Alabama Avenue Development Sparks Outrage

Residents of Alabama Avenue and the surrounding area delivered impassioned comments at the Carrboro Town Planning Board meeting on Thursday, September 17, detailing objections to developer Andrew Chiles’s plans to build three tourist homes (short-term rentals) on the street. These comments followed similar testimonials delivered at the Town Council meeting September 15.

The developer “has shown disregard for the community and the natural resources,” Alabama Avenue resident David Branch told the Planning Board. “You’ve not taken proper precautions to deal with stormwater. It’s a sensitive area that has been decimated. This project should not proceed.” 

Chiles, a resident of Winston-Salem, attended the Planning Board meeting and responded directly to some of the residents, defending his plans and saying his actions thus far fall within town, state, and federal requirements, which town staff confirmed.

Neighbors voiced dismay that trees had been clear cut, saying the now empty lot causes excessive runoff and flooding when it rains. They also fear having short-term rentals on the street, pointing to complaints from homeowners on nearby Glosson Circle, who live beside another tourist home Chiles owns. Glosson Circle residents say they have been disturbed by loud parties held at the rentals, although Chiles said he was unaware of any complaints.

Chiles also said his Alabama Avenue rental properties would not be disruptive to the neighborhood. 

“They’re not party houses. They’re not priced for that,” he said. When asked what recourse neighbors might have if a noisy or unruly party did occur, he said neighbors should call the police if any local laws were being violated. 

Alabama Avenue residents bristled at Chiles’s failure to convene a community meeting with the neighborhood to outline his plans and allay any concerns. Residents fear that the development will change the character of their historically Black neighborhood, where many of the homes were built and purchased in the 1950s and have been in families for generations. 

Chiles responded saying he felt he was adding value to the area with new home construction.

“I’m building houses in a neighborhood of houses,” he said, referencing neighbors’ efforts several years ago to successfully defeat plans for a Dollar General store in the area. “I didn’t see [this development] as so polarizing.”

But Alabama Avenue resident Anthony Swann disagreed, telling Chiles: “My grandmother bought that house in 1954. You’ve hurt a lot of people, Andrew. You’re hurting the community. Sometimes just listening is a big help.”

A bit of history and facts about the approval process

Not only did residents voice concern about Chiles’s plans, they also questioned the Town’s procedures, saying they felt sidelined in the approval process. Town staff and Mayor Barbara Foushee confirmed that state statutes dictate much when it comes to this particular development, which is considered “by-right” or exempt from special hearings or approvals if it complies with all local zoning and building ordinances and codes.

Here is some history and facts about the process. Chiles purchased the parcel at 100 Alabama Avenue in the summer of 2025 and applied to split the lot, which is just shy of an acre, into three separate lots. Under state law, the town had no say in the subdivision of the lot. 

The town’s first opportunity to weigh in on Chiles’s plans was in March 2026 when he applied for zoning permits. Because each of the three lots is 10,000 square feet, town staff had only to ensure the plans met all town ordinances as currently written. His plans are exempt from review and approval by the Town Council because the size of the lots and what he plans to build are below the threshold that requires Council’s review. 

Staff evaluated Chiles’s conceptual plans and checked to ensure the required setbacks, structure size, stream disturbances, and access to public roads were met as well as the town’s required 40 percent tree coverage at the conclusion of development. Staff also confirmed that none of the plans for the lots had more than 5,000 square feet of impervious surface, meaning Chiles was not required to do a stormwater engineering assessment. His zoning permits were approved in July 2026.

As Chiles told the Planning Board and the public: “I look for stuff I can build on without special approvals. It’s business,” he said.

On each of the three lots, Chiles plans to build a two-story, four-bedroom house. The Town’s planning and inspection staff is charged with monitoring the development to ensure the project stays within all town regulations.

Incensed that the trees in the lot next to her Alabama Avenue residence were cut down and the flooding around her house has worsened, Anissa McLendon filed an appeal of Chiles’s zoning permits. A Board of Adjustment hearing on the appeal is tentatively scheduled for October 21. In the meantime, the law permits site preparation for the houses to continue, according to town planning staff.

The Board of Adjustment will decide whether Town staff erred in determining that Chiles’s plans complied with all Town requirements. If the Board finds that the zoning permits were issued in error, there are a range of options on how to proceed. Town staff said options could include Chiles or the Town itself appealing the decision, Chiles working with staff to change his plans to meet the requirements, or remediation of the site.

Ultimately, Chiles’s stated goal is to rent the houses he builds through short-term rental platforms like AirBnB, VRBO and Booking.com. In order to do so, though, he must apply for a tourist home Special Use Permit through the Board of Adjustment. 

Before applying for that permit, Chiles must gather pre-application input from Town Boards like the Planning Board. The Boards’ input is not binding, merely suggestions Chiles may want to consider before appearing before the Board of Adjustment. In that quasi-judicial proceeding, the burden is on Chiles to convince Board members these tourist homes should be allowed.

Once Chiles has filed his Special Use Permit application, residents within 500 feet of the property will be officially notified of his plans and may decide to have their own experts present evidence to the Board of Adjustment as to why the tourist homes should not be permitted. State statutes strictly dictate who constitutes an expert and what information is relevant to show the tourist homes:

• Do not cause material health and safety threats to the neighborhood;
• Do not reduce property values;
• Are in compliance with all ordinances; and, 
• Are in harmony with the neighborhood and in conformity with the comprehensive plan. 

Town officials weigh in

In their advisory capacity to Chiles, Planning Board members compiled a list of non-binding suggestions as he prepares to file his application for a tourist home special use permit. Among the suggestions: 

• Consider reducing the size of the structures on the site.
• Consider holding a community meeting or series of meetings prior to the Board of Adjustment hearing.
• Have the owner’s or property manager’s direct contact information available to neighbors for any questions or complaints they may have about the property.
• Consider the intensity of lighting and where it falls on neighboring properties.

Board members also noted that they do not find the “tourist home use in harmony with the area nor in conformity with the comprehensive plan.”

At the Town Council meeting earlier in the week, Mayor Foushee acknowledged residents’ frustration and the potential lack of clear communication about the Alabama Avenue project as it went through the approval process. 

“This has been hard. It’s been bumpy,” she said. “I don’t know what’s next, I can’t say, but we definitely hear you tonight. I'm just going to speak for myself, it's not a good feeling when you feel like your hands are tied behind your back and you can't help the people that put you in office. It is difficult, you know, when we find ourselves in the position that we find ourselves in, but we certainly hear you.”

*Addition: We added the address of the lots to the first photo caption on 10/1.