AGENDA #1a
MEMORANDUM
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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
J. B. Culpepper, Planning Director |
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Gene Poveromo, Development Coordinator |
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SUBJECT: |
Public Hearing: Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment – Proposed Town Center-3 (TC-3) Zoning District |
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DATE: |
January 17, 2007 |
PURPOSE
This Public Hearing has been called to consider a text amendment application to the Land Use Management Ordinance proposing a new Town Center-3 (TC-3) zoning district. The text amendment application proposes to modify the Land Use Management Ordinance to create a new Town Center-3 (TC-3) zoning district. The proposed zoning district would establish higher intensity standards. The accompanying Zoning Atlas Amendment application proposes to rezone the site from the current Town Center-2 (TC-2) to the Town Center-3-Conditional (TC-3-C) zoning district. Please see Attachment 1 for the text amendment request.
The attached Ordinance A would amend Section 3.3.1 of the Land Use Management Ordinance to create a new Town Center-3 (TC-3) zoning district. We recommend that the Town Council enact the attached Ordinance A.
CURRENT ORDINANCE
In the Land Use Management Ordinance, Section 3.3.1, the existing “Town Center” provision states that Town Center districts are “intended to provide for the development of the commercial, service, and social center of Chapel Hill while maintaining its character, its pedestrian-oriented scale, and its nature as a concentration of business, administrative, financial, governmental, and support functions serving the community; and to encourage further residential development in the central area of Chapel Hill.”
The Dimensional Matrix indicates dimensional requirements for the two existing Town Center zoning districts, Town Center-1 (TC-1) and Town Center-2 (TC-2). The only difference between the two existing districts is that TC-1 has lower height limits than TC-2. The attached Ordinance A for change to the Land Use Management Ordinance proposes to create a new TC-3 zoning district with higher intensity standards than the existing Town Center districts including secondary (maximum) height and floor area ratio.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
We believe that the intent of the application to amend the Land Use Management Ordinance is to achieve a greater variety and mix of uses and therefore a more urban, pedestrian-oriented, and transit-oriented development. We believe that the current permitted intensities in Town Center zoning districts are not ideal for larger scale residential and mixed-use developments.
A summary of the proposed text amendment to the Land Use Management Ordinance to create the Town Center-3 (TC-3) zoning district is provided below:
Creation of Town Center-3 Zoning District
1. Creation of a new Town Center-3 (TC-3) zoning district.
Secondary Height Limits
2. Establish a secondary height of 120 feet in the TC-3 zoning district (TC-2 secondary height limit is 90 feet).
Maximum Floor Area Ratio
3. Establish a maximum floor area ratio of 4.0 in the proposed TC-3 zoning district (TC-2 floor area ratio is 1.97). The floor area ratio determines the maximum amount of floor area allowed on a property.
ANALYSIS OF APPLICATION
Analysis of this application is organized around the requirement of the Land Use Management Ordinance which states that the Ordinance shall not be amended except: a) to correct a manifest error in the chapter; or b) because of changed or changing conditions in a particular area or in the jurisdiction generally; or c) to achieve the purposes of the Comprehensive Plan.
A) An amendment is justified to correct a manifest error.
Comment: We believe the information in the record to date can be summarized as follows:
Arguments in Support: We were unable to identify any arguments in support of a manifest error.
B) An amendment is justified because of changed or changing conditions in a particular area or in the jurisdiction generally.
Comment: We believe the information in the record thus far can be summarized as follows:
Arguments in Support: We are unable to identify any arguments in support of changed conditions.
Arguments in Opposition: We are not aware of changed conditions.
C) An amendment is justified to achieve the purposes of the Comprehensive Plan.
Comment: We believe the information in the record thus far can be summarized as follows:
>Arguments in Support: Arguments in support of this finding as offered in the attached applicant’s Statement of Justification can be summarized as follows:
Section 2: Goals and Objectives
Economic Vitality: Objectives for economic vitality include: 1) Provide a diversity of densities, scales, land uses and sizes; 2) Utilize available land in an economically optimal fashion; 3) Provide a safe and secure environment for citizens in the downtown area (Page 9 Town of Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan).
Greenbridge accomplishes all of these objectives. It provides a diversity of scale and use within the matrix of town center buildings and uses. It is also an economically optimal use of this particular site for many reasons; among them the availability of existing infrastructure, net tax gain to the town and county, provision of new retail and commercial opportunity and provision for residential use in the town center district. [Applicant Statement]
Section 2: Town Character and Land Use
Objectives for Character and Land Use include: 1) Maintain existing, and encourage new, magnets to attract people to downtown; and 2) Promote compatible residential uses in the commercial zones of downtown (page 10 Town of Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan).
Greenbridge will be a magnet for people to come downtown because of the unique mix of commercial and public uses anticipated on this site. It also represents compatible residential use in a commercial zone. [Applicant Statement]
Section 2: Infrastructure/Public Services
Reduce conflicts between delivery service and refuse and recycling collection (page 11 Town of Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan).
Greenbridge will have a loading dock and will be able to coordinate deliveries and recycling collection in an off-street location. [Applicant Statement]
Please refer to the applicant’s Statement of Justification for additional arguments in support.
Arguments in Opposition: No arguments in opposition have been submitted to date.
We believe the justification of the text amendment application is to achieve the purposes of the Comprehensive Plan particularly as it relates to downtown development.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Planning Board Recommendation: The Planning Board reviewed the proposed Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment on December 19, 2006. The Board voted 6-1 to recommend that the Council approve the application with the enactment of Ordinance A. Please see the attached Summary of Planning Board Action.
Staff Recommendation: We recommend that the Council enact Ordinance A to amend the text of Section 3.3.1 of the Land Use Management Ordinance, to include the above changes to the Town Center provisions of the Land Use Management Ordinance.
If the text amendments are enacted, as recommended by staff, we believe the new district has the potential of enhancing the downtown’s role as the center of the community by providing an opportunity for higher density urban form.
ATTACHMENTS