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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director |
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SUBJECT: |
Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment Modifications to the Permitted Mix of Uses in the Mixed-Use Office/Institutional-1 Zoning District |
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DATE: |
February 12, 2007 |
Tonight, the Council continues consideration of an application from the January 8, 2007 Public Hearing to amend the Land Use Management Ordinance. Enactment of the attached Ordinance would amend the Land Use Management Ordinance regarding the mix of uses allowed in the Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 zoning district.
There are no changes to allowable floor area being proposed as part of the proposed text amendment. The proposed Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment would not permit greater intensity or additional floor area overall but would change the mix of uses allowed in the zoning district.
We have received a request to amend the text of Section 3.5 of the Land Use Management Ordinance to adjust the mix of uses allowed in the Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 zoning district. The applicant has requested that the mix of allowable uses be amended to allow a residential component and to define under what circumstances clinic uses are allowed. There are no changes to allowable floor area being proposed. This text amendment accompanies the Residences at Chapel Hill North Phase II Special Use Permit application. If approved, the text amendment would allow residential floor area to be part of the mix of uses allowed on the Chapel Hill North site. We believe that the approval of the text amendment would provide an opportunity for a better mix of uses on the Chapel Hill North site than the office and commercial mix that were originally approved and would be possible under current zoning.
The 40-acre Chapel Hill North development is encumbered by the 1990 Chapel Hill North Master Land Use Plan. The permitted mix of uses on the site is office and commercial in a ratio of approximately 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively. Residential development was not included in the 1990 Master Plan. The applicant for the Residences at Chapel Hill North is proposing to change the mix of uses on the site by adding residential and to define what category clinic[1] uses fit in. The proposal will also adjust the percentage of each use allowed. The applicant is requesting that this change to the mix of allowable uses be accomplished by proposing a Text Amendment to Section 3.5 of the Land Use Management Ordinance.
On January 8, 2007, the Council held a Public Hearing to receive comments on the proposed amendment to the Land Use Management Ordinance. A copy of the January 8 memorandum is attached.
We believe that the key issue raised during the January 8, 2007 Public Hearing focused on the following item:
Text Amendment Implications: A Council member requested information regarding what the broader implications of the Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment to the Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 (MU-OI-1) zoning district may be.
Comment: The proposed Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment would not permit greater intensity or additional floor area overall but would change the mix of uses allowed in the zoning district.
We believe that the current ratio of at least 60 percent office development and 40 percent commercial and/or residential development is not optimal for a mixed-use development. By reducing the office emphasis, we believe greater mixes of uses can be achieved. The benefits of adding a residential component to a mixed-use development would potentially include automobile trip reduction, promotion of pedestrian and bicycle travel, and counter-cyclical traffic patterns. If the text amendment were enacted, it would permit an approximate ratio of 23 percent office development (102,713 s.f.), 33 percent commercial development (147,807 s.f.), and 44 percent residential development (200,800 s.f.), for the Residences at Chapel Hill North, as currently proposed.
The applicant has proposed a revision to the proposed text amendment in response to comments at the January 8 Public Hearing (Attachment 1). The applicant’s revised text amendment application proposes to permit 20 percent to 55 percent each of residential, office (including clinic), and commercial uses in the Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 (MU-OI-1) zoning district. The previous recommendation included a range of 60 percent to 85 percent of floor area to be devoted to office, clinic and/or residential uses, with the residual portion being dedicated to commercial use. The table below provides a comparison of the 1) current uses permitted in the Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 (MU-OI-1) zoning district, 2) the previous recommended text amendment from the January 8 Public Hearing, and 3) the revised recommended text amendment.
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Range of Uses by Percentage |
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Clinic |
Residential |
Office |
Commercial |
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Revised Recommendation |
20% – 55% |
20% - 55% |
20% - 55% |
20% - 55% |
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Jan. 8 Recommendation |
60% - 85% (clinic, residential and office collectively or individually) |
15% - 40% |
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Current Regulations |
Counts as Commercial |
0 % - 40% |
60% - 85% |
0 % - 40% |
We recommend approval of the applicant’s proposal to permit 20 percent to 55 percent each of residential, office (including clinic), and commercial uses in the Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 (MU-OI-1) zoning district. We believe the proposal would provide an opportunity for a more balanced mix between residential, office (including clinic) and commercial uses.
Currently, there are three areas that have the Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 (MU-OI-1) zoning district designation, including 1) the southeast quadrant and 2) northwest quadrant of the intersection of I-40 and NC 86, and 3) west of the intersection of I-40 and Fordham Boulevard at Eastowne (Attachment 2).
The revised recommendation for the Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment would not permit greater intensity in any of these locations but would change the mix of uses permitted.
We believe that the proposed amendment to Section 3.5 the Land Use Management Ordinance will enhance the quality of mixed-use developments for the Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 (MU-OI-1) zoning district.
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.
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.
Arguments in Opposition: We were unable to identify any arguments in opposition of a manifest error. The adjacent properties to the west, south and east of this site are located within the Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 zoning district. We do not believe that the current Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 zoning of this site is 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:
· “The Town’s Land Use Plan, a component of the approved 2000 Comprehensive Plan, identifies this site as being appropriate for land uses with a “Mixed Use, Office / Commercial Emphasis.” The partial revocation of the Chapel Hill North Master Land Use Plan and the approval of this residential development proposal would introduce the missing residential component of a complete mixed use development with office, medical, clinic, and retail uses.” [Applicant’s Statement]
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 a mix of uses that encourages residential development as a component.
Planning Board Recommendation: The Planning Board reviewed the proposed Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment on October 3, 2006 and October 17, 2006. The Planning Board voted 7-0 to recommend that the Council enact the Ordinance. The Planning Board Summary of Action is part of Attachment 4.
Staff Recommendation: We recommend that the Council enact the Ordinance to amend the text of Subsections 3.5.1(e)(2), 3.5.1(e)(3), and 3.5.1(e)(5) of the Land Use Management Ordinance, changing the mix uses allowed in the Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 (MU-OI-1) zoning district.
Following the January 8 Public Hearing, the following recommendation has been incorporated into the Ordinance, the Staff Revised Recommendation:
Our revised recommend is to amend text in Subsections 3.5.1(e)(2), 3.5.1(e)(3), and 3.5.1(e)(5) of the Land Use Management Ordinance to permit 20 percent to 55 percent each of residential, office (including clinic), and commercial uses in the Mixed Use-Office/Institutional-1 (MU-OI-1) zoning district. The previous recommendation included a range of 60 percent to 85 percent of floor area to be devoted to office, clinic and/or residential uses, the residual portion being dedicated to commercial use. For additional information please refer to the Key Issues section.
The attached draft ordinance indicates recommended text changes by underlines for additions and strikeouts for deletions.
[1] Clinic use is defined as, “an establishment used for the care, diagnosis, therapy, or counseling of sick, ailing, infirm, or injured persons or non-medical therapy and counseling on an outpatient basis.”
