6
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2004
Classes might tackle sustainability
BY ERIN ZUREICK
STAFF WRITER
Students at UNC could have the
option of taking classes in anew
curriculum focused on sustainable
development as early as fall 2005.
The Environmental Affairs
Committee, part of Student
Congress’ executive branch, recently
initiated plans to create such an aca
demic program. The initiative was
a plank on Student Body President
Matt Calabria’s platform.
“It has been a priority since (last
year’s) campaign and will help
UNC students learn how to be
more environmentally conscious,”
Calabria said.
The program should help foster
collaboration among departments
at UNC crucial to the topic of sus
tainability. Calabria said it would
“take an array of classes with a
theme and create a cluster in order
to bring the sustainable develop
ment theme together.”
The move would help UNC retain
its image as one of the nation’s most
progressive universities in the field.
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“Carolina is a leading univer
sity, and to continue as a pro
gressive school, a curriculum is
needed,” said sophomore Alia
Khan, former vice chairwoman
of the Environmental Affairs
Committee.
Schools such as Columbia,
Harvard, Carnegie Mellon and Ball
State universities are among the
institutes that already have devel
oped programs in the field.
The University already boasts
initiatives related to the issue,
including the Sustainability
Coalition —a group dedicated to
promoting sustainable practices
on campus.
But though UNC offers an
array of classes that relate to the
topic, mainly in the Department
of Environmental Sciences and
Engineering, it suffers from a lack
of coordination among academic
units.
“There is a lack of an interdisci
plinary approach, and the topic is
much broader than just environmen
tal sciences,” said Vincent Lagace,
Naurs
chairman of the Environmental
Affairs Committee.
A curriculum could combine
anthropology, economics, geog
raphy and public policy, among
other topics.
“Sustainability is a topic involv
ing environmental, economic and
social issues that brings together
many groups and that would
need to be organized campuswide
to function well,” said Douglas
Crawford-Brown, director of the
Carolina Environment Program.
If the program were imple
mented, sustainable development
could become an academic minor
or a program of study at UNC. The
addition of a minor would require
the approval of the involved depart
ments and the filing of a request.
“Sustainability is a specialized
topic for a minor and is not neces
sarily an area of study,” Crawford-
Brown said. “I am open to the pos
sibility, but not convinced yet.”
Contact the University Editor
at vdesk@unc.edu.
Residents air concerns
on parking lot models
BY TANNER SLAYDEN
AND JON WEINER
STAFF WRITERS
Residents of Chapel Hill took the
opportunity to voice comments and
concerns about the proposed devel
opment of downtown parking lots
2 and 5 at the Chapel Hill Public
Library on Thursday and Friday.
The meetings were facilitated by
Chapel Hill Town Council member
Bill Strom and project consultant
John Stainback, of Stainback
Public/Private Real Estate LLC.
About 30 members of the com
munity were able to become more
familiar with Stainback’s plans for
renovating the facilities. But offi
cials stressed that the proposals are
still in their formative stages.
“None of this is more than a
preliminary concept for a financial
model,” said Town Manager Cal
Horton of the models and design
structures Stainback used in the
presentation.
Those present at the meeting
had several areas of concern about
the proposed developments, tenta
tively scheduled for construction
from 2007 until 2011.
Lot 5, across from University
Square, and lot 2, behind Spanky’s
restaurant on Rosemary Street,
would be redeveloped into mixed
use buildings with new parking
facilities.
Neil Newcomb, owner of
McAlister’s Deli at 205 E. Franklin
St. said he was concerned about
the shortage of parking that could
arise if construction begins on three
major parking facilities downtown.
But Stainback said the plans
would have as small an impact as
possible.
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Still, Horton said, parking
downtown will be hard to come
by if construction begins. “During
construction, there will be a time
where parking will be the dearest
commodity downtown ”
After Stainback presented a cash
flow analysis of the projects show
ing positive gains for each year of
construction, Dave Hartzell, direc
tor of the Center for Real Estate
Development at UNC’s Kenan-
Flagler Business School, questioned
the accuracy of the numbers.
“You can make the numbers look
however you want,” Hartzell said.
“This is looking way out into a
crystal ba11.... The key point is that
we’ve seen these numbers change
multiple times. This makes me a
little skeptical.”
Stainback admitted that there are
several variables that could produce
significant changes in the numbers.
“There are a lot of moving tar
gets with this project,” he said.
Strom said the purpose of pro
viding the projections is to arm
the Town Council with enough
information to make an informed
decision about whether to move
forward with the plans.
“This gives us a sense of what
the potentials are and where some
of the downfalls and weaknesses
lie,” Strom said.
He added that the informa
tion would provide the basis for a
stronger negotiating position with
building contractors.
“When all is said and done, we
will have a more vibrant and suc
cessfiil downtown,” Strom said.
The two meetings made the
developer, the council and the town
more comfortable with the poten
tial downtown development plan,
Stainback said.
“Some good ideas were offered
(at these meetings),” he said. “We
are helping residents see how this
development will be an asset to the
town.”
Stainback also said that there will
be a lot of time to review the develop
ment plan, and that last week’s meet
ings were just two of many opportu
nities for residents to ask questions
and learn about the projects.
“The process will help the town
implement lots 2 and 5 and make
money doing it,” he said.
Strom also said the meetings
were a good chance to explain what
the town is trying to do.
“The town and Stainback met
with business owners and neigh
bors to show them how this devel
opment will be affecting them,”
Strom said. “The members of the
community who attended the
meeting showed us what to keep
an eye on in the future.”
The council will decide to move
on to the next phase in the process
authorizing developer solicita
tion on the projects tonight at
its business meeting.
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
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