Trying to reinvent Chatham County’s lamest liberal, Jeff Starkweather

Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 21:48:08 -0500
From: samantha capitol
Subject: Growth or No Growth:Why does Jeffrey decide for us?

The holiday season has allowed me the time to research thoughts about growth and Chatham County. Here are the comments from one very important and concerned member of the community, Jeff Starkweather:

Over seven years ago he was painted as “no growth” by the group Growth Matters.

Smart Growth Group Moves Left with New Director

Posted on May 21, 2006 by Growth Matters

We are disappointed to hear that the NC Smart Growth Alliance has hired Jeffery Starkweather as the organization’s newest executive director. Starkweather says he’s for “slow†growth. However, as leader of the Chatham Coalition, he has opposed all growth and development in Chatham County.He vows to take his liberal, left leaning, “stop all the growth†agenda statewide. We are confident that most mainstream folks do not share the same radical agenda as Mr. Starkweather.

Jeffrey Starkweather, 590 Old Goldston Road, Pittsboro, NC, Executive Director of the NC Smart Growth Alliance, stated that actions speak louder than words; that when their descendents look back on what occurred in this time, what they say at the night’s meeting will be little remembered; that when the Board passes the residential development moratorium, their actions will never be forgotten; that this will not be just because this moratorium is an important step toward carrying out principles Board members were all elected upon such as environmental and fiscal stewardship, planned, equitable and smart growth; and promotion of sustainable economic development; that, more importantly, it will be because the Board has fulfilled by their action the promise of what the citizens who supported them have sought for the past four years: “a government of the people, by the people, for the people.†; that during the past two elections, an overwhelming majority of the voters in Chatham County have underscored these principles; that they elected Board members because they believed they are committed to planned and sustainable development; that if democracy is about anything, it is about elected public servants living up to their campaign promises; that the night’s meeting, is another example where the Board, our County Commissioners are living up to their commitment to true government by the citizens.

He stated that in 2001, The Governor’s Commission on Smart Growth, Growth Management and Development, co-chaired by two distinguished Chatham County state legislators, Representative Joe Hackney (now our Speaker of the House) and then Senator Howard Lee (now chair of the State Board of Education), made the following finding of core principles:

â— Citizens and government should articulate the sort of growth they want rather than leave choices to chance

â— Growth can be managed while being encouraged â— Smart growth is preferable because it makes efficient use of public resources such as infrastructure, taxes and the environment â— Public participation and property rights are key elements of growth management

CHATHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MINUTES OF MAY 22,
2007, RECESSED REGULAR MEETING PAGE 2 OF 15 PAGES

He stated that the same year, Chatham County Commissioners unanimously approved the County’s Land Conservation and Development Plan; that that plan clearly carried out the “smart and sustainable growth†concepts proposed by the Governor’s Smart Growth Commission; that it specifically called for balanced growth where the benefits and burdens would be shared, natural resources and rural character would be protected and promoted, and development would be guided to suitable locations and designed appropriately; that unfortunately, the land use map referred to in the plan was never adopted, nor were most of the land use tools required to carry out this vision; that since 2001, the County has increased its population by 25% and the County has approved somewhere between 12,000 and 15,000 new residential units; that the most recent Cost of Community Services report from NC State shows that the County continues to spend more of its tax revenues for services to residential developments than it collects from those developments; that since the new majority has come into office, in December, the entire Board has worked together diligently in setting up subcommittees of the Planning Board, various task forces and advisory boards to develop tools called for in the Land Use Plan and needed for planned growth; that it has become clear that the County does not have the financial, personnel or volunteer resources to develop those planning tools while spending an enormous amount of time reviewing a flood of development requests; that it is clear that there is no practical alternative to achieving the sustainable growth planning principles of the Land Use Plan without enacting this moratorium to give the breathing room required to properly plan for the future; that moreover, this will not negatively impact economic development; that the Governor’s Smart Growth Commission found that enacting smart growth policies will enhance economic development; that while there are many critical sustainable development tools that the County may not be able to complete during the moratorium period, the tasks the Board have set forth to complete are practical and achievable: Land Use Plan update and map development; subdivision and zoning ordinance revisions; affordable housing plan; environmental impact statement triggers and stream buffers; zoning the major corridors and developing a major corridor ordinance plan and map; and revising the public hearing and review processes; that the majority of Chatham residents welcome the Board’s anticipated action in approving this much needed moratorium ordinance, because actions do speak louder than words; and that in taking this action, the Board will have again proven that in Chatham, citizens now have “a government of the people, by the people, for the people.â€

In 2008 he provided his outlook to the INDY regarding the Democratic Primary in 2008 (The INDY did not endorse him):

6. Define “economic development.†What does that term mean to you? Given the state of the national economy and local job losses such as the closing of the Pilgrim’s Pride chicken processing plant, what specifically can you do as a county leader to strengthen and support Chatham’s economy?

Economic development should enhance all aspects of community life, including decent wages and benefits, excellent education and job training opportunities, practical transportation, affordable housing, arts, entertainment/recreation, and protection/preservation of farms and natural areas.

It should provide opportunities for all citizens to prosper and enjoy a good quality of life. I believe Chatham can benefit from a “place-based†economic development strategies that seek to complement and promote its existing strengths (arts, farms, forests and rivers) with new opportunities (green/clean industry, small businesses and downtown shops, entrepreneurship, job training).

Chatham has a tradition of relying too heavily on low-wage industries that eventually move on to places where they can pay even lower wages. First it was textiles, furniture and dog food, most recently it has been chicken processing. The loss of the chicken plant in Siler City will be devastating for that community because the plant was the town’s largest water and sewer customer, and because so many workers and farmers relied on it for their income, and those workers and farmers shop locally for their family needs. The “quick fix†solution would be to find another chicken plant or comparable industry, which I am not opposed to if similar industries that do not pollute can be found; but that won’t solve the area’s long-term economic development needs.

Chatham has also become a bedroom community for the Triangle, but relying primarily on building and selling homes is not a viable, long-term economic development strategy for the community, because residential and retail developments don’t provide enough tax revenues to support the services (schools, water, sewer, police, etc.) that they require. The consequence of massive residential and commercial development is that land and housing prices, and property taxes, will soar, making Chatham unaffordable to working people.

Chatham County needs to provide more decent jobs, job training, clean green industry and business opportunities for people living in Chatham, both to expand our tax base and keep more of our sales tax in Chatham, but also to enhance the quality of life for local residents who would rather work near home than commute. We also need to enact policies that provide incentives for protecting farmland and forests, for the benefit of farmers, as well as other residents who enjoy the open space of rural life. All of this needs to be done strategically in concert with a comprehensive land use plan.

Unlike the incumbents running for re-election, I do not believe that water and sewer are the only or even necessarily the most important infrastructure needed to promote value-added economic development. Quality education is, by far, the most important form of county-supported infrastructure. High speed internet access is also crucial for the 21st century economy. Almost as important as infrastructure needed for a place-based strategy are arts and cultural facilities and programs, active recreation facilities, such as gyms, tennis courts, and ball fields, authentic and revitalized downtowns, and outdoor recreation amenities such as biking and hiking trails, canoeing, sailing, etc.

Sept 13, 2013: What Chatham Park says about itself:

http://www.researchtriangle.org/blog/embedding-sustainability-solutions-in-a-master-planned-community

Chatham Park is a new community designed to conserve significant open space, establish vibrant village and town centers, and attractively connect neighborhoods with businesses, entertainment, education and nature though an extensive trail system. It will be a place where the human and the natural connect in more rewarding ways — where you’ll be able to walk out your front door and experience the energy of Main Street or walk out your back door and feel the serenity of a quiet nature preserve. It builds on the traditions of other communities that successfully sought to create more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable places.

With 1,000 acres set aside for accommodating businesses, Chatham Park will contain the largest new center for bringing employees together in North Carolina. The community will attract a range of jobs, as the region continues to draw expanding industries in the areas of technology, life sciences and medicine. The residents of Chatham Park will be able to live where they work, creating a greater work-life balance. When fully built out over the next thirty years, Chatham Park will have over 20,000 homes clustered in five villages.

Sept. 13, 2013

http://www.researchtriangle.org/blog/embedding-sustainability-solutions-in-a-master-planned-community

What Mr. Starkweather says:

I appreciate Triangle Chatter publishing the public relations view from the developers of this proposed master planned community that would essentially take the small town of Pittsboro, Chatham County’s county seat. However, at this point that developers have requested approval of a master plan for their community that would essentially be “blank check” for to them to proceed with the virtually unchecked “flexibility” to design and develop a town of 55,000 residents with few, if any, any objective sustainability or smart growth standards or measures. They have essentially asked Pittsboro to “trust us.”

I have been on the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation board since before Chatham Park developers even engaged Thomas D’Alesandro to work on the design of this proposed development. I supported the concept of a sustainable, smart growth community that allowed folks to live, work, recreate and engage in commerce in the same walkable and bikeable town. But the devil is in the details and the town has not been supplied those details and some of the details they have provided are questionable for a sustainable standpoint.

We were all pleased when we heard Chatham Park had asked the Triangle Land Conservancy to undertake an environment assessment of the site and make recommendations how to protect valuable natural resources in the design of this “new town.” It appeared the developers were moving in the direction of designing their development on the principles of a conservation subdivision or community where the most valuable environmental assets are protected and the development occurs around them, not in or through them. Unfortunately, according to professional environmental experts who have reviewed Chatham Park’s proposed master plan, they have essentially ignored the recommendations of the environmental assessment.

Thus, we cannot proceed with the old trust the developer and their hired gun experts’ model.

I am a part of a recently formed citizen group, Pittsboro Matters, made up of Pittsboro and area residents, downtown business owners and operators, farmers, non-profit staff, etc., which is neither for or against the development. We want the best development possible and we want to make the values of the residents of the Pittsboro area and their values are both enhanced and protected in the design and implementation of this development. There are way too many unanswered questions about the development and its implications for our town and region that have not been answered. Some important issues have not even been raised and/or addressed by the developers or the town.

Pittsboro Matters is asking the town board to do three things are this early stage: 1) slow down the review and approval process; 2) bring in independent outside experts who can assist the town in reviewing and revising the plan for this development; and keep the process open and get meaningful citizen input in the design and scope of this essentially ‘new town” development that would make Pittsboro have a greater population than Chapel Hill.

Virtually every resident we have approached in the Pittsboro areas agrees with these three requests. We look forward to a formal response from the Pittsboro Town Board and Mayor to our three requests.

If you want to learn more and/or sign on petition that makes the above-three request, go to pittsboromatters.org

Below is an article I wrote about this development proposal for a local monthly newspaper, entitled the Chatham County Line (chathamcountyline.org) that spells out of number of the concerns the community has raised about this development.

Jeffrey Starkweather, 41 year Pittsboro resident.
, 919-417-0969