is like.

Mayor Weinbrecht and Council members Smith, Robinson, and Yerha played the role of developers (quite well, I should add) and presented an actual proposed convenience store and restaurant that has come to the DRC before. This activity gave us a real idea of some of the complexities involved in bringing a development to Cary, but also a good feeling of the transparency and outreach that our staff does to help businesses come to Cary. ( It was also interesting to have two developers in the room to watch, as well.)

Yes, there are certainly things we can do to be more “business friendly” – and I think that was the point of the exercise. And we asked staff to look at those, and come back to council with some recommendations.

Project Phoenix

Last, but in NO WAY LEAST, we heard and update from Police Chief Bazemore on the incredible success of Project Phoenix. This project is a true example of how Cary works so hard to keep it’s citizens safe and secure.

Project Phoenix (Promoting Healthy Occupancy through Education Networking and Information eXchange) is a program that targets Cary Apartment Complexes, to reduce crime, engage citizens and youth, and support the quality of life for those residents and surrounding communities.

Highlights of this program:

1. Program focuses on a partnership with property manager and the residents (Update leases for to include a Drug and Crime Free Housing section), property managers must attend a 1 day workshop, organize a social event each year, and update the property to be in compliance to “Crime Prevention through Environmental Design” principles. That can mean adding more lighting in the parking lot, cutting down trees or pruning bushes to open dark and obsure areas.)
2. Originally hoped for 12 complexes/year to sign up. They now have 42 signed up, out of 57!
3. Apartment complexes are finding that participation is a great benefit and potential renters WANT to be part of a complex in the program.
4. Lots of engagement by other town organizations like Parks and Rec, SPRUCE, Fire Department, P&Z and others. Certainly a town-wide multi-department initiative.
5. Local kids in these developments have an opportunity to go to programs in the complex, or, through Public/Private partnerships, to other programs such as White Tiger, USA Baseball, Rail Hawks, and the Triangle Aquatic Center. It’s phenomenal that these businesses are participating, and bringing these programs directly to this kids. o Some complexes were creating multiple police visits a day and now there are hardly any in a week.
6. It’s a real success story. Crimes that were on the increase in and around these apartment complexes are now on the way down. They’ve gone from crimes on the rise, to a collective 6% decrease in crime. And, if you compare active communities from a year ago, in just a snapshot during the warmer months (apparently crime is higher when it’s warmer out), crime in those areas is down 16% for ALL crimes, and down 28% for some of the selected crimes. (Let’s call those the BAD ONES.)

Take a look at this video that really says it all.

So, I think that’s a great way to close a blog post, and the session. 

I found this retreat to be a reflection of what my time has been on council so far. It’s been exhilarating, engaging, a learning experience, and an opportunity to tap into the collective knowledge, passion and commitment of some of the best public servants around.

For me, this retreat and the last continue to demonstrate that we DO live in one of the best places to live, work, play and raise a family. I hope you agree.

Our very own Cary “Geek Squad” aka the “Technology Task Force” met Wednesday for the first time at Town Hall. I was impressed with the breadth and depth of their experience, their passion for making Cary a better place, and their willingness to take valuable time out of their lives to help in this important endeavor.

First things First

The Technology Task Force is a “special committee” sanctioned by the Town Council to determine how the Town’s use of technology services can better serve its citizens.  As volunteers for the town, these folks were treated to an overview of the Town’s ethics policy, North Carolina Open Meetings Law and Public Records Law by the Deputy Town Clerk and Town Attorney’s office.

So, why is this important and why do our Town volunteers need to know?
Well, as a volunteer for the town, you are conducting business on behalf of the citizens.  (Just like we do, as Town Council members.) So all of that business is open to the scrutiny of the public.  That certainly includes our meetings, emails, agendas, minutes, and more.  Also, volunteers are responsible for keeping track of any public records associated with their work for the town, including paper and electronic documents (including email messages), photos and videos.  Part of our discussion involved how the town is assisting the volunteers, by keeping those documents for them, as much as possible.

We also discussed the North Carolina Open Meetings law. The goal of this law is to promote transparency in government, and to ensure that citizens will see that the business of the town is being done “openly” with information, knowledge and access available to all.  That involves everything from posting the meeting times, agenda, minutes. (You can see the calendar of all Town meetings online.)  But, that also poses some interesting challenges for this group that is used to working in the private sector.  For instance, at work in the private sector, it’s pretty common to have discussions online, collaborating via email or via other tools such as wikis or forums in order to discuss a particular topic.  However, that’s a “no no” in the public sector.  The task force members must do their deliberations, brainstorming, decision making and most comments in an open forum – and at stated times (according to the Open Meetings law.)  They have a tight timeline to get their recommendations to council (targeted for December) so collaborating online would have been a great option.  But, that’s not in keeping with NC law, so all official work will be done at the Technology Task Force meetings.

We also talked about how to share documents and information in keeping with these laws. Let’s face it, this is NOT a group that wants paper documents.  The technology department came up with a solution, an online location for the team to store documents and post links.  Again, a first for one of these Town volunteer organizations.

With only 2 of the 9 task force members having experience in this type of public engagement, this review and discussion was valuable time spent.

Onto the work

After this fun overview of State law, we finally got down to business. Specifically, the goal of the Technology Task Force is that they “shall review, evaluate, and prioritize new and emerging technologies that will facilitate better engagement, citizen outreach, and service delivery by increasing involvement and lowering costs, with the overall goal of making it easier for citizens to communicate with the Town and consume available information.” Whew! A big job – and big jobs start with brainstorming.

So, that’s what they did.  Taking the “low tech” method of brainstorming with index cards – the group came up with all kinds of ideas to research.  Then categorizing those ideas, and creating groups of folks to go and research and come back to report to the group on those ideas.  There are so many items for them to consider, research into best practices, and ways to address our current situation and our future strategy.  I appreciate all of the ideas they generated and path they are taking to address them.

Here’s a quick listing of the groupings, with lots of detail behind each of them:

1. Social Media
2. Open Data / OpenAPI
3. Website related
4. Citizen engagement
5. Mobile Apps
6. Video programming
7. Public Records
8. Two way communication

Great start

1. How much time does it take? (I haven’t figured that out, yet.)
2. How different is working on council than in the private sector? Now that’s a harder question. 

Normally, my answer is that I’m surprised how much longer things take in the Public Sector.  Not because there aren’t good people – in fact, quite the opposite.  But, if you can imagine doing your whole job, where just about every decision you make is out in the open, that just takes more time.  Also, because you and I and all citizens have the right to ask questions, provide feedback and input, and need to be informed – that can lengthen the process.

My First Request

Progress!

At tonight’s work session, I’m thrilled that we are taking one of the first steps to do what we can to protect Cary citizens’ high quality of life, our environment, and our natural resources for ourselves and our children.

Preserve local interests when developing regulatory framework for shale gas development

Getting there

Council members Adcock, Robinson and I carpooled to Wilmington, which ended up making the drive so much fun.  We talked about kids, recipes, families, food, history, eating, meals… well, you get the idea. All that talk about food made us incredibly hungry by the time we got there- and we joined the rest of the folks at the restaurant.  It was so nice to really get to know my fellow members on a more personal level.  Each of us brings a unique perspective and set of life experiences to council.

DAY 1 – Getting to know each other

Photo by Brent Miller

We started the day with a session aimed at improving our effectiveness as a council.  As the “newbie” on the council (28 days by then!) I was soaking it all up.  This council has a great working relationship; I’ve noticed the respect and consideration of fellow members at the table. In fact, all of the council members have reached out to me – offering to assist me in coming up to speed.  I’ve felt VERY WELCOMED. The exercises focused on what we each want and expect from our fellow council members.  Words like “respect, preparation, fairness and honesty” were at the top of the list for all of us. At one point I got a chance to show Jack a few things about his new phone.

   TAKEAWAYS: Look for opportunities to agree. Be open-minded. Preparation is key.

Land Use

The next 3 hour session was on Land Use Planning. Anyone that sees a 3 hour session on that topic might normally look for significant caffeine to help them muddle through. But I have to give the staff and consultants huge kudos. They did the unheard of. They made it fast-paced, fun and incredibly interesting.

Demographic data: Information from Cary’s data, combined with the 2010 census data gave us a real view into our changing demographics.  The Cary population (about 140,000) has become more diverse, in many ways echoing the diversity of the US population as a whole. We are seeing a growing Asian and Hispanic population, and an increase in the number of seniors.  (I’m not that far off from that population.)

In Cary from 2000 to 2010 – we have seen that the number of folks 65+ has increased from 9.7% to 16.2%, our Asian population has gone from 8.1% to 13.1%, Latino population increased from 4.3% to 7.7% and more than 19% of our Cary residents are foreign born.

Trends presented: Across the country, cities are finding the need to have a diverse set of housing stock available, for all types of folks.  Apartments for kids just entering the workforce as well as for people looking to downsize later in life. One of the consultants presented a best-practice from Dublin,OH – a community faced with many of the same issues.  It did make me think – after my children leave and enter the workforce, will there be affordable housing for them here in Cary, so that they may live and work close to family?

Cary Land Use Map

The Town has not looked at the Land Use plan in an overall cohesive manner (across the entire town) since the original document was created in 1996.  I participated on the Planning and Zoning board when we looked at several area plans (Northwest and Southwest plans) and they have guided the town as we move forward. But now the time is right for us to update that document, taking into account our changing demographics while keeping our culture intact.  Plus, it’s a real opportunity for us to make the plan and our vision better – more readable, and easier to understand. And, most importantly, to involve the citizens.

   TAKEAWAYS: The “engaging the community” component was one of my favorites.  The consultant echoed what I’ve often felt, that communities that build connections, ones that tap into the emotional attachment we have with our Town, are the ones that THRIVE. Great ideas were shared on ways to increase citizen participation in the visioning and planning process – such as receptions that involve refreshments (yes, beer), making them real EVENTS with speakers, and using all kinds of outreach, including social media.

We should see updates from staff as they march forward to put this next vision and planning set of sessions together.

Intergovernmental Effectiveness

This section should have been called “working well with others.”  The goal, of course, was to help us all navigate the intricacies and complexities of working with outside organizations and agencies, in order to meet our town’s goals. We heard from the Town’s federal legislative consultants – where they provided insight into mechanisms and methods for engaging at the federal level. We also heard from a representative from the NC League of Municipalities, and our NC Legislative consultant.

   TAKEAWAYS: This is a difficult time in our country – everything is impacted by the budget, and everything we do impacts the budget.  It’s also a time where the NC Legislature is reexamining what authority municipalities have, and should continue to have, all while being a highly partisan atmosphere.  At the town, we need to ensure that we continue to invite our elected state and federal officials to events where we celebrate our accomplishments in town, share with them our challenges as well as our wins. I will be reaching out to our representatives to introduce myself, and of course, thank them for their service.

Wrapping up Day 1

We finished about 5:45pm, with a short break before dinner with everyone. All and all, a great first day for my first retreat.

DAY 2

Customer Service

We started the day with a focus on Customer Service. We ALL agreed that the Town has great staff, but there is always room for improvement. Before we arrived, we each watched a 1 hour webinar by Dennis Snow, a former Disney Executive and author of Unleashing Excellence the Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service. The webinar was informative, and provided some great examples and best practices from his years at Disney.  I jotted down some of his quotes that really resonated with me.

When we treat our responsibilities as tasks, we treat our customers as tasks; they end up feeling processed. When we treat our responsibilities as opportunities to create positive experiences, customers feel valued.

We must look at everything through the “lens of the customer.”  Only then will we be able to improve.

Create “customer wows.” Moments that a customer will remember.

Hold ALL employees accountable for customer service.

We then walked through the council survey feedback (we had all been asked to take a survey on how WE feel the Town staff does in the area of customer service.  I was glad to see that measurement and metrics would be a key part in implementation of new customer service methods.

At one point, Council member Robinson and I spoke quite passionately about the need to update the Town website, especially the Google search engine and ability to navigate through the pages, as well as finding new ways for alerting citizens to field closings. Bill Stice informed us that a new Google server will be coming online, to help, soon.  We both see the need for some improvements, and will be talking more about these requests.

Capital Projects and Funding

Luckily, when it came to this session, I had already been briefed by Scott Fogleman and Ben Shivar earlier in the week.  The issue at hand was to discuss and for the council to provide direction regarding upcoming capital projects in town such as roads, fire stations, and new parks. Currently, the Town has available funding options through a Bond that was approved by voters in 2003.  That bond funded a number of projects such as the Davis Drive and High House widening, Walnut Street, Louis Stephens extension, traffic signaling system, Cary Arts Center, Middle Creek Park and 20 miles of greenways, and more.  However, many of the council members feel that voters were promised that bond with no new taxes.  Because of that, we decided to let the remaining authority associated with the 2003 bond expire.

Note: Information provided by staff shows that document shared with voters DOES SAY we MIGHT have to raise taxes, but there had not been a tax increase with prior bonds.

That means, if we are to continue to improve and build out roads, add parks and new services, we will need to find new ways to fund those projects. Currently, we have a few options.

1. Use the rest of the bonding authority, discussed above.  (Council decides NO.)
2. Delay and choose not to do projects. (Possible, but will impact quality of life)
3. Create a new bond, with a list of proposed projects associated with it. (This would MOST LIKELY cause a tax increase.)

We unanimously agreed that we should let the voters decide.  Staff was asked to start the ball rolling, to put it before voters on the November ballot. There will be a number of work sessions and opportunities for citizens to be involved. I’d love your input as we move forward.

Boards and Commissions

The last session of the afternoon, and I was expecting this to be more difficult that it was. Kudos go to Sue Rowland, our Town Clerk, for making what I was sure would be a painful discussion, to be enlightening and eye-opening.

The Boards and Commission survey was reviewed – many thanks to the153 people that took the survey (board members, council, former board members, and staff liaisons.) Having been a board member on several boards and commissions, I have always felt that that service was a great way to provide input to the town.  The survey results were no surprise to me, many of the respondents felt there was clear direction and focus for the Planning and Zoning Board, the Parks and Rec, Public Art and Zoning Board of Adjustment. It was good to see that so many people feel the way I do – that there is GREAT value to the town from all these groups.

It’s always important to re-evaluate where we are, and what boards and commissions have fulfilled their mission. It’s often easy to START something – it’s way more difficult to STOP.  But that’s what we needed to consider. We had to look at the current slate of boards and commissions and evaluate their goals, missions and objectives, and to OBJECTIVELY consider if they needed to continue.

Citizen’s Issue Review Commission – known as the CIRC, was created to provide citizens with a formal process for directly bringing issues to the town.  I was the chair of the Mayor’s Task Force that created the commission, so this one was a hard one to talk about.  At the time of its formation, there really was no other way to address the council with an issue (besides the 3 minutes at “Public Speaks Out.”)  Now, though, Council members have been utilizing the “pink slip process” that allows a Council member (and another sponsor) to add an item to an agenda.  This procedure was not utilized when the CIRC was born, and it’s made it much easier for citizens to bring issues directly to their council members, and for those council members to act on it.

What I love about the CIRC is that it is comprised of Town of Cary School of Government graduates – folks that have taken the time to participate in 8 weeks of classes, learning about the Town, how it works, and how to engage.  (I’m a proud graduate, and I hope you’ll consider applying to attend.) We agreed to look at moving the CIRC to an advisory task force as needed.

Economic Development Commission – known as the EDC, have been concerned with their status for awhile.  They made a proposal to council before I joined, to disband the board since we now have a stronger relationship and partner with the Cary Chamber of Commerce. There is also a Economic Development Governing Board (with council members, the Chamber, and the Town Manager) and we decided to add to that with members of the EDC, and to eliminate the current EDC.  Thanks so much to the EDC for everything they have done – it’s also through their hard work and effort that Cary’s been successful enticing businesses to open, relocate or expand in Cary.

Town Center Review Commission – known as the TCRC – was created to review the Town Center District site maps, enhancement projects and streetscapes.  With the addition of the Downtown Manager, and the current projects moving forward, along with the role of the Planning and Zoning Board, the council wasn’t sure that it is still needed. Additional discussion will occur with the board members, but this was our feedback to staff.

Sue Rowland shared with us that she will be planning a work session on the boards. I requested that we spend some time looking across all of our boards, given the new information we received from staff on our changing demographics.  I’d like to see where we might be able to put some additional focus from the LENS of some of our customers – such as the senior community, the disabled and the younger generation.

Closing up

At the moment, I feel very humble, fortunate and extremely grateful to the citizens for Cary for their faith and belief in me, and my ability to serve them well.  Trust is the greatest gift of all – one that is earned and I know, can be lost.  It is my sincere desire to continue to earn your trust, and work hard as your At-Large representative.

Tonight’s agenda comes packed full – a great way to start my service.  I have a plan to also ask for an item to be added to the agenda, with regards to Hydraulic Fracturing.  I’ll write more about that, as time goes on.

I’ll close now, with this – as it exemplifies my strongest public service belief –

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead