AGENDA #7

MEMORANDUM

TO:	Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
FROM:	J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director
	David C. Bonk, Long Range and Transportation Planning Coordinator
SUBJECT:	Response to Citizen Petition Regarding Development Activity in the North and Northwest Areas
DATE:	January 22, 2007

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to respond to a petition from Ms. Del Snow regarding development activity in the north and northwest portions of Chapel Hill.

The memorandum provides information about a number of planning efforts underway.  The formation of a High Density Steering Committee is expected to provide recommendations regarding consequences and accommodation of anticipated higher density development on major transit corridors throughout the Town.  No action is recommended in response to the petition.

BACKGROUND

On October 15, 2006, a citizen submitted a petition to the Town Council (Attachment 1) raising a series of questions concerning the impact of anticipated development in the north and northwestern portions of Chapel Hill.  The petition identified seven existing neighborhoods west of NC 86/Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and several proposed development projects. The petition suggested that the proposed developments would result in unanticipated impacts to roads and other infrastructure in the northern and northwest areas.  The petition also requested that the Town appoint a northwest planning committee to consolidate information on the different developments or consider a building moratorium until the plans for Carolina North are more defined.

DISCUSSION

We believe there are two key considerations regarding the petition:

1.  Growth issues related to higher density development are of Townwide interest. 

A number of Council actions, including the 2000 Comprehensive Plan, anticipate higher density development to occur along the Town’s major transportation corridors. Formal development applications for higher density development are currently in process for the downtown and along several transit corridors.  In response to proposed higher density development throughout the community, staff has organized a Steering Committee. This work group, with representation from various departments and outside agencies, will evaluate the potential impacts of the anticipated higher density developments expected along our major transit corridors for a range of issues, including Town services.  The staff Steering Committee is expected to complete their work in May 2007 and provide a report to the Town Council regarding recommended actions to respond to the impacts associated with this anticipated higher density development along the Town’s major transportation corridor.

2.  A number of planning initiatives are underway that impact the north and northwest areas.  These initiatives are summarized below: 

• Implementation of the 2000 Land Use Plan and 2000 Comprehensive Plan is underway (the Comprehensive Plan incorporates elements of the 1995 Northwest Small Area Plan, Attachment 2). Development is occurring as anticipated with these planning documents.
• Staff and Planning Board update of the 2000 Comprehensive Plan is currently underway.  This revision effort will address a variety of issues many of which were included in the citizen petition.
• The Town has begun the development of a Small Area Plan for the Rogers Road area (Attachment 3) that will evaluate alternative development scenarios to integrate the construction of affordable housing on the Greene tract site with adjacent opportunities for redevelopment.
• The Town has recently approved a contract with a consultant to prepare a comprehensive Long Range Transit Plan for Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The Plan will identify major transportation corridors and prepare recommendations for implementing transit services, including fixed guideway technologies, to service future travel demand.  A component of the Plan will be further development of design standards for the Town’s transit-oriented development district.
• The Long Range Transit Plan’s findings and recommendations will also be used by the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization as they update the adopted 2030 Plan to 2035. As part of the regional transportation plan update the Town adopted revised land use projections on December 4, 2006.  These projections included the identification of proposed high capacity transit corridors. These corridors, including the NC 86/Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd corridor, also include the designation of areas suited for higher density, mixed use transit oriented development.
• In order to improve pedestrian mobility along and across NC 86/Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd the Town is currently completing an implementation study. The implementation study, which is based on the recommendations of the NC 86 Pedestrian Safety Report, is anticipated to be completed in March 2007 and will include pedestrian improvements between I-40 and North Street, including the specific areas identified in the citizen petition.  The implementation plan will be used to prioritize pedestrian safety improvements to be funded from approximately $200,000 in Surface Transportation Program Direct Allocation funds and Town capital improvement funds.
• Staff has also requested that the North Carolina Department of Transportation consider providing funding for pedestrian improvements along the west side of NC 86/Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, between Eubanks Road and Weaver Dairy Road. This area is outside the Town’s municipal limits.
• The 2005 Mobility Report Card, which will be presented to the Council on January 22, 2007, will provide an assessment of various transportation benchmarks throughout the community, including the NC 86/Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd corridor and surrounding community.
• Staff is presently evaluating the steps necessary to implement the recently obtained legislation regarding payments-in-lieu of specific roadway improvements toward transit improvements.
• In response to proposed development along NC 86/Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Weaver Dairy Road, staff has begun preliminary discussions with the North Carolina Department of Transportation on possible modifications to the design approved for the Weaver Dairy Road project. We believe these follow up discussions will focus primarily on design of the proposed median and the location of median cuts. These discussions will also address pedestrian and bicycle safety issues generated by ongoing development.

SUMMARY

The 2000 Land Use Plan and 2000 Comprehensive Plan (incorporating elements of the 1995 Northwest Small Area Plan) identified land use and growth patterns for the area. The development occurring in the area is as anticipated by these Plans. Pedestrian and bicycle improvements in the area have been limited, in part because portions of the area are outside the Town limits. Multiple efforts are underway, as identified in this report, to promote pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements.

We are aware of citizen concerns and provide this summary of active initiatives to address the concerns. A key component of initiatives underway is the formation of a staff Steering Committee to ensure that a framework is developed to address the consequences of the anticipated higher density development.  This Committee is expected to report to the Council this spring. 

ATTACHMENTS

1. Citizen Petition (p. 4).

2. Northwest Focus Area (p. 6).

3. Rogers Road Small Area Plan Map (p. 13).