It’s been a long week, full of drama, but the record always needs to be set straight.

Obviously, most people do not seem to be aware of the fact that the Chapel Hill Planning Board presented not changes on Monday night, June 25, but the reasoning behind the changes that were incorporated into the the Chapel Hill 2020 plan. These changes were written in by town staff, and the revised document was the one approved by the Town Council.

There were only two additional changes that were up to the council to enact – one was the “sample citizen comments” on the Future Focus maps. We advocated for objective descriptions rather than comments that were tilted one way or the other. As an example, the Downtown comments included “Downtown could primarily support 4 to 6 stories with some 8 to 12 story buildings on Franklin and Rosemary streets.” This was one comment chosen out of many, some comments with the opposite view, suggesting a more small-scale village type approach, were made as well. One can only imagine the furor if the comment referenced and codified in the Future Focus chapter were those less-growth0oriented remarks! The Planning Board requested that subjectivity be removed.

The other change involved the implementation process. Without implementation, there is no plan, only a vision document. For example, if a proposal is presented in September, when the council returns, I wonder if they will have a clear path on how to proceed.

The Planning Board’s charge is to prepare and recommend revisions to the Comprehensive Plan for the physical development of the town. The tremendous amount of extra work and dedication put in by the volunteer Planning Board, many of whom faithfully attended all the 2020 sessions as well, ultimately improved the adopted plan greatly and we are proud of our work.

Del Snow

The writer is the chairwoman of the Chapel Hill Planning Board.

A better map

Your Sunday, June 24, editorial contained the following statement:

“Our map doesn’t show any waterway running from the Charterwood site to Eastwood Lake ...”

You need a better map.

Please refer to the following website, a map of the Booker Creek watershed: http://bit.ly/NTnmyk

Your next editorial on the subject will be better informed.

Jack Chambers

The writer is the chairman of the Lake Forest Association.

A veggie Fourth

What possible reason could anyone have to barbecue soy dogs and veggie burgers on the Fourth of July, instead of animal body parts? Would any of these work?

• Not worrying about nasty E. coli and Salmonella bugs, if the temperature is too low

• Not worrying about deadly carcinogens, if the temperature is too high

• Focusing on traffic and fireworks safety, rather than food safety

• Giving your eyes a break from reading government warning labels

• Giving your body a holiday from saturated fat, cholesterol and hormones

• Not sweating the animal cruelty and environmental devastation guilt trips

• Sharing a holiday with your strange, but lovable veggie friends

• Celebrating a day of independence from the meat industry.

Colin Barnett

Chapel Hill