AGENDA #4b

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Request for Expedited Processing of Special Use Permit Application for Town Operations Center

 

DATE:             September 8 , 2003

 

 

The attached resolution would authorize expedited processing of the projected application for a Special Use Permit for the Town Operations Center. We recommend adoption of the resolution.

 

BACKGROUND

 

As the Council knows, the Town’s lease of land at the Horace Williams site for the Town’s Public Works and Transportation Departments will terminate on December 31, 2006.  Work has been underway for several years to identify and acquire a new site, develop a concept plan and project costs. We believe that it will take the full three years and four months to complete the Special Use Permit, the design drawings, bid process, construction, moving and demolition of the present improvements.  Therefore, we place this request before you tonight for expedited review.

 

Expedited processing grants priority status for review at every step of the process, and grants priority status in being scheduled on agendas of advisory boards and the Town Council. A Special Use Permit application would normally take nine months to a year to be reviewed by all the required boards and commissions and to be heard at a Public Hearing.

 

Following approval, an application normally takes three to four months to obtain approval of detailed construction drawings and final plans, prior to obtaining a Building Permit. The review process is often long because of the breadth and depth of review and analysis, and because many projects are usually being reviewed at any given time.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Request:  The request is for Expedited Processing status of a Special Use Permit application.  It is anticipated that the application will be submitted within one to two months after the Council authorizes proceeding with the conceptual plan and agrees on a budget.

 

Expedited Processing:  We have generally followed the criteria listed below in making recommendations to the Council on requests for expedited processing:

 

1.      Recommend expedited processing only in cases where there is a public interest or public objective involved.

2.      Recommend expedited processing only when a project that involves public interest would be harmed by following normal rules of procedure.

3.      Avoid expedited processing in situations where other applications that do not carry this special status would be delayed.

 

As a Town proposal, we believe that public interest or public objectives are being addressed.

 

Several development applications are currently working toward being placed on the Council’s Public Hearing schedule. The impact of granting expedited processing for the UNC application is that one less space would be available on the Council’s schedule for which other applications are competing.

 

Projects that have been granted expedited processing are identified in Attachment 1.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Manager’s Recommendation: We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution to grant expedited processing for the Town Operations Center Special Use Permit application.

 

ATTACHMENT

 

1.      List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing (p. 4).

 

 


A RESOLUTION DIRECTING EXPEDITED PROCESSING IN THE REVIEW OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR THE TOWN OPERATIONS CENTER (2003-09-08/R-4)

 

WHEREAS, the Town Council has received a request from the Town Manager for expedited processing of a Special Use Permit application seeking approval of development of the Town Operations Center; and

 

WHEREAS, the Town Council finds that there is a public interest associated with development of the Town Operations Center;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Town Manager is directed to expedite processing of the Special Use Permit application for Town Operations Center in a manner that will speed review without sacrificing breadth or depth of analysis.

 

This the 8th day of September, 2003.

 


ATTACHMENT 1

 

List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing

August 25, 2003

 

After receiving staff recommendations based on these criteria, since 1993 the Council has approved expedited processing for:

 

Ø      Intimate Bookshop,

Ø      Erwin Village Subdivision,

Ø      Ruth Faison Shaw Museum,

Ø      Chapel Hill Public Library,

Ø      Chapel Hill Public Housing,

Ø      Culbreth Park Subdivision,

Ø      East Chapel Hill High School,

Ø      Orange County Southern Human Services Center,

Ø      Hargraves Gymnasium addition,

Ø      Transitional Housing on Clark Road,

Ø      Chapel Hill Day Care at Southern Village,

Ø      Bolin Creek Greenway Phase II,

Ø      Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Transportation Center,

Ø      WUNC Tower request,

Ø      Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center,

Ø      Pavilion,

Ø      Southern Village Elementary School,

Ø      Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity,

Ø      Neville Tract,

Ø      McDade House relocation,

Ø      Freedom House,

Ø      Orange Community Housing Corporation Scarlette Housing,

Ø      Kenan Stadium Expansion,

Ø      UNC Co-generation Facility Boiler Replacement,

Ø      Chapel Hill Internal Medicine,

Ø      Midway Business Center,

Ø      Carol Woods Retirement Community (for Village Charter School use),

Ø      University Mall Redevelopment,

Ø      Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity House,

Ø      Greene Tract rezoning, 

Ø      Manley Estates Housing,

Ø      University Fraternity and Sorority applications (sprinkler projects),

Ø      Carol Woods Retirement Center (for day care addition, dining hall  expansion and new units),

Ø      Church of the Holy Family Expansion,

Ø      Eastwood Lake Project

Ø      Chapel Hill Pediatrics,

Ø      UNC Airport Drive Office Building,

Ø      Rams Plaza Renovations,

Ø      Meadowmont School/Park,

Ø      Meadowmont Wachovia Bank,

Ø      Orange County Landfill,

Ø      Rosemary Street Mixed Use Development,

Ø      Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center,

Ø      Rusch Road Habitat for Humanity Subdivision,

Ø      Village Plaza Shopping Center,

Ø      Meadowmont Hilltop and Greenway Condominium,

Ø      Empowerment, 229 North Graham Street, and

Ø      Red, Hot and Blue Restaurant at Village Plaza

Ø      UNC Print Services Facility

 

Requests for this special application processing by East Franklin Car Care, Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, an application for parking and refuse facilities at 317 W. Rosemary Street, The Franklin Hotel, Eastowne 501 Office Building, and Avalon Park Subdivision were not approved by the Town Council.