Cianciolo is one of two co-chairs of "Chapel Hill 2020," a new visioning and planning process that aims to ask 10,000 people what they want to see in Chapel Hill's future duringthe next 20 years.

Do you think town taxes are too high and have suggestions on where to cut?

Do you like the new high rises and think the town needs more of them?

Do you see ways for the town, UNC and UNC Health Care to collaborate?

If you do - or even if you just want to start thinking about these issues - Cianciolo and co-chairwoman Rosemary Waldorf want you to attend a kickoff meeting Tuesday, Sept. 27 at East Chapel Hill High School.

"This process is open to anybody who lives, works, plays or does business in Chapel Hill," Waldorf said.

The pair previewed the project for reporters Tuesday afternoon in the sales offices of 140 W. Franklin, itself a look at things to come as cranes construct the 8-story condominium and retail project downtown.

The Sept. 27 meeting will start laying the groundwork for the town's next Comprehensive Plan, a vision statement that will lead to new guidelines for carrying out the goals. The last plan was adopted in 2000, and the Town Council has decided it's time for a new one.

But this plan won't be like the consultant-driven last, Cianciolo, Waldorf and Town Manager Roger Stancil said.

'I think what's fair to say is it won't be (the work of) a consultant who came to town with a briefcase with a plan he wrote in Austin," Stancil said.

The Sept. 27 meeting will start with an open house at 5 p.m., followed by a "visioning process" from 6 to 8 p.m. The town is seeking volunteer "stakeholders" to return Oct. 6 and sign up for committees that will examine issues in depth over the next six to eight months at different locations throughout Chapel Hill.

The goal is to have a final plan ready for the Town Council in June.

Economic challenges

Cianciolo, a former chairman of the town planning board, and Waldorf, a former Chapel Hill mayor, said a lot has changed since the last comprehensive plan, most notably the economy.

Chapel Hill had a 6.8 percent unemployment rate in July, according to the N.C. Employment Security Commission. That was better than the state's 10.3 percent but far above the 4 percent and lower rates the town averaged during much of the past decade.

"I think the opportunity here is to let the community set the future direction, given the reality we're in today," said Waldorf. "I think people are going to be more concerned about costs and taxes than they were 10 years ago."

The plan will help determine future budgets, the size and types of jobs in town government, and what town properties to hold on to and which to sell.

But it has to come from the people, not just politicians, Cianciolo said.

In recent years, more residents are saying the town needs to build the commercial tax base to ease property taxes. The total tax bill on a Chapel Hill home is $1.54 per $100 of assessed property value, above Durham's $1.30 and Burlington's $1.10 rates.

Yet, Cianciolo said, many residents speak against new projects when they come before the council.

"What I want to see is people tackle that problem," Cianciolo said. "We have a limited amount of space. I think if Chapel Hill citizens think we need this development to lighten our load then they have to come to grips with if you look out your window you might see commercial development."

Asked one thing she hopes to come out the 2020 process, Waldorf said she's thinking even bigger.

"It's become commonplace to say we missed the boat on retail," she said. "But honestly the retail in Durham is pretty close, and I don't think we can be saved by retail."

Instead, Waldorf wants suggestions on how the town, university and health care system might redefine Chapel Hill, much like visionaries did when they began planning Research Triangle Park in the 1950s.

"What is the next big thing for this community that could really work?" Waldorf asked.

She hopes to start finding out Sept. 27.