It’s Friday, June 14.
Thanks to this week’s sponsor: The Festival for the Eno returns in 2024! Immerse yourself with live music, a juried craft show, food, and fun on the river. Tickets are on sale now and we just announced several artists confirmed to appear. Click here for details!
Welcome to the weekend, readers.
Housing remains a critical challenge for the Triangle, even as new apartment buildings and large townhouse communities seem to sprout up every week. As local governments continue to evaluate possible solutions, some entrepreneurial developers are taking matters into their own hands.
Small-scale development firms like Coram Houses, Haven Ventures, and Heeks Collaborative are contributing to Durham’s housing market by increasing the stock of accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
Tiny homes, a style of ADU, have become more popular as a method to add additional housing units within existing neighborhoods, and they’re popping up in backyards across Durham. They provide short- and long-term housing for a variety of needs: permanent landing spots for aging family members, passive income through AirBnB rentals, and affordable units for lower income residents.
Units at that size, ranging from 150 square feet, the size of a typical New York City apartment, to 700 square feet, the size of your rich aunt’s walk-in closet, come with their own set of drawbacks and benefits.
Drawback: someone could steal your entire house right off the lot, as Drew Helm, an executive director at Haven Ventures, recently discovered.
“We had a full tiny house stolen from us, which is a bit outrageous to say,” Helm says.
Thankfully, the home, which was built on wheels, was unoccupied. Three months later, the house was found in a Creedmoor backyard.
Benefit: limited space means adopting a more minimalist lifestyle, says Topher Thomas, founder of Coram Houses, who wrote an op-ed in the INDY about zoning reforms back in November.
“You might grieve the loss of certain things,” Thomas says. “But then, dwindling down to what’s important makes more space for love, for community.”
Have a good weekend.
—Justin
Durham
Durham police and the FBI are investigating after gunfire hit Duke Energy equipment in rural Durham causing an oil leak and a fire.
An Airbnb host had to take guests to court for eviction after they squatted in the property and refused to leave.
Wake
The Raleigh City Council voted to adopt its $1.4 billion budget at its meeting this week.
Raleigh tops the list of U.S. cities for most private vehicle miles traveled weekly.
NC State has asked the NC Supreme Court to block access to Poe Hall, the site of toxic PCBs, in order to delay independent testing.
Orange
Orange County deputy manager Travis Myren will be promoted to county manager following the retirement of county manager Bonnie Hammersley next month.
Here’s the latest on Orange County’s education and municipal bond proposals. The Town of Chapel Hill will hold a public hearing on the municipal bond at its meeting on Monday.
North Carolina
The “funding cliff” for childcare providers is drawing closer and advocates are demanding $300 million to keep facilities open in the state.
Republican state lawmakers argued in court this week that voters have no right to fair elections because it’s impossible to define what “fair” means.
Today’s weather
Sunny with a high of 94 degrees.
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