CHAPEL HILL - Town Council and mayoral candidates came out for the second forum of the season Wednesday to answer questions on balancing economic development and the town's environmental values.

The forum was co-sponsored by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and the Sierra Club.When asked how they would prioritize business growth and environmental protections, many candidates said they challenged the question's premise.

"I don't think we need to choose between economic development and environmental values," said Jason Baker, a council candidate. "There are ways we can work together collaboratively."

Incumbent council member Matt Czajkowski said the town has made a distinction between the two for too long. The goal should be creating opportunities for residents to work in town, he said.

"The biggest source of damage to the environment is the fact that 30-plus percent of residents get in their car and drive somewhere else," he said.

The biggest challenge with balance is effectively communicating it, said Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt.

"The great challenge we have is helping [development] applicants and others in the community understand that we have to create that balance with every decision that we make," he said.

Candidates were asked to raise their hands if they support a quarter-cent sales tax referendum on the ballot in November. All did, except mayoral candidate Tim Sookram. The format did not let him explain his position.

The chamber supports the tax and has collaborated with public officials and business leaders to promote it.

How the town might sustain businesses and bring new ones in was another focus.

Tapping into new student innovation at UNC is a key to spurring new business and nonprofit growth, said Lee Storrow, a council candidate.

"Getting students and young people to build and think about entrepreneurship and business is really fundamental," he said.

But incubators aren't big job creators; the focus needs to be on small businesses, said council candidate Laney Dale.

"A lot of things go in but not a lot are big hits," he said. "Small business provide the most new jobs in our county right now."

Job creation is a process issue, said August Cho, a former mayoral candidate now running for the council. "It took 18 months for a Panera Bread to get that outside shed," he said. "We need to simplify the process so that average individuals can open up a business."

The laughs of the night came when Sookram suggested "banning children" when asked how he'd deal with lack of space in the school district.

Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ward said the district needs more funding from the county to build the new school planned for the Northside neighborhood.

Other topics included climate change, how to sustain and improve public transit in town, and whether to modify the rural buffer, which limits how the town can grow.