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AMBERLY HEARING PAGE 3 <br /> --What is the Rush? <br /> It may seen strange to charge that Amberly is being <br /> rushed through , for it has been around a long time . But , we <br /> recently came back from a short vacation to find that <br /> Amberley was on the fast track . Meetings held, hearings <br /> scheduled, official positions staked out , planning staff <br /> directed to work through the weekend to analyse exotic <br /> technologies. Is it a hurry up while people are out of <br /> town? What is the rush? <br /> In April the Board prudently refused to approve Amberly <br /> while the OWASA study of the watershed was underway. What <br /> is so different now? The study is progressing and the only <br /> changes in Amberly are for the worse . <br /> --Conflict of Interest? <br /> Who is working for whom? The town's " independent" <br /> consultant is now working for the developer . <br /> Barrett Kays was hired Carrboro to evaluate the <br /> original proposal . At the time he was the subject of <br /> charges of conflict of interest in his dealings with <br /> developers and authorities in Wake County. Now he is <br /> representing the developer in redesigning Amberly, including <br /> incorporating his own earlier recommendations. He is also a <br /> potential operator of the waste disposal system which he is <br /> designing. Where is the independent view? <br /> --Amberly or no growth'? <br /> Some officials have been quoted as suggesting that <br /> rejection of Amberly is the equivalent of adopting a no <br /> growth policy for Carrboro. This is not so. Carrboro has <br /> grown , is growing, and will continue to grow. <br /> Analysis of construction permits granted by the town <br /> demonstrates this growth clearly. More units have been <br /> approved in the past two years but are not yet completed <br /> than have been completed in the past seven years. That is, <br /> more growth is already in the pipeline than we have seen <br /> since 1980 . More bluntly, what you've seen ain' t half of <br /> what we're going get (even if no more consruction were <br /> allowed) . <br /> The question isn' t "growth" or "no growth" . It is how <br /> fast , what kind, and where growth should be? It is whether <br /> or not Carrboro will exercise responsible control over <br /> growth or abdicate that responsibility? And, how shall we <br /> protect our water . <br />