News Release

CHAPEL HILL – A new Leadership Advisory Committee for Carolina North will meet for the first time Thursday (March 2) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. in the Redbud Room – a change from the previously announced Dogwood Room – of the William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center.

Ken Broun, Henry Brandis professor of law at UNC and former Chapel Hill mayor, chairs the advisory committee, which includes representatives from the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, Orange County, EmPOWERment, the State Department of Transportation, the governor’s office, and the university. Chancellor James Moeser will formally charge the committee on Thursday.

The committee’s purpose is to get community input on Carolina North from as broad a range of interests as possible. The committee is being asked to develop principles that will guide the university in preparing plans for submission to the local governing bodies as part of the regulatory process.

Moeser asked Broun to lead the committee in guiding planning for Carolina North, the subject of a draft conceptual plan developed previously for the 900-plus-acre tract of UNC-owned property. The committee will study Carolina North issues – such as transportation, fiscal equity and environmental – over the next year, with a final report going to the chancellor.

The committee’s meetings will be public. Community members are welcome to attend Thursday’s meeting, but there are no agenda plans for public comment at that session, expected to focus on organizational issues. Future sessions are expected to include opportunities for such community participation.

In addition, Thursday’s meeting is scheduled to be broadcast live on Time-Warner Cable in Chapel Hill on Channel 4, the university access channel.

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Related Web links: http://research.unc.edu/cn/, http://www.unc.edu/community/

Contact: Mike McFarland (919) 962-8593, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu