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Community Climate Resilience
Climate change isn’t a distant threat – it’s already here, affecting the people, places and things we love. A healthy, resilient community is prepared to weather the irreversible impacts of climate change - and continue to thrive.
We know that these impacts do not affect everyone in the Town in the same way. Communities of low wealth and communities of color that are often the most vulnerable to climate impacts are also the least able to bounce back when disaster strikes.
The Carrboro Connects Comprehensive Plan includes several goals that tackle the systemic challenges that disproportionately impact residents most vulnerable to climate harm, including inadequate housing, urban heat islands, flood risk, and other aspects of racial and economic injustice that put some people at greater risk.
The Comprehensive Plan lays out a clear pathway to implement solutions to the Town’s biggest climate vulnerabilities, including flooding, drought, extreme heat, critical infrastructure failures, and more severe and frequent super-storms, prioritizing residents and neighborhoods that are hurt first and worst.
We are working on nature-based solutions, such as planting more trees in urban heat islands, beneficial electrification projects, such as installing highly efficient heat pumps in low-income homes, and coordinating services, education and outreach to help residents prepare and cope with climate-related and other emergencies.
PROGRESS
- Flood Resilience
The Town has been involved in and incrementally growing flood resilience work since joining the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1976. In the past decade and driven by changes in rain intensity, the Town has taken new steps. For example, the Town has commissioned Sungate Design Group to complete studies for multiple locations in Carrboro experiencing flooding. The Town created a Stormwater Utility, Enterprise Fund, and Advisory Commission in 2017 and began receiving dedicated stormwater funding in 2018. The Center for Neighborhood Technology completed a RainReady℠ study in 2020, and staff has been pursuing supplemental work, including preparation of this report, a companion report on flood mitigation techniques, and other steps to support the community with flood mitigation and resilience and stormwater assistance. Most recently, the Town’s Comprehensive Plan has provided flood resilience components.
For more details, visit: Flood Resilience | Carrboro, NC - Official Website
- Watershed Restoration Residential Assistance Program
Impervious surfaces such as rooftops and driveways generate higher volumes of runoff that can impact properties. This Program assists in creating resiliency in landscapes and properties by providing technical and financial assistance to individual residential property owners in Carrboro to implement practices that reduce runoff and associated negative impacts.
For more details, visit: Residential Assistance Program | Carrboro, NC - Official Website
- Cool Pavement
The Town of Carrboro maintains 47.04 miles of roadways comprising of 566 street segments or blocks, 41 miles of sidewalks, and 872 curb ramps throughout the community. All that asphalt absorbs summer heat and can make it feel hotter in urban heat islands. The 2024 Street Resurfacing Project not only keeps streets and curb ramps safe and in good condition for all users, it also used a cool pavement technology called PlusTi that has been shown to reduce pavement heat absorption.
Read more at: 2024 Street Resurfacing Project | Carrboro, NC - Official Website
- Grow Urban Tree Canopy
Trees are a key climate resilience strategy. Neighborhoods with more tree canopy cover and less dark, impervious surfaces naturally stay cooler in the summer.
The Town is a proud member of Tree City USA and has provisions for tree protection and open space in the Land Use Ordinance. The Comprehensive Plan includes solutions to improve canopy downtown to create a more vibrant and inviting urban landscape, reduce the heat island and stormwater runoff, and sequester carbon.
Learn more: Urban Forestry | Carrboro, NC - Official Website
- Reducing Energy Burden for Low-Income Residents
The Town’s Housing and Community Services Department works to implement the Town’s affordable housing goals, which includes programs that fund energy-saving home weatherization, critical home repairs and home preservation for low-income residents.
For more information and to apply: Housing and Community Services | Carrboro, NC - Official Website
In 2022 and 2023, the Town was a community partner in the highly successful Solarize the Triangle campaign. This community-based purchasing program for solar energy and battery storage helped Carrboro residents become more resilient, reduce energy expenses and save on the cost of renewable energy systems. As a result of these programs, Carrboro residents added 82 kW of solar power and 27 kW of battery power to their homes. These projects reduce the community's greenhouse gas emissions by 153,832 lbs. of CO2 annually.
This program ended in 2023 and is no longer accepting new solar projects.
Land Use Ordinance Rewrite
Carrboro’s Land Use Ordinance (LUO) directs the use and development of real estate. The LUO is being rewritten to align with the 2022 Comprehensive Plan and is a powerful tool to drive carbon neutral and climate-adapted development.
Learn more - Land Use Ordinance | Carrboro, NC - Official Website
Share your thoughts - Engage Carrboro - UDO Rewrite
The Green Neighborhood Grant Program seeks to help bring neighbors together to pursue projects which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create natural areas that are more resilient to the impacts of climate change, and ultimately benefit the entire community. Funding up to $2,500 is available for neighborhood teams seeking to implement sustainable projects that align with the goals of the Town of Carrboro Climate Action Plan.
For more information, visit: Green Neighborhoods Grant
WHAT’S NEXT:
The Town of Carrboro is an active participant in the planning to update the following hazard and risk management plans:
- Orange County Extreme Heat Plan
- Orange County Emergency Operations Plan Update
- Eno-Haw Hazard Mitigation Plan Update
- Orange County THIRA – Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment
RESOURCES:
Orange County Hot Weather Resources - Hot Weather Resources | Orange County, NC
Eno-Haw Hazard Mitigation Plan - Eno-Haw Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan | Orange County, NC
Regional Resilience Assessment - Triangle Regional Resilience Partnership | Central Pines Regional Council
Sign up for OC Emergency Alerts - Stay Informed | Orange County, NC
ReadyOrange - Disaster / Emergency Preparedness | Orange County, NC
OWASA’s Long-Range Water Supply Plan - The Long-Range Water Supply Plan - OWASA