About Us
We're a group of Chapel Hill residents who want our town to be more vibrant, affordable, sustainable, and inclusive, and where people at every stage of life and at all income levels can find a home that works for them. Together, we take actions to raise awareness, support existing programs, and advocate for change to make our communities stronger and more resilient. Some of us own homes, and some of us rent. We're long-term residents who have lived here for decades, and new residents who attend or work at UNC. We always welcome new members. If interested, you can contact us via our form.
Why we believe in a Chapel Hill for All
Christian: I believe that diversity (racial/ethnic & economic) strengthens our community. I believe we have a duty to be more environmentally conscious and build denser, walkable communities. More housing = fairness.
Chrissy: Diversity in our community benefits us all. To continue to have a vibrant Chapel Hill, we need to support first time home buyers and the working middle class. I don't want to see Chapel Hill turn into a gated community.
Tab: I support more housing choices in Chapel Hill so that everyone who works in our community also has the option to live in our community. I support more housing choices in my neighborhood because I want my daughter to grow up in an environment that reflects the rich diversity of this great region. I support more housing choices everywhere because not everyone needs, wants, or can afford a single family home.
Pavani: It's good economic policy. We don't like monopolies in business because they keep younger, more innovative, and better companies off the market. Same for housing--increasing housing choices in Chapel Hill is good economic policy because it diversifies amenities, fights climate change, and invites innovation into a place that is becoming increasingly irrelevant.
Sarah: I want to stay in Chapel Hill after I am finished with school, but I won't be able to afford it with my early career income. I want a Chapel Hill that is affordable for people in various life stages and from varying backgrounds. I love Chapel Hill, and I don't want housing costs to be what keeps me, or anybody else, from it.
Jameson: I support Chapel Hill for all because a thriving community takes all types. All types of people, all types of housing, and all types of transportation. Providing diverse housing options to everyone who wants to live here and enjoy this great place should be a primary goal of Town Leadership. I would like to see more access and safe lanes for bicycles, dense housing built near the Chapel Hill core to allow people walking and biking options, and parks and recreation for everyone.
Stephen and Mychal: We moved here because Chapel Hill is a welcoming and safe place for families like ours and offers tremendous amenities for its size. We believe more people should be able to access the resources here, especially because so much of what we have is a result of decades of investments by the people of North Carolina. We have so much – it is only fair to share.
Jasmine: Chapel Hill is a wonderful place to live, but it is currently unaffordable to far too many of the people who make it great. I come from the San Francisco Bay Area, a place I love but to which I will never return because housing there is simply too expensive. I do not want Chapel Hill to have the same fate.
Louie: I support more housing choices in Chapel Hill because I care deeply about three interrelated issues: 1) making choices today that allow future generations to have a quality of life equal or greater to my own; 2) addressing past and ongoing racism in Chapel Hill's housing market; and 3) taking purposeful and sometimes difficult actions to mitigate the growing ramifications of climate change.
Umesh: As a immigrant post doc with a family of 4, majority of what we earn goes to housing rental making us advance science worrying about meeting daily needs. Housing rental here costs 50% more than Iowa City, our old place, but in 50% poor condition due to bad walls, insulation and poor condition which intern increases our cost of utilities. More housing will open up housing competition and will force landlords to provide better housing and make it more sustainable. After my recent interactions with police department, they are also finding it difficult to save a penny due to increased housing expense, making housing choices a local important public issue.
Brynn: Feeling safe and at peace in your home should not be a luxury afforded only to some. As a community we should be striving to create and enable that feeling and reality for as many people as we can. Supporting more inclusive housing options is one part of making this necessity available to more people.
Locke: Coming to Chapel Hill from a small town, I was frustrated with the lack of housing options in the area. I had a hard time finding an affordable, small apartment that met my needs, so when I found one, I stuck with it, even though it was in a flood-prone area. It should be easy to find varied housing for people with various needs, so I'm all for upzoning in Chapel Hill.
Michael: People who work in Chapel Hill deserve to live in Chapel Hill. More housing options means more room and more affordable choices for everyone.
Pasuth: Chapel Hill can only remain a real college town if students, faculty, and staff can still afford to live here. They want to become and remain good neighbors and contribute economically and socially to this community, yet exclusionary housing policies continue to push out people who work and study here. We should make sure this town remains a lively, diverse place to study, work, and live, not just a museum neighborhood frozen in time for the rich.
Mel: I live in Carrboro with my family and my father-in-law lives in Chapel Hill. He takes care of our kids after school and we plan to take care of him as he ages. Having a duplex option available in Chapel Hill would save us lots of driving, and be so much better for multi-generational families like mine that hope to help family members age in place. (Also, I always ask my kids' teachers where they live and what time they get up in the morning - and it's horrifying.)
Alison and Geoff: We have raised our kids in Chapel Hill for the last 15 years and we’ll soon be empty nesters. It’ll be time to let a family with young children to take advantage of our larger single-family home near a school, and we hope to be able to find a smaller home, perhaps sharing a duplex with one of our children.
Mandy: As someone who is here as a graduate student currently but would like to continue living and working in Chapel Hill in the future, I support more affordable housing in Chapel Hill. I want to live in a city that values diversity and supports the people that want to live here regardless of their income. I would love to see denser housing as well as an increase in the use of public transportation, biking, or walking help to create a more sustainable infrastructure as well.
Juliana: I support more housing choices in Chapel Hill because there is less and less affordable housing available in Chapel Hill and surrounding areas. Low income individuals should not be forced out of housing, which means that we need more housing choices.
Martin: My favorite thing about my neighborhood is the diversity of housing options. We have medium-sized apartment buildings, townhouses, triplexes, garage apartments, and, yes, some really large single family homes. But our current rules don't allow people to build smaller multi-family homes, so we get oversized single-family homes and duplexes that end up being sold to multi-millionaires. I want to live in a community where households of all incomes and sizes can thrive.
Patti: Long term Graduate School student professionals working at our Hospitals, schools and on the university campus should have the opportunity to reduce the stress of residency and fellowship programs by living close while the contribute to our local economy and spend their limited resources at local businesses. Having these folks stay local also means our community has a more engaged and educated local population that can support community programs-not take advantage of them.
Bobby: No community survives without a rich diversity of people. Allowing accelerated focus on higher cost housing will work against this diversity, making Chapel Hill a less inviting place to live.
Andrew: Chapel Hill is one of the most expensive places in North Carolina to live in. Young and poor people are being excluded from our town by the lack of housing. To make our community more inclusive and dynamic, we need to allow the construction of missing middle homes.
John: I live in a neighborhood that includes all kinds of hosing choices, from single family homes, duplexes, condos, townhomes and a large apartment complexes. It all works well, and this diversity of uses means we have a diversity of neighbors – from families to students. The rest of town should allow more housing choices and it will enrich and improve the town for all.
Leon: I think it's simple economics. More choices means more consumer participation in the housing market, which is ultimately a good thing for our community. The key to succeed, however, is managing the risks properly, and making sure "more choices" actually means something.
Phil: Although I may not agree with every single word, I strongly support your recent blog about expanding housing choices in Chapel Hill.
I would like to see the chance for more owner occupied housing in Chapel Hill , so I strongly support more choice, more infill and more chance for ownership.
Riley: I support more housing choices in Chapel Hill because the cost of living here is absurdly high. It is far from radical position to say that the people who work and contribute to our community should also be given the opportunity to live here. Our teachers, civil servants, service workers, and students make Chapel Hill what it is, yet they often have to live else.
Paul: More housing choices means more people from more demographics can live closer to where they work, play, learn, hang out, buy stuff, etc. Thus, more housing choices means fewer and shorter car trips, less traffic, and a smaller environmental footprint.
Emily & Irakli: We wanted to make Chapel Hill our home because we love the vibrant & diverse community here. We want to live in a place that supports and uplifts all members of the community - and that requires a diversity of housing choices and affordability supported by upzoning. Renters and owners alike contribute to making this a wonderful place and everyone deserves safe, accessible, and affordable housing choices.
George: It’s needed! We are in an affordable housing crisis and everyone deserves a safe place to live.
Dan: My family and I love living in Chapel Hill, where our children have grown up. But I wish more people had the opportunity we have. For example, when my daughter was in 3rd grade she came home from school one day and asked me, "Why do so few of my teachers live in Chapel Hill?"
I'm in favor of policies that support housing so that more teachers, service sector workers, grad students, and other people who make our community special can afford to live here.
Sydney: I believe everyone in Chapel Hill should have access to affordable, safe, and environmentally friendly housing!! Chapel Hill is becoming increasingly un-affordable and exclusionary and I believe that more housing choices will combat this and make our town more inclusive.
Travis: I fell in love with Chapel Hill. And as a Chapel Hill tenant, subject to displacement at the whim of landlords who oppose a Chapel Hill for all, I know we the people have the power to build a Chapel Hill where everyone has a home. We make the community by defending it.
Do you believe in a Chapel Hill for All? Let us know why, in a few words, and we'll add you to this page and our mailing lists.
We believe that a Chapel Hill for All requires a government that works for all of us
The Town of Chapel Hill does many things well. Your trash will be picked up and potholes will be patched. Staff members are professional and friendly and responsive. Like many in our community, our elected officials, advisory board volunteers, and town staff often have deep expertise in their respective fields. They enhance our quality of life and we're lucky to have them!
But our local government needs to make some changes to be more responsive to all of its residents and to restore Chapel Hill to what it was not that long ago: the most progressive, creative, intellectual, and fun small town in the South.
A variety of factors have contributed to Chapel Hill becoming a more expensive and exclusive place in the past two decades, and our local government often reinforces rather than mitigates the forces bearing down on us. Once a symbol for change and opportunity – Chapel Hill and UNC were pivotal in North Carolina's rapid shift from tobacco and textiles to tech – the Town of Chapel Hill now seems to primarily serve as a vehicle to preserve the wealth of those lucky or privileged enough to own a home here.
How does it do that?
It slows the development of new housing, which given the population growth in the Triangle and high demand for our excellent schools artificially inflates the value of existing homes.
It restricts most of our land to the most expensive type of housing - a single-family home on a large lot. Land in Chapel Hill is very expensive but most of it cannot be shared by more than one family.
With the best of intentions, the Town offers a variety of ways for residents to get involved in and shape local decision-making. But in doing so it has stacked the deck in favor of those with the time and knowledge and resources to work the system. We know that survey respondents and advisory board volunteers are much whiter and older and far more likely to own a home than our population overall.
If you have small kids or a full-time job or simply don't have interest in taking 4 hours every few weeks to participate in public meetings, you're being left out and your voice is being discounted. And the voices that are the loudest in Chapel Hill are well-organized and often opposed to anything they perceive as a threat to their property values or way of life. Which unfortunately includes things like more housing and new greenways and better transit.
What can we do to get a more responsive and representative government?
Over the long term, we have to change how the Town of Chapel Hill listens to residents and demand that it considers all of us when it makes decisions. Being busy with a job or a kid or a big paper coming due shouldn't be misinterpreted as a lack of interest in how our town operates.
In the short term, we need to build a network of supporters to make as much noise as possible, but quickly and efficiently.
We know you are busy – because we are too.
But we know you care about building a local government that cares more about creating opportunity for everyone than preserving wealth for a lucky few – because we do too.