AGENDA #4L

memorandum

to:	Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
from:	J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director David Bonk, Long Range Planning and Transportation Coordinator
subject:	2007 Chapel Hill Data Book
date:	June 11, 2007

PURPOSE

The purpose of this memorandum is to deliver the 2007 Chapel Hill Data Book (Attachment 1). The attached resolution receives the Data Book and directs staff to evaluate and implement the most appropriate way to provide the Data Book in the future.

BACKGROUND

The Chapel Hill Data Book provides a snapshot of the community, with regularly updated facts and statistics. It was initiated in 1999 to provide a basis for the update of the Comprehensive Plan, which the Town Council adopted in May 2000.

This is the eighth edition of the Data Book, and is the sixth to be published following the adoption of the 2000 Comprehensive Plan. The 2007 Data Book, specifically the “Community Indicators” supplemental section at the back of the Data Book, can be used to measure progress on elements of the Comprehensive Plan, including affordable housing, environmental quality, and transportation.

discussion

The following are key trends shown in the 2007 Chapel Hill Data Book:

From 1990-91 to 2005-06, estimated transit boardings in Chapel Hill increased approximately 160 percent.
Downtown traffic has remained relatively stable over the past 30 years despite a nearly 100 percent increase in Town population since 1970. In recent years, traffic has decreased at several downtown locations, such as Franklin Street west of Columbia Street.
Generally, roads on the periphery of the Town experienced the greatest increases in average daily traffic between 1992 and 2005.
Less than 15 per cent of dwellings sold in Chapel Hill during 2006 were affordable for families earning $57,050, or 80 percent of the region’s median family income. Most of these affordable units were condominiums and townhouses. 4 percent of detached houses sold were affordable for families in this income group.
Based on monitoring of ground-level ozone, air quality in the Triangle area has improved in recent years. The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area experienced zero “unhealthful” days in the summer of 2006 compared to seven in the summer of 2002. 29 percent of the days sampled in the summer of 2006 were “moderate” compared to 25 percent of days sampled in the summer of 2004.

next steps

Since the Data Book was first produced in 1999, it has grown in size. It often replicates data from original sources. The compilation is very time consuming and requires considerable staff resources, factors which have led to the late release of this year’s Data Book.

With the anticipated update of the Comprehensive Plan in the coming year, it will be necessary to revise several sections of the Data Book, or add others. For example, we believe that sections addressing sustainability and community health indicators should be added to the Data Book, once those chapters have been included in the Comprehensive Plan.

While the Data Book has traditionally been updated every year, we believe that this may not be the best model moving into the future. We believe that some of the existing data in the book can now be accessed by providing links to the original data sources, such as the Census Bureau and the State Demographer. We believe there are opportunities to shorten the Data Book, to provide the data in different ways, and to refocus the data.

We believe that the update of the Comprehensive Plan provides an opportunity to revisit the Data Book and determine the best path forward for this useful Town resource.

recommendations

We recommend that the Council receive the Final 2007 Chapel Hill Data Book and direct staff to evaluate and implement the most appropriate way to provide the Data Book in the future.

ATTACHMENTS

2007 Chapel Hill Data Book (begin new page 1).