AGENDA #10a, 10b
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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: |
Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment – Proposed Town Center-3 (TC-3) Zoning District |
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DATE: |
February 26, 2007 |
Tonight, the Council continues the January 17, 2007 Public Hearing to consider an application to amend the Land Use Management Ordinance. Enactment of the attached Ordinance would amend Section 3.3.1 of 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 intended for the downtown. Please see Attachment 1 for the applicant’s statement of justification and text amendment request.
We recommend that the Council enact the attached 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 for amending 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 a higher secondary (maximum) height and a higher floor area ratio.
We believe that the intent of the application to amend the Land Use Management Ordinance is to achieve a more urban, pedestrian-oriented, and transit-oriented downtown. 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:
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: “The Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan includes many themes, goals and strategies and this proposed development supports many of those. In specific the following themes relate directly to the intent of this project:
One theme is to maintain Urban Services Area/ Rural Buffer Boundary. Accommodating demand for residential and commercial activities in the town center will help to maintain urban services area limits.
A third theme is to develop strategies to address fiscal issues. A TC-3 zone will encourage growth and development in the town center resulting in less expensive service costs than the same amount of development in more suburban locations.” [Applicant’s Statement]
Arguments in Opposition: There were no issues raised in opposition to the proposed development achieving the purposes of the Comprehensive Plan at the January 17, 2007 Public Hearing.
Planning Board Recommendation: The Planning Board reviewed the proposed Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment on December 19, 2006 and voted 6-1 to recommend that the Council approve the application with the enactment of the Ordinance. A copy of the Summary of Planning Board Action is attached to the January 17, 2007 Public Hearing memorandum (Attachment 2).
Staff Recommendation: We recommend that the Council enact the Ordinance to amend the text of Section 3.3.1 of the Land Use Management Ordinance, to create the new Town Center-3 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.
