AGENDA #4k
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Request for Expedited Processing of a Special Use Permit Modification Application for the Chapel Hill Bible Church for Park/Ride Terminal
DATE: March 27, 2006
PURPOSE
On February 27, 2006, the Town Council received the attached petition from Anna Wu, Director of Facilities Planning for The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that requests expedited processing for a park and ride facility. The petition was referred to the Town Manager for review and recommendation.
We have not received a Special Use Permit Modification application for this proposal. The Council date for Concept Plan Review is April 19, 2006. Adoption of the attached resolution would grant expedited processing of a Special Use Permit Modification application.
BACKGROUND
On October 12, 1998, the Town Council approved a Special Use Permit for Chapel Hill Bible Church. The permit authorized the construction of four buildings and 500 parking spaces on 31.5-acres. An additional 318 parking spaces were permitted in 2002 as per terms of the Special Use Permit. The site is located on the northeast corner of Sage Road and Erwin Road.
The Community Design Commission is scheduled to conduct a Concept Plan Review of this application at its March 29, 2006 meeting.
EXPEDITED PROCESSING
Expedited processing grants priority status for review at every step of the process and priority scheduling 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 Council approval, an application normally takes four to five 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. However, because of the other applications previously granted such status, there will likely not be much shortening of the review time for this project if expedited processing is granted.
DISCUSSION
University of North Carolina Request: The petition requested expedited processing status of Special Use Permit Modification application. The University of North Carolina requests a change in use from church parking to allow for a park and ride lot. The applicant is not proposing any expansion to the existing facility as part of this modification. The 31.5-acre site is located on the northeast corner of Sage Road and Erwin Road.
Expedited Processing: We follow the Council-endorsed criteria listed below when making recommendations to the Council on requests for expedited processing:
Several development applications are currently working toward being placed on the Council’s Public Hearing schedule. The impact of granting expedited processing for the Chapel Hill Bible Church is that one less space would be available on the Council’s schedule for which other non-expedited applications are competing.
We believe that the proposal meets the objective for public purpose in the three criteria above for granting expedited processing status. The applicant has identified public objectives as the provision of alternative means of transportation. Projects that have been granted expedited processing are identified in Attachment 1.
A formal application has not yet been submitted to the Town. We recommend that the Council grant Expedited Processing Status for the Chapel Hill Bible Church Special Use Permit Modification application.
RECOMMENDATION
Manager’s Recommendation: We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution. Adoption of the resolution would grant expedited processing for the Chapel Hill Bible Church application, if the Council chooses to grant this request.
ATTACHMENTS