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Good Neighbor Initiative

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

Check out the Off Campus Housing Guide, a comprehensive housing resources for UNC students living off campus.

View our complete Off-Campus Student Resource Guide, or keep reading below for helpful tips about living off campus in Chapel Hill!

Check out the following information for helpful hints about living off-campus:


The Tar Heel Citizen Times

Check out the UNC-CH and Town of Chapel Hill sponsored off-campus student e-newsletter!  For more information and to sign up, visit here.

 

 

 

Party Registration & Party Smart

Party police free by registering your party here.  The purpose of Party Registration is to:

  • Allow student community members to regulate their parties before law enforcement intervention
  • Provide all community members an efficient mechanism to address loud parties
  • Allow the Chapel Hill Police Department to better utilize their resources

If you don't register your party, the presumptive outcome of a noise complaint on your party is a citation.  Party registration is FREE, a citation is not. 

If you host a party at your house or apartment, you may be legally accountable for what happens during and after the event.  Ultimately, you have the personal and/or organizational responsibility to create a safe and healthy social environment for your guests. 

To learn more about your responsibilities as a host, how to create and maintain a safe environment, and how to "party smart," visit UNC's Party Smart webpage.

 

 

The Good Neighbor Initiative

Good Neighbor Initiative

The Good Neighbor Initiative began in 2004 with an effort by the CHPD to make door-to-door visits to student-rental properties in the Northside and Pine Knolls neighborhoods that had been trouble spots for loud noise and disruptive behavior.  The idea was to talk to students before the academic year got underway about the local laws and ordinances that, if followed, would reduce the likelihood of problems between neighbors and visits from the police.  Over time, the scope of the initiative has grown to include Northside, Pine Knolls, and the Cameron-McCauley neighborhoods, as well as North Street, Davie Circle, and the Dawes St./ Coolidge St. area.

Being a neighbor is easy. Being a good neighbor is simple, but takes a little more thought. 

Follow these simple guidelines:

  1. Meet your neighbors.
  2. Know your neighbors.
  3. Help your neighbors.
  4. Respect your neighbors.
  5. Communicate with your neighbors.

Learn more about participating in the door-to-door walk or on being a good neighbor here.

 

 

Need a ride? Hop on the bus!

The Chapel Hill Transit System is free for all users and has many stops on campus.  Check out the real time bus schedules here.

Need a ride to the RDU airport? You can take a bus there from UNC's campus! For more information, visit Triangle Transit at https://gotriangle.org/.

 

 


Parking Information

Front-yard Parking

parking sign
  • For residents in the Northside and Pine Knolls Neighborhoods: A max of four cars are allowed on a lot (including parking on the side and back yard). Parking is only permitted in designated areas on a property (not on front-yards/grass).
    • Violators could receive an immediate $100 fine and could be fined $100 per day if the violation is not addressed.
    • Unsure if you live in Northside or Pine Knolls? Then click here for a map of the neighborhoods. 
  • For residents in other neighborhoods: Be sure that your parking areas are clearly defined by an all-weather surface or gravel, and that the parking area only takes up 40% of your front yard.

Residential Parking Permits

  • Residential parking permits are needed in order to park in Chapel Hill's special parking zones, which are designated by parking signs.
  • Residential parking permits cost $25 per year, and guest and temporary permits are available.

For more information and a map of downtown parking options, visit www.parkonthehill.com/.  

 

Trash & Recycling

Trash Instructions

Orange County_Trash Can
  1. Check with your landlord about your trash collection day (Mondays or Tuesdays).
  2. Roll your garbage bin to the curb by 6 am on your trash collection day.  Put all garbage and household refuse in watertight bags before placing it in trash bins.
  3. Remove your garbage bin by 7 pm on your trash collection day.  Violators will be fined $25 per day.

Furniture, appliances, and bulky items can be collected from the curb for a fee upon request. The fee is $15 for up to three items and $5 for each additional item. Call (919) 969-5100 to schedule collection prior to items being placed at the curb.

For more information, visit: www.townofchapelhill.org/trash 

Recycling Right

Combine paper, magazines, cartons, junk mail, plastic bottles, metal cans, aluminum foil, glass bottles and jars, etc. at the curb, in designated recycling bins, and at drop-off sites.

For more information, visit Orange County Solid Waste Management Department 

 

Noise - Respect your neighbors. soundwaves-153352_640

The Town of Chapel Hill Code of Ordinance states that any "unreasonably loud noise, particularly during nighttime" which may interfere with neighbors may be charged with a violation.

This may include yelling, loud parties, sound amplification equipment, horns, vehicles without original manufacturer-provided muffler, exterior and mobile loud speakers, etc. 

Noise Permits: If you are having a party, contact the Chapel Hill Police Department at 919-968-2760 to let them know or register your party here.  Party registration is free, a citation is not.

 

Living Logistics - Avoid fines!family-1921664_640

  • No more than four unrelated people can reside in a dwelling unit (for example, in a single family house or on one side of a duplex). Violators could be fined up to $100 per day for the first offense, $250 per day for the second offense within 180 days and $500 per day for a third offense within 365 days. 
  • Having more than six unrelated people in a dwelling unit is a violation of NC Fire Code and could result in a civil penalty in the amount of $500 per violation for every day the violation continues.

Have questions? Contact the Chapel Hill Planning Department at 919-968-2728 or the Fire Department 919-968-2781.  

If you are a University student and have questions about your lease, you can contact Student Legal Services for assistance. For more information, visit: http://studentlegalservices.web.unc.edu/

 

 

Tenants' Rights and Responsibilitiessheet-1292828_640

If you are a renter, learn more about your rights and responsibilities in the document below.

To download a copy of the "Declaration of Tenants Rights and Obligations" document, click here.  

If you are a student, and you have questions about your landlord or lease, you can contact Student Legal Services. More information about Student Legal Services can be found here.

 

Chapel Hill Fire Department

 

Fire & Safety Tips

Learn more about our fire & safety tips here.  

 

Additional Resources:


Last revised: 08/2019

 

For more information, contact Sarah Viñas, Director of the Chapel Hill Affordable Housing & Community Connections Department, at svinas@townofchapelhill.org or 919-969-5079.