UNC Board of Trustees Chairman Roger Perry adamantly rejected the notion of permanent protection for undeveloped portions of the 1,000 acre campus of Carolina North.

The University has agreed to limit the first phase of construction to 250 acres over the next 50 years and to create buffers around streams on the property. The land, which includes Horace Williams airport, stretches from Homestead Road to Estes Drive. It will be the future site of the UNC Law School, the Innovation Center, and a variety of mixed-use development.

Members of the Town Council urged the Board of Trustees to adopt protective measures that would preserve large portions of undeveloped land beyond the 50 year mark, but Perry and other University representatives rejected this on the grounds that UNC cannot anticipate how that land should be used half a century from now.

Council members Ed Harrison, Bill Strom, and Sally Greene expressed disappointment at the Board’s unwillingness to consider any form of long-term conservation.

Addressing Perry directly, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ward voiced his dismay.

A public education session on Carolina North will be held January 29th, though the time and location have yet to be announced. For more information, visit www.townofchapelhill.org