NEWS

Autumn Rierson Michael

As a two-term incumbent, I’ve spent the last four years as a member of the Davidson Town Board, gaining a deeper understanding of the complex issues facing Davidson. Previously, I worked as a land use attorney and have taught historic preservation law as an adjunct professor for two decades. I am also the former Executive Director of the Davidson Lands Conservancy.

A few of the issues that I believe are important:

1)         Inclusivity and Affordable Housing: It is a key priority to make Davidson an inclusive and welcoming place for all. During my previous term, we institutionalized our affordable housing program with the hiring of a full time Affordable Housing and Equity Director, as well as created a standing Affordable Housing advisory board. This term, we should focus on the building of new construction owner and rental housing, as well as for the preservation of our naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH), particularly in West Davidson.

2)           Sustainability: Another key priority must be sustainability and adapting for climate change. In our previous board term, we passed a stronger tree ordinance, hired a new arborist town employee, and gave significant funding to TreesDavidson to help support the preservation of our tree canopy. In the coming years, we need to address our Comp Plan goals related to sustainability, including creating sidewalk and greenway extensions and improvements.

3)         Preserving Community Character & Managing Growth: We accomplished a great deal this term related to preservation, including expanding our local historic district and purchasing the South Street school for our public facilities needs. There is more work to do in implementing a Historic Preservation Plan that is currently being created, as well as creating a new Sewer and Water (USAC) policy to help manage growth and provide more certainty to landowners.