AGENDA #2
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Public Forum on Recommended Principles, Goals and Strategies for the Horace Williams Property (Carolina North)
DATE: October 27, 2003
The Town Council called tonight’s Public Forum to receive comment on the Recommended Principles, Goals and Strategies for Guiding the Development of the Horace Williams Property submitted by the Horace Williams Citizens Committee (Attachment 1).
BACKGROUND
On October 7, 2002, the Town Council adopted a resolution establishing a charge for the creation of a Horace Williams Citizens Committee. The charge included the development of principles to guide the Council’s deliberations with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill regarding the future development of the Horace Williams property (Carolina North).
The Committee began meeting in March 2003, and presented its first report to the Council on June 9, 2003. On August 25, the Committee presented a second report, containing principles and goals for the property.
On October 8, 2003, the Committee submitted its Recommended Principles, Goals and Strategies for Guiding the Development of the Horace Williams Property report to the Town Council for consideration. At that time, the Council called this Public Forum to receive citizen comment on the report.
The Council has also scheduled a work session on the report, to be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 10, 2003.
DISCUSSION
As requested by the Council, the Recommended Principles, Goals, and Strategies Report has been sent to Town advisory boards for comments and recommendations, with a request to submit comments to the Council by the November 10 Work Session if possible.
This Public Forum was also advertised in the Chapel Hill Herald on Thursday, October 23, 2003, and Sunday, October 26, 2003, and notices were provided to citizens via e-mail.
On October 8, the Council requested additional information concerning schools and impact on water and sewer facilities to be provided for the forum. The Council requested that a letter from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools on reserving a school site on the Horace Williams Property be included in the packet for tonight’s forum (Attachment 2). The Council also requested information from the Orange Water and Sewer Authority concerning impact on water supply and sewer projections from the Authority’s Master Plan. Please see Attachment 3 for a letter from Ed Kerwin, Executive Director of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority, on the potential effect of the development of the Horace Williams property on water and sewer facilities.
SUMMARY OF REPORT
Recommendations consist of broad principles followed by more specific goals and implementation strategies; they are categorized based on the following topic areas:
The report also includes general principles addressing big-picture issues such as sustainability and cumulative impacts of the development on the community over time.
The Committee also identified the following two working assumptions which influenced other recommendations in the report: 1) the remediation of all waste sites will be adequately addressed, and 2) the Horace Williams Airport will be closed by 2005.
NEXT STEPS
Public comment received on the Committee’s report will be forwarded to the Council for review at the Work Session on November 10. Council consideration is scheduled for its November 24, 2003 meeting.
ATTACHMENTS