Commercial Development

I want to support efforts to relieve the tax burden on Town property owners.  I want to diversify our tax base by encouraging new businesses to come to Carrboro, continuing to educate the public about the need to “Shop Orange,” and nurturing and supporting our existing businesses.

With 89% of our tax base from residential property taxes, we need to carefully consider ways to attract and maintain commercial development.  The residential developments planned in and near downtown Carrboro (and Chapel Hill) will provide many more consumers for Carrboro restaurants, stores and office space.  Proactive economic development will help our existing businesses capitalize on these opportunities for growth, and incentives should be explored to encourage new enterprises.

We should enlighten persons interested in business opportunities about services or areas not currently served (or under-served) in Carrboro.  The Main Street project will include a hotel.  This will be the only hotel in Carrboro, and it is possible the town and nearby university could support another one.  Persons living in the northwest area of Carrboro would welcome a grocery store closer to their homes.  Many more residents will be living in this area soon with the development of the Winmore and Claremont properties, among others.  The clientele already exists and will continue to grow for these services.  We should carefully consider attracting larger retail to help diversify our tax base, but we would need to identify a suitable location for such a store, and then investigate what town resources can make this happen.   Efforts should be made to attract a store that will not take away from Carrboro’s existing commercial establishments, cornerstones to the uniqueness of our town.

Carrboro’s economic development plan should be coordinated with a comprehensive plan for Orange County.  Because sales tax in Orange County is divided among the municipalities, products bought anywhere in the county benefit Carrboro.  The educational campaign to “Shop Orange” must be continued, our residents need to be aware of how their shopping choices affect our tax base.