Rogers Road Neighborhood Projects

Background:

The Historic Rogers Road area of northwest Chapel Hill and northern Carrboro is a legacy community with settlement dating back to the 1700’s. Extending from Homestead Road to Eubanks Road and covering about ¾ of a square mile, the historic character of the community consists of black-owned family farms and sawmills alongside surrounding forest. From 1972 through 2013, the Orange County Regional Landfill was sited adjacent to the Rogers Road Community, leading over time to adverse environmental and health impacts. The Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association[1] was established in 2007 as a community-organizing group to advocate for environmental justice and improvements to the area.

This included the establishment of a Rogers Road Community Center. As a result of advocacy, the landfill was closed. The governments of Orange County, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill then initiated a sewer construction project[2], currently ongoing, with the intent of providing better public services to the community. In addition, the Neighborhood Association partnered with the Jackson Center on an intensive 9-month, community-first planning effort for the future of the Rogers Road community. The result was a compilation released in May 2016, Rogers Road: Mapping Our Community’s Future. The document recommended that development should retain long-term residents, create connections with the larger community, preserve socioeconomic and cultural diversity for the future, and respect the physical/natural character of the neighborhood.

Beginning in 2017, consideration of the future use of the Greene Tract has been underway. See https://www.orangecountync.gov/3070/Greene-Tract for more information.

Rogers Road Sewer Connection

In 2019, a new sewer line through the historically underserved neighborhood of Rogers Road was completed. Property owners in the area can begin the process for connecting to the new public sewer system upon request.

Are you eligible for a new sewer connection?

Eligible lots can be located using the map below. Across both jurisdictions of Chapel Hill and Carrboro there are 84 serviceable lots with the physical ability to connect to the line. The program provides public assistance to eligible owners of heritage lots (green and yellow) in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Yellow lots are lots with pre-existing dwellings. These lots can be served and the cost of connecting may be fully or partially covered by the sewer connection program (applicant is subject to income verification process). Green lots are Heritage Lots without pre-existing dwellings. These lots can be served and the cost may be covered through a low interest loan. Blue lots can be served, but the cost of the connection will fall on the homeowners. Residents can apply for the program until June 30, 2025.

Questions?

Contact: Information on how to apply is available by contacting Anne-Marie Vanaman at 919-918-7321 or anvanaman@carrboronc.gov.

Rogers Road Neighborhood Zoning Initiative

The Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro have partnered on a project to establish a zoning framework for the Rogers Road community that reflects the interests of the community and implements the recommendations of Rogers Road: Mapping Our Community’s Future. The zoning standards for the Rogers Road community should encourage a type and pattern of development that fits into its surrounding context and that also provides new opportunities for the community such as jobs, services and housing. In a review of planning efforts to date, an initial set of interests have been identified that may be accomplished through zoning, which include:•Identify access and infrastructure needs associated with development which can be met through zoning standards.•Allow home occupations and identify appropriate criteria/restrictions for them, which may vary within the community (eg based on lot size).

•Determine appropriate strategies for making new housing compatible with existing housing, eg by regulating house size.

•Ensure that land area zoned for commercial/mixed use is sized for the amount of development the community can support (to be informed by market analysis). •Ensure that property zoned for commercial/mixed use can accommodate a variety of uses that are appropriate to the community, which may include flex or maker space, civic functions, health facilities, arts and culture, etc. •Incorporate measures that preserve the heritage and character of the community. •Create standards for both jurisdictions (Carrboro and Chapel Hill) that follow a similar framework and allow consistency throughout the Rogers Road community. •Create standards that are consistent with each jurisdiction’s larger zoning framework, and/or clearly communicate how the new zoning diverges from approaches taken in other parts of Chapel Hill and Carrboro •Other interests as defined by members of the Rogers Road community.