DRAFT SUMMARY
MINUTES OF A BUSINESS MEETING
OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
Monday, December 4, 2006, AT
7:00 p.m.
Present were Mayor Kevin Foy, Mayor pro tem
Bill Strom, Council Member Laurin Easthom, Council Member Sally
Greene, Council Member Ed Harrison, Council Member Cam Hill,
Council Member Mark Kleinschmidt, Council Member Bill Thorpe,
and Council Member Jim Ward.
Staff members present were Town Manager Roger Stancil, Deputy
Town Manager Florentine Miller, Assistant Town Manager Bruce
Heflin, Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos, Town Information Officer
Catherine Lazorko, Long Range & Transportation Coordinator
David Bonk, Public Work Director Bill Letteri, Stormwater
Management Engineer Sue Burke, Information Technology Director
Bob Avery, Finance Director Kay Johnson, Landscape
Superintendent Robert Minick, Library Director Kathy Thompson,
Development Coordinator Gene Poveromo, Planning Dircetor JB
Culpepper, Principal Long Range Planner Gordon Sutherland,
Crisis Intervention Unit Jim Huegerich , Mayoral Aide Adam
Schaefer, Engineering Design Specialist Mike Taylor, Engineer
Services Manager Kumar Neppalli, Transportation Director Steve
Spade, and Town Clerk Sabrina Oliver.
a.
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Presentation by Gene Pease on behalf of the
Library Foundation.
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Gene Pease, speaking on behalf of the Library
Foundation, presented $50,000 to the Town
Library to purchase approximately 2,000 books and other
materials. He highlighted some of
the Foundation’s recent activities, including a
"9,300 Books Campaign," which moved the Foundation
into thinking more aggressively
about future library needs. Mr.
Pease discussed the Foundation’s five-year
fund-raising campaign, and its goal of raising
$2.5 million by 2011, when the Town Library expansion
is scheduled to be completed and will need an
additional 68,000 books. When the campaign was
launched, the Foundation raised almost $70,000 and
had another $30,000 of in-kind
donations, Mr. Pease said. He told the Council
that the campaign was off to a great start.
Mr. Pease described several fund-raising promotions,
including a photo shoot featuring North
Carolina coaches with their favorite books. Mr.
Pease presented a $50,000 check to Mayor Foy on
behalf of the Library Foundation.
Council Member Thorpe arrived at 7:10 p.m.
Mayor Foy thanked the Foundation.
2.
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Public Forums and Hearings:
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a.
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Public Forum: Odor Elimination at Orange
Water and Sewer Authority Mason Farm
Treatment Facility (R-1)
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Mac Clarke, OWASA chair, introduced Executive Director
Ed Kerwin to give a powerpoint presentation
regarding the Mason Farm Wastewater Treatment
Plant. Mr. Kerwin outlined OWASA’s
goals: to improve the quality
of treated water that leaves the plant and
goes into Morgan Creek; to address odor issues at the
plant; and to improve the plant’s reliability during
bad weather events. He reviewed the
plant’s history, problems
and improvements since 2004.
Mr. Kerwin said OWASA was scheduled to
complete improvements by the summer of
2007. He listed several key odor elimination
activities, and said that OWASA had shared
this information at a well-attended, community
meeting in September 2006. Mr. Kerwin told
Council members that OWASA had presented
the same information to its own board of directors
in November 2006. He said the
board had authorized OWASA to proceed with additional
odor elimination improvements at the plant. Mr.
Kerwin described those improvements, noting
that the total investment was $6
million.
Gary Richmond, speaking for himself and
his neighbors, said that OWASA deserved
much credit for its effort and investment
and good communication with the
neighborhood. However, odor from the plant
continues to enter his neighborhood, he
said. Mr. Richmond gave a powerpoint
presentation reviewing what the neighborhood
had gone through with OWASA over the past 33
months regarding this issue. He said there had
been meeting after meeting at which they had
made no progress.
Mr. Richmond noted that OWASA had recently
improved its odor detection techniques.
He recommended getting rid of the "sniff test" and
the "odor monitoring compliance program," and measuring
odor by a different means. Mr. Richmond said
that any definition of odor elimination should be
based on real experiences of best in class wastewater
treatment plants that have eliminated off-site
odor. He asked to see some real
time-lines, and pointed out that this might
require having the Council find a way to
enforce those
time-lines.
Barnes Bierch, who grew up near the plant and whose
mother still lives there,
noted the difference between "involvement"
and "commitment." He said that OWASA
needed to fully commit to plugging all of the odor
sources that had been identified.
Kay Johnson, speaking as a resident of the Highland
Woods neighborhood, thanked OWASA for all it had
done toward improving the odor problem.
She told the Council that OWASA had placed a
monitor in her backyard and had determined that
odor had not existed since they placed it
there. However, she said, members of her family
had recorded an "odor event" on November
1st. There really does need to be a better
definition if OWASA is defining it as a non-event and a
human being is defining it otherwise, Ms. Johnson said.
Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Cam Hill, TO Recess the
public hearing. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED
UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
Mayor Foy explained that the
Council had a resolution before it that would
direct OWASA to continue working toward the
goal that is required under the Special Use
Permit. He remarked that the Town had an
excellent working relationship with OWASA
but needed to take action to make sure that
the SUP conditions were being
followed. Mayor Foy read the resolution
and suggested that OWASA return
on the second Council meeting in
January to explain how it was proceeding
to comply with the resolution.
MAYOR PRO TEM STROM MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL
MEMBER WARD, TO ADOPT R-1 AS AMENDED. Council
Member Ward noted that the problem would not be
solved by the second week in January. He
suggested adding a further "be it resolved," which
would ask that another public forum on odor be
held at this time next year. Council Member
Ward said he hoped next year’s
meeting would be short and that everything would
have been resolved by then. However, the
track record did not make him feel optimistic, he
said.
Mayor Foy said that was the reason he wanted a meeting
in January, to learn what OWASA was doing to comply
with its SUP. He noted that the law
dictates that everyone who receives a SUP must comply
with it. Mayor Foy said the Town could not
allow OWASA not to comply with the law.
OWASA will come back in January and tell the
Council how it plans to comply with the terms of
the SUP, he said. Mayor Foy added that he
did not want to hear that it would take another
year, and said he wanted to know what OWASA
was doing to comply with the permit that they received
three years ago.
Council Member Ward pointed out that through his
association with the Botanical Garden, which is a
neighbor to OWASA, he had been at many
neighborhood meetings. He described it as
"extremely frustrating" to go for more than a year and
still not have a clear definition of
odor. Mayor Foy replied that there
was no reason why the Town could
not have a definition at the second meeting in
January. "I would expect that at a
minimum," he said.
Council Member Easthom suggested calibrating
the definition of odor with the device that Ms.
Johnson has in her backyard.
THE COUNCIL VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR OF THE
RESOLUTION (9-0).
Council Member Thorpe asked Mr. Kerwin if OWASA
had done anything to honor Milton Heath, who
was retiring from the OWASA board. Mr.
Kerwin replied that Dr. Heath would
receive a resolution of appreciation and
would represent OWASA in the holiday
parade.
b.
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Public Hearing: Revision of Town’s Flood
Damage Prevention Ordinance
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Stormwater Management Engineer Sue Burke introduced the
item. She said the purpose of tonight’s meeting
was to receive comments on proposed revisions to
the Town’s Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance. Ms.
Burke explained that the Town had received
its final floodplain maps and letter of final
determination from FEMA in August 2006. She said
that had started a six-month compliance period
during which the Town must update its ordinance and
adopt the maps by reference in order to maintain its
participation in the National Flood Insurance
Program. Ms. Burke requested that the
Council receive comments
and continue the public
hearing to January 8, 2007.
Council Member Harrison ascertained from Ms.
Burke that the Town would be adopting the new maps
as part of updating the ordinance and the flood
insurance study, by reference.
Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Recess the
public hearing until January 8, 2007. THE MOTION
WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
c.
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Public Hearing: Proposed Installment
Financing for Aquatics Center and Community
Center (R-2a, b).
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Ms. Johnson introduced the item and
explained that the Council would need to
approve two resolutions in order to go
forward: one
would establish the necessity
of borrowing and would state that it would be of a
reasonable cost to the Town; the second
would accept the proposal from Suntrust Bank
as the lowest bid.
Mayor Foy verified that the lowest bid
included an interest rate of three and a half
percent over a 10-year period.
Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Recess the
public hearing. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED
UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
Council Member Jim Ward MOVED,
SECONDED BY Mayor pro tem Bill Strom, TO
Adopt R-2a and R-2b. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED
UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
3.
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Petitions by citizens and announcements
by Council members.
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a.
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Petitions by citizens on items not on the
agenda.
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1.
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Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership
regarding the Three-Year Agreement.
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Mayor pro tem Bill Strom
MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO
Receive and Refer the petition to the Town
Manager. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY
(9-0).
2.
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The Cedars of Chapel Hill requesting
Modification of a Special Use Permit.
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Council Member Sally Greene
MOVED, SECONDED BY Mayor pro tem Bill Strom, TO
Receive and Refer the petition to the Town
Manager. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY
(9-0).
4.
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Consent agenda: action items
(R-3).
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Mayor pro tem Strom requested agenda item #4h, Sage Road,
be removed. He said he would be happy to
address it when the Council discusses
the Bible Church parking lot. Mayor Foy agreed to
move it to the Bible Church discussion.
Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Cam Hill, TO Adopt R-3 as
amended to remove item #4h. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED
UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
Jesse Gibson called the Council’s attention to a
December 4th report from Police Chief Gregg Jarvies to the
Town Manager regarding a petition to establish a
Chapel Hill Youth Council. He noted that the report
mentioned performing a needs assessment and budget
considerations, with a report in February. Mr. Gibson
said he had met with Karen Rose, who was handling
this for the Police Department, and that NAACP
President Fred Battle would meet with her on
the following Wednesday. He said he had
talked with her about a job description for
the coordinator. He had also discussed a
program description with her, and said he had shared
information about similar programs in other North
Carolina towns. Mr. Gibson said that the
NAACP would like these issues to
be discussed at the second Council
meeting in January, rather than in
February. They would come back to the Council
with a final report in February, he said.
Mayor Foy agreed to put the matter on the Council’s
agenda for the second meeting
in January. He asked the Manager to have
staff cooperate in getting the information ready by
then.
Mayor pro tem Strom noted that the ArtsCenter was
interested in expanding its youth programs. He said
that might be a good contributor to the mix of
community agencies and youth programs. "So, when
you have these discussions, John Wilner is game," said
Mayor pro tem Strom.
All other information reports were accepted by consensus of
the Council.
6.
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Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
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Finance Director Kay Johnson introduced Wayne Martin, an
audit manager with Dixon & Hughes.
Mr. Martin thanked the Council for allowing Dixon
& Hughes to perform the 2005-2006 Town
audit. He said his firm had issued a clean,
unqualified opinion and had not uncovered
any reportable conditions or weaknesses in the Town’s
internal controls. Mr.
Martin said total net assets had increased
by approximately 25 percent from June 2005.
The Town’s available fund balance had increased
by about $2 million, or 21 percent, and that represents
approximately 26 percent of budgetary basis general fund
expenditures, Mr. Martin explained. He noted that
this was significantly higher than the eight
percent minimum required by the Local
Government Commission. Mr. Martin pointed out
that the Town’s total debt had decreased by about 3.4
percent from June 2005 and the Town had maintained a AAA
and a AA+ credit rating through June 2006 from Moody’s and
S & P, respectively, with S & P
having upgraded its rating since
then.
Council Member Kleinschmidt clarified that the Town’s
net assets were up by 25 percent. Ms. Johnson
verified that the new Town Operations Center made
up a large portion of the increase. Mayor Foy noted that
the Town Operations Center had not been counted at its full
value because it had not been completed as of June 30,
2006.
Mayor Foy remarked that Ms. Johnson and the Finance
Department were doing an excellent job.
7.
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Follow-up Report on Merritt’s Pasture
Maintenance.
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Council Member Greene said she did not think Merritt’s
Pasture had ever not been mowed since the Town
installed the new plan about the Rural Conservation
District buffer there. She said she had yet to see
the plan even started.
Mr. Letteri said there would be good evidence of it
after a full year of growth, and forward. With
regard to the condition of the pond, he noted a
problem with hydrilla, explaining that the Town should
either eradicate that or move it somewhere
else. Mr. Letteri suggested that Town staff work
with the NC Cooperative Extension or the NC Water
Resource Department regarding best practices
for removal.
Council Member Greene said there had
been proposals and talk in the past about trying
to clean up the pond.
Council Member Ward suggested looking beyond the agencies
that Mr. Letteri had mentioned to determine best
management practices. He offered the services of the
North Carolina Botanical Garden as well. Mr.
Letteri agreed, adding that Public Works would
also get opinions from the
Town’s Engineering Department.
8.
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Downtown Development Initiative
(Parking Lot 5) (R-11).
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Town Manager Roger Stancil made a brief presentation
in response to comments from
a recent public forum. He
mentioned potential benefits of the
project, economics of the Town’s proposed investment,
proposed project design, and affordable housing.
Among the project’s potential benefits, Mr. Stancil
listed residents living downtown, increased vitality,
enhanced public safety, improved customer base, significant
public space, and meeting objectives of the Town’s
Comprehensive Plan. He noted that the
Town’s investment would be limited to $7.2 million for
161 public parking spaces.
Mr. Stancil said there would be limited risk to the
Town and pointed out that the Local Government
Commission must approve the Town’s participation
and/or borrowing. He explained that the project,
if approved, would go through the SUP
process just like any other project. Mr. Stancil
said that the Town Council had compared public
benefits to cost and had made this
project its top goal. He mentioned possible
consultants and noted the possibility of continuing the
peer review process. A February approval would
lead to an estimated 10-12 months of project
development in what would be an open process, Mr.
Stancil said.
Ram Development Company President Casey Cummings reviewed
the history of the project. He quoted the
Town’s number one goal, which was that the downtown
area "remains the center of the
community’s government, commercial, spiritual and
cultural activities with appropriate public, office,
commercial and residential development, thereby continuing
its economic vitality." Mr. Cummings said that the
project would utilize available land, provide a
diversity of densities, provide a safe and secure
environment, develop a community gathering space, maintain
and develop public open space, promote compatible
residential uses, provide adequate and convenient
off-street parking.
Mr. Cummings reviewed how Ram
would approach fulfilling the Town’s goals.
They would create 37,000 square feet of public
space, he said, noting that this would include 27,000
square feet for the public plaza. Mr. Cummings
said Ram was spending about $800,000 on public
space construction. He explained that they would
provide 161 underground parking spaces, as well
as residential and retail space. Mr. Cummings
said that the underground parking improvements would
enhance the overall business climate downtown.
Mr. Cummings noted the increase in public safety
that comes from having full-time residents
downtown. He mentioned the plan’s sustainable,
green building features, and said it would
create a walkable environment and reduce auto
dependence. Mr. Cummings described the plan as
a community-oriented urban design, and noted
that Dean Malecha had endorsed it.
Mr. Cummings mentioned that Ram would contribute
$600,000 for Art in Public Spaces and $200,000
toward Public Space Programming. He noted
the benefit of increased revenue to the Town and
predicted that by year five of the project it would be in
excess of $1 million.
Those are the benefits to the Town, Mr. Cummings said,
noting that Ram would receive property rights in
return via a ground lease to build retail
and residential units and rights to occupy one
underground parking level for its residents.
Mr. Cummings explained that the Town wanted to own 161
underground spaces, and would reimburse Ram for the cost of
delivering those spaces. There would be a
maximum reimbursement of $5,000 per space, not to exceed
$7,245,000, he said. Mr. Cummings noted that the
Town’s financial obligations were fixed, with no
further obligations or risks.
Mr. Cummings pointed out that Ram would provide a
performance bond, which would pay for the cost to complete
the project if for some reason Ram was not able to do
so. He said that Ram would be borrowing for this
project, but that they had been in business since 1978
and had never defaulted on a loan. Mr. Cummings said
that Ram did not take commitments of this size and
scale lightly.
Ram Senior Vice President for Development John Florian
spoke about the design concept. He said that many
things were consistent with original design
concepts. They would be adding 28,540 square
feet of retail space, 137 condo units (including 21
affordable units), and more than 330 parking spaces,
he said. Mr. Florian gave a rundown of all the
improvements on Lot 5. He said that Dean Malecha had
thought it
was an appropriate, pedestrian-friendly
design worthy of further development. Dean Malecha
thought the design was ready to move toward the next
phase, Mr. Florian said.
Mr. Cummings discussed the next steps: Town
Council approval; a signed Development Agreement; and
submittal of SUP application in March 2007.
Mayor Foy said that the Town owed Dean Malecha a strong
debt of gratitude for giving his time to
assist with this project without compensation
from Ram or the Town.
Philip Duchastel spoke in favor of the project’s
goals, but objected to its specific
implementation. He read from page 43 of the
Town’s Downtown Small Area Plan, which envisioned new
developments of two to three stories that would
be compatible with existing storefront
development. Mr. Duchastel suggested putting the
brakes on because there were too
many unattended issues, such as: periphery
development, who the residents will be, parking, finances,
scale, and the precedents that the
project would set. Mr. Duchastel
suggested that Dean Malecha was
not impartial, but after eight sessions had
become part of the team. He suggested
that the Town Council had also become entangled in the
project, and was sweeping problems under rug.
Mr. Duchastel said it was essential to put on the
brakes and seek an impartial review.
Will Raymond gave a PowerPoint presentation and
addressed the issue of cost. The Town’s
investment would be closer to $15 million than to
$7.5 million, he said. Mr. Raymond questioned whether
the project’s benefits would be worth the
risks. He wondered who would purchase
the expensive units. Mr. Raymond demonstrated
the project’s scale, using aerial photographs.
Andrea Rohrbacher, representing the Downtown Partnership,
said that in March 2006 the Partnership had outlined
key elements of the project that would be beneficial
to the future of the downtown. Ms. Rohrbacher
reiterated the Partnership’s support for the Lot 5
development and offered their assistance in bringing
it to fruition.
Buz Lloyd, who lives two blocks from Lot 5, on Carr Street,
proposed giving the project more thought before
proceeding. He said that many would like
the opportunity to develop this land, which he values
at $8,750,000. Mr. Lloyd distributed a
handout and explained how he had arrived at that
figure. He said the current
proposal would be "a sweet deal" for the
developer, but not for Chapel Hill.
Council Member Easthom said it was important to define a
start and end date for the project, with fines
for delays-- and perhaps even a loss of rights to the
developer in some cases--if the project is
delayed. She asked for more detail about how
much the performance bond would be delineated in the
development agreement. Council Member Easthom asked
that the Town be clear about paying the $7.5
million once the project was complete. She
wondered how the cost of increased Town services would
factor into the financial analysis. Council Member
Easthom emphasized that details of the agreement
must be made available to the public (ideally on the Town
website) no later than two weeks prior to the
Council’s next business meeting. She asked that condo
fees for affordable units be permanently reduced and
defined in the development agreement.
Council Member Ward said he had been supportive of the
plan a year ago but could not support the current
resolution. He trusted that it was not
Ram’s intent, he said, but the current
proposal felt like a "bait and
switch." Council Member Ward said the
proposal did not resemble what Ram had brought before the
Council one or two years ago, which he had seen
as a generous approach. He remarked that he
could support the resolution and then make
various demands on the Manager during
contract negotiations. But he no longer
had faith in that process, he said, since there
were so many pieces that had changed in favor of
Ram Development.
Council Member Ward asked how Ram could justify
the changes that had been made, even if there was
a 30 percent increase in construction costs. He
commented that the Town’s investment requirement
would not be going up by 30 percent. Also, the
fact that the Wallace
Deck was not included with Lot 5
would make the Deck a less desirable project
from a developer’s point of view, he said.
Council Member Ward commended the Town negotiating
team and both Town managers for the process,
which could not have been better, he said. He
noted that the Town had wanted LEED silver
certification, but said that was not enough of an
achievement for him at this point. Council Member
Ward said, in the last analysis, this property
would not be owned by the Town as was outlined in the
original plan. The Town had one shot at it, and
this was just not it, he said.
Council Member Kleinschmidt spoke in support of
the resolution. He agreed that many things had
changed, and said he was disappointed, but
stressed that he liked the vision for Lot 5 well
enough to support the changes. Council Member
Kleinschmidt said the Town
had previously considered being equity
partners with Ram, but that this was no longer going
to happen. The increased cost would come
from buying the parking deck, he pointed
out. Council Member Kleinschmidt noted that
the Town would not assume any risk under the
new proposal. The Town
would be getting a parking deck where
it wants one, and that would be all the Town
would pay for, he said.
Council Member
Kleinschmidt expressed confidence in Town
Finance Director Kay Johnson’s calculations. He
said he was excited about the Rosemary
Street renaissance and about having a new
multi-use retail and residential facility that would
include $600,000 worth of public art.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said he agreed with the
points that Council Member Easthom had
made and supported her direction to the
Manager. With regard to her suggestion
about the affordable condo fees, however, he
asked that those fees not be reduced to the
degree that affordable unit residents
become second class citizens because their
amenities have been taken away.
Council Member Hill addressed a couple of citizens’
remarks. He said he did not think the
Town negotiating team or Dean Malecha had gone
"over to the other side" during the negotiating
process. Council Member Hill said that such an
accusation would taint anyone who ever negotiated
anything. As a member of the negotiating team,
he said, he was more familiar with the issues
than some others were. Council Member Hill noted that
it had been a long, tough process, and
said that the deal had changed, but so
had every deal he had ever been involved
in. He said that the last two years had been an
extraordinary time in the construction industry in
terms of price increases. Council Member
Hill said that comparing the proposal that Ram
originally brought in with the one they were
now offering was a problem of
expectations. The only relevant comparison
would be the difference between the alternative that
the Town now has before it and the Grubb proposal, which
had been $18 million two years ago before costs
increased, he said.
Council Member Hill said that he too had been
disappointed about the Wallace Deck, but he
believes that the current project will open new
opportunities to address the Deck as well as Lot
2. Council Member Easthom’s questions were
all good, he said, but noted that the negotiating
team, as well as Attorney Glenn Hardymon and
Consultant John Stainback, already had touched on nearly
all of them. As a lifelong resident of Chapel
Hill, the project scares him because it will
change the Town in a significant way and he will have to
look at it everyday for the rest of his life, said Council
Member Hill. However, in a town that
is growing and has a limited amount of space to grow
in, the only real alternative is to grow upward, he
said. Council Member Hill explained that
the Town was trying to set a precedent in the way
this is done, since there would be many other
opportunities for redevelopment downtown as well.
Council Member Greene expressed support for
what Council Members Hill, Easthom
and Kleinschmidt had said. She noted that there
had been alternatives other than working with
Grubb Properties, such as doing nothing,
or selling the land outright to a private
developer. Council Member Greene said that doing
so would not have given the Town the public
space, public art, affordable
housing, and architectural review that it
has with this deal. She
said she was sorry that the
project would cost the Town more than
they had originally thought, but added that she
understood how construction costs had changed
and was happy to support the project.
Council Member Easthom said she did not
support having affordable parking at the
Wallace Deck. It should be
located within a block of the site
and in Ram’s or the Town’s lots, she
said. Council Member
Easthom characterized having affordable
parking located three blocks away from other housing
as unfair. She added that she
was tired of changes and did not want to see any
more. Council Member Easthom
asked that her remarks
tonight be reflected in the Development Agreement
and that the Town’s risk be minimized.
Council Member Ward acknowledged that he was not going
"to win the day" on this issue. He offered a
friendly amendment to the resolution, saying that
the Manager would require the building to be LEED
silver certified, with a minimum of 20 percent
energy efficiency on the building envelopes that they
create relative to ASHRAE (American Society of
Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers).
Council Member Kleinschmidt, the seconder, said that
he would not support that as a friendly
amendment because he trusted the Town’s negotiating
team to address this issue. He would
rather "encourage" than "require," he
said.
Mayor pro tem Strom, the mover, said he too
would accept an amendment encouraging LEED silver
certification, but not requiring it. The
negotiating team had gone around on the issue several
times, he said.
Council Member Easthom asked how to integrate what had
been discussed tonight with the resolution.
Mayor Foy suggested adding the following, after the
approved MOU clause: "and based generally on the
discussion by Council members at the meeting on
December 4." Mayor pro tem Strom and Council Member
Kleinschmidt accepted that. Mayor Foy
said the resolution, as written with two
modifications, was on the floor, and asked
for a vote.
Council Member Thorpe said he did not agree with the
resolution, and Council Member Easthom asked Mayor Foy to
clarify it. Mayor Foy said the resolution was
the written resolution that the Council had before
it, amended to include the following: 1)
encourage LEED silver certification and the energy
efficiency goal; 2) Insert a clause in the last "be it
resolved" that says "and based generally on the comments of
Council members at the Council meeting of December 4,
2006."
Council Member Thorpe said he agreed with what had been
said about insisting on firm starting and
ending dates. The Council was authorizing the
Manager to move forward and he was ready to support
that, he said.
Council Member Harrison said he was comfortable
with the resolution as amended, noting that the Town had
put many years into this project and had had many
opportunities to turn back. He
cautioned Ram that they should not expect to get
the SUP they apply for, in Chapel
Hill.
Mayor pro tem Strom said he thought the Town was
making an investment in something very
important that was a bit of an intangible.
By moving forward on the project the Council would
create a greater degree of certainty as to the
direction that the downtown was headed, he pointed
out. Mayor pro tem Strom acknowledged that one
building would not solve all of the challenges
downtown. But this is a fair and reasonable
deal, which will contribute to a different environment
downtown and will move the Town toward its vision
for a more vibrant downtown, he said. Mayor pro
tem Strom said the development would act
as a crossroads for the community and
a destination for the region.
Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Mark Kleinschmidt, TO
Adopt R-11 as amended to authorize the
Mayor, Manager and Attorney to participate in the
continuing conversations with Ram, as the contract is
negotiated. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED by a vote of 8-1,
with Mayor Kevin Foy, Mayor pro tem Bill Strom, Council
Member Laurin Easthom, Council Member Sally Greene, Council
Member Ed Harrison, Council Member Cam Hill, Council Member
Mark Kleinschmidt, and Council Member Bill Thorpe voting
aye and with Council Member Jim Ward voting nay.
Mr. Cummings commented on the issues of LEED silver
certification, 20 percent energy efficiency,
and permanent reduction of condo dues for affordable
housing residents. If Ram had been asked, and if
they could agree to those items, they would already
have done so, he said. Mr. Cummings told Council
members that he did not want to spend time and money
negotiating an agreement with the Council expecting that he
had agreed, or could agree, to those
requirements. Mr. Cummings stated
that he had negotiated in good faith with the Town’s
attorney and consultants. He stressed that
Ram could not address those additional items in
the context of this financial arrangement.
9.
|
Implementation Plan for Safety
Improvements on Fordham Boulevard between Old
Mason Farm Road and Manning Drive
(R-12).
|
Engineer Services Manager Kumar Neppalli introduced
the work group report. He said his
department had altered some of the recommendations and
had arrived at an implementation plan. Mr.
Neppalli outlined that plan, explaining that some
of the recommendations and funding would have to
be reviewed and approved by various parties. He
recommended that the Council forward the report to NC DOT
and that they authorize the Mayor and Manager to meet
with NC DOT and University officials to start
discussing long-term
recommendations.
Mr. Neppalli pointed out that he had mistakenly not
provided a response to the Old Mason Farm intersection
recommendation in number three on page three of
the memo. He said the Department’s goal was to
discuss that with NC DOT along with the other
recommendations.
UNC Police Chief Derek Poarch said that the
intersection of Manning Drive and Fordham Boulevard was
being monitored via remote control during basketball
games. He said they were now controlling it
in the same way as football games, and would like
to continue doing it in that
manner.
Loren Hintz suggested that the resolution include a tie-in
with the University to help with improvements on Old
Mason Farm Road. He said the State Highway
Patrol had helped him and his son cross the intersection
during a football game, but that this does not happen
during basketball games.
Council Member Greene said that she too had heard that
prior to this year there had been police standing at
the intersection helping people cross during football
games. She said that this no
longer happens, however. If it did still
happen, her neighbor would still be alive,
Council Member Greene said. She described
providing police help as a small precaution that
UNC could take until other improvements have been
made. She thought they would be endorsing a
stipulation saying that at basketball games and
other major events at the Smith Center there would be
real people to help people cross the street, said
Council Member Greene.
Council Member Ward emphasized the need for a
uniformed police officer to provide the safe passage
of bicyclists and pedestrians during peak times when
UNC activities were taking place, not restricted
to athletic events. He said that signalization could
help with traffic flow but not with pedestrian and
bike safety at intersections. With regard
to recommendation #3, Council Member
Ward remarked that he did not understand the
logic. He listed several University-related
functions that take advantage of the Old Mason Farm road
intersection, noting that UNC’s Modification 3
would have an impact on traffic intensity as
well. Council Member Ward said that both Manning
Drive and Old Mason Farm Road should be part
of a stipulation for Modification 3
approval. He asked Mr. Neppalli why bike centers had
not been part of his recommendation.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked why bicycle
loops were conditional. Mr. Neppalli replied that
they are not conditional when the Town owns them,
but they had become conditional in this situation
because the Town was asking UNC to implement them as
part of the pedestrian signal upgrade. The State does
not have significant experience with bike loops
and really does not want to have a green signal
for one or two bicyclists on a side street, he
said. Mr. Neppalli explained that the Town must
provide much evidence to the state
regarding bicyclists in Town who will benefit
from having bike loops.
Mr. Neppalli noted that bike loops had
become popular only recently and there was not
much national experience with them. He pointed
out that the state had allowed the Town
to implement them at Country Club/South
Roads. Chapel Hill had requested several others,
he said, but pointed out that it was an ongoing
process and a tough task for Town staff to
provide the hard evidence that the state
requires. Mr. Neppalli said there
had recently been some changes with regard
to working toward Town needs. He noted that the Town’s
signal system was scheduled for upgrading.
It was one of his top priorities to include bicycle
loops in that design, Mr. Neppalli said.
Council Member Harrison remarked that the larger issue
for a cyclist crossing a road the size of Fordham
Boulevard was to have a protected part of the
green signal cycle. He said that left-turning cars were the
most dangerous situation for cyclists. Council
Member Harrison said that having a protected part
of the signal was more important than having
bicycle loops.
Mayor Foy suggested adding a "Statement C" to
R-12 forwarding the comments from
tonight’s Council discussion to UNC.
Council Member Mark Kleinschmidt
MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Cam Hill, TO
Adopt R-12 as amended. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED
UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
10.
|
Draft Southwest Chapel Hill/Southwest
Durham Street Collector Plan (R-13).
|
David Bonk reviewed the Collector Street Plan’s
history and explained that staff was returning with answers
to Council questions regarding the need for better
coordination between Chapel Hill and Durham over
development proposals. He noted
that staff had provided a revised resolution,
which incorporated a recommendation by Council
Member Harrison. Mr. Bonk said the Council had
received a further petition request from Philip
Post regarding additional modifications to the
proposed plan. He highlighted an attachment to
the memo, noting that it included the final
agreement between Durham and Chapel Hill for courtesy
review. Mr. Bonk said that staff believed such an agreement
would give hope to future coordination between the two
towns over implementation of the collector street
network.
Council Member Easthom asked to have Mr. Post’s point
incorporated in the resolution in addition to having
the courtesy review include neighborhoods. Mr. Bonk
replied that Durham was required to provide notice to
property owners. He said that Chapel
Hill certainly could incorporate having information go
to neighborhoods, particularly as it relates to the
collector street network.
Council Member Easthom asked that the
Council discuss whether or not Mr. Post’s
additional bullet was agreeable to them. Mayor pro
tem Strom, acting as mayor, asked Mr. Bonk if he
thought Mr. Posts suggestion could
be implemented. Mr. Bonk replied that the
language and the additional map would be illustrative
to Durham and the MPO in revising the Collector Street
Plan.
Phillip Post expressed appreciation to the Council and
Manager for listening to and implementing
his neighborhood’s concerns.
William Dunn asked for "reasoned, principled action on the
Collector Plan." He said this would
include recommitting the plan to the
advisory committee. Mr. Dunn said the
Council did not have the facts before
them. It defied common sense to say that this
scheme would improve things, he said. Mr.
Dunn described the Collector Street Plan as the
"wrong road" and said it was just more of what had
already caused problems. This Collector Street
Plan would help the very few at the expense of the
very many, he said.
Council Member Easthom asked about the designation of
Meadowmont Lane as an arterial. She asked if the Town
could re-designate it as a collector street, given
what they have before them.
Mr. Bonk replied that topics that would affect Meadowmont
Lane would be taken up as part of the Long Range
Transportation Plan, rather than in the Collector
Street Plan. Council Member Easthom ascertained that
including it as a desire of the Town would highlight it as
the MPO begins to think about the Long Range Plan. She
asked that Meadowmont Lane be considered as a
collector street.
Mr. Bonk suggested that the Council add another bullet
requesting that the MPO consider that
change when the 2035 Plan is being considered.
Council Member Ward asked how the recommendations
would insure adequate traffic calming features and their
funding. Mr. Bonk replied that the Town should go to the
MPO upon approval of the Collector Street Plan
and request that funding be set aside for
specific improvements.
Council Member Ed Harrison MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Mark Kleinschmidt, TO
Adopt R-13 as amended to include bullets for Council
Member Easthom’s recommendation and the map that Mr. Post
had submitted. Mayor pro tem Strom suggested adding Council
Member Ward’s discussion about getting funding for traffic
calming as a bullet as well. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED
UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
Maps attached to (2006-12-04/R-13)
11.
|
University of North Carolina Chapel
Hill Application to Modify Development Plan No.
3.
|
Gene Poveromo introduced agenda item #9,
concerning improvements from the Fordham Boulevard
Committee, into evidence for this UNC Development Plan
modification application, which was continued
from the November 13 public hearing. Mr.
Poveromo recommended approval of R-a,
with stipulations.
Bruce Runberg outlined steps that UNC had taken to
meet requirements. He expressed UNC’s
objection to stipulation 8, regarding police
traffic control at the intersection of Fordham Boulevard
and Manning Drive before and after special events at the
Smith Center. Mr. Runberg said this was not an
effective approach to traffic control in this
location. He pointed out that doing so would
require a minimum of four police officers and
would be a dangerous situation for those individuals.
Mr. Runberg said that UNC would like to discuss this
further. He concluded that UNC was in agreement
with the Manager’s recommendation, with the
exception of stipulation 8.
Tim Toben, a Chapel Hill resident who serves on the
NC Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change as
well as the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources Climate Action Plan Advisory Group, spoke
about why this area is of such interest
to many environmental groups. He warned
about the perils of climate change and said
that environmental groups were interested in a
fundamental shift in the way buildings were being
designed and placed. Mr. Tobin said he had
been encouraged by conversations with Mr. Runberg. He
asked that the Council and UNC look very seriously
at energy modeling in all of their new buildings.
Lorin Hintz asked for more specific information and/or
clarification of a number of items included in the
resolution.
Pete McDowell, speaking on behalf of NCWARN, said that
he and several others had planned to ask for a
postponement of this agenda item. But they had
been encouraged during meetings with UNC
officials last week that UNC
was committed to taking their concerns
seriously, he said. Mr. McDowell asked that the
Council and UNC work together on a plan to reach
CRed carbon emission goals goals. He said it
was time for the Town Council to develop environmental
standards for energy use and consequent greenhouse gas
emission of any substantial new development in Chapel
Hill. Mr. McDowell proposed a principle by
which the Town and University should assess any major new
development with respect to energy: Would the
energy use from the project, if implemented on a global
scale, be adequate to meet the challenge of climate
change?
Joyce Brown said that her request for estimates on
additional coal to be burned had not been
addressed in either the Manager’s memo or UNC’s
response. She said this was a critical issue,
not only for UNC’s proposal tonight, but for
future expansions and for CRed. Ms.
Brown outlined her environmental concerns and
asked the Council to address the issue now.
Tom Hinkle suggested that the Council get legal advice
about what the statutes really mean with
regard to maintaining public health. He said
there was an issue of harmful emissions from
the coal burning plant. Mr.
Hinkle proposed that new construction was the
place to start implementing change. If the Town is
serious about carbon emissions reductions it has
to get serious about building new buildings that are
consuming less energy, he said. Mr.
Hinkle said this was a public health issue even
though many do not want to look at public health and energy
issues together.
Allison Carpenter, representing SURGE, expressed support
for previous speakers’ concerns about global
climate change. She explained that students were concerned
about the future and were actively involved in
the fight against global warming. Ms.
Carpenter said that SURGE was eager to work with the
Town and UNC to develop sound transportation and energy
policies, plans and infrastructure that would help
prevent the destructive environmental and social impacts of
global climate change. She challenged the
Council to make sustainable design a priority for every new
development they review.
Nancy Tripoli, from the Kings Mill/Morgan Creek
neighborhood, said that police control of the Manning
Drive intersection would work if one officer were to
sit on the side and control the lights while another
officer helped pedestrians cross the street in
accordance with those lights. She also
noted that there was no process for citizens to
easily report runoff that silts upstream as a result
of construction. One has to identify
someone in Raleigh, and then it is difficult to get
any follow up on the problem, Ms. Tripoli said. She
asked that a process be put in place
for reporting erosion runoff and getting follow
up information.
Council Member Hill said he thought a number of people
had raised good points, particularly Mr. McDowell, who
said it was time for the Council to develop
environmental standards for any substantial development in
Chapel Hill. If this is something that the Town
wants to do then there should be rules
that support it, he said. Council Member Hill
asked for suggestions from the staff about
what the Council could do with LUMO that would
give them some regulatory power in this area.
Mayor Foy suggested asking the SEE (Sustainability,
Energy & Environment) Committee to work with staff
on all of the issues that had been raised this evening,
especially the suggestion about collaborating with UNC on
carbon reduction goals and getting the Town’s own efforts
underway.
COUNCIL MEMBER HILL MOVED THE ABOVE, AND COUNCIL MEMBER
GREENE SECONDED.
Council Member Harrison wondered if OI-4 needed
to be enhanced to address some of this. Mayor Foy
replied that this needs to happen in an orderly way and he
noted that the process to do so means putting
together a packet of proposals that would address various
things, perhaps including ordinance changes and other ways
that the Council would make efforts in its regulatory
capacity to the extent that they can. Mayor Foy
and Mayor pro tem Strom said they did not recall
the topic coming up when OI-4 was being
discussed.
THE COUNCIL VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION
(9-0).
Council Member Hill said that the Carolina Inn
addition did not line up with UNC’s
mission. He said the Town had discussed fiscal
equity over the years with UNC and had received verbal
promises that UNC would move closer instead of further
away. Council Member Hill said he did
not understand why an addition to the hotel on the
campus is supported by UNC and is exempt from
property taxes. He noted that the
Inn was in competition with other hotels in Town,
and said he wanted more of an explanation from UNC than the
one provided. Council Member Hill asked if this
could be pulled out of the development plan until the
Council receives answers to his questions.
Mayor Foy asked Ms. Culpepper if that could be done.
She recommended conferring with the Town Attorney and
perhaps getting feedback from UNC.
Council Member Ward moved that the
resolution be modified or clarified to explicitly
include police personnel at the intersection to provide
safe crossing assistance for bicyclists
and pedestrians as described in stipulation 8 in
terms of when that is important to have. With
regard to stipulation 9 on page 10, he asked to
insert the words, "with bike loop sensors and" before
"pedestrian countdown heads." Council Member
Ward also proposed creating a stipulation 9.5
that would be the same as stipulation 9 but
with the title, "Fordham Boulevard and Old Mason
Farm Road traffic signal upgrade." It would be
identical to the modified language in stipulation 9, but
would stop at the second to last line, "countdown heads
with crosswalks," and there would be a period there,
he said, because there is no need for a flashing beacon as
proposed for the Manning Drive lot. Council Member
Ward said there was a rational nexus for those
improvements, since many UNC populations use both
intersections.
Mayor Foy asked Mr. Runberg to address the suggestions
separately. With regard to putting in bike loop
sensors at Fordham & Manning, Mr. Runberg said "that’s
fine." With regard to the stipulation that the
Council Member Ward had suggested, Mr. Runberg said,
"that’s fine." With regard to having a traffic
control officer posted during peak times, Chief
Poarch asked that the Town staff go with him to
determine whether or not they can stop traffic in all four
directions with the signalization and officer they
have. If staff determines that they cannot do this,
he would be willing to add an officer who would help
people cross the street, he said, as long as the officer
would not be asked to direct traffic before and after
events. Council Member Ward agreed, and he and
Chief Poarch discussed the need to educate the public
about dashing across during green
lights.
Council Member Greene said that she would prefer to
get a commitment now for two police officers because
there is no substitute for having a human
being to help people. She said she was not
willing to vote for this without stipulation 8.
Chief Poarch said that Mr. Neppalli had just told him that
the intersection could not be turned red in all
directions. He said he was willing to put another
officer out there as long as that officer would not be
asked to direct traffic at all times before and
after events. Mayor Foy verified that Chief Porch
would accept stipulation 8.
Council Member Easthom expressed support for comments by
Ms. Brown, Mr. Hinkle and Mr. McDowell, and pointed
out that the resolution included no
stipulation regarding
the environment.
Mr. Poveromo said that the staff typically refers to
the OI-4 section of the LUMO, which has standards
focused on traffic, stormwater, noise and lighting.
He said it does not include specific guidelines for
elements such as building, environment and carbon
reduction.
Council Member Easthom ascertained that this issue would be
brought before the SEE Committee to work on. She
added that she would not vote for this resolution without
something specific with regard to making sure that the
buildings are constructed in a highly efficient manner
demonstrating the use of renewable energy. They must
also demonstrate and pledge that emissions
would be in line with the CRed project and some
analysis of pre-imposed coal production levels, Council
Member Easthom said.
Council Member Ward noted that members of the
Council had just voted in favor of Lot 5, which
will have no energy savings. He said the Town
loses credibility when it tells UNC that it must
do better than the Town is doing. He said that
the Town had lost that argument with Lot 5 and how it is
designed.
Council Member Thorpe said he would vote
against the resolution unless the Council
could be assured that there would be
two officers at the intersection. Council Member
Easthom argued that the Council had not lost
its credibility as Council Member Ward had just
asserted. The Council had authorized the
Manager to pursue the development agreement to the
point where it would come back to the Council,
which would consider it again at that time,
she said. Council Member
Easthom said that all Council members felt
strongly about buildings using renewable energy
and being LEED certified. She would not vote in favor
of Lot 5 if it does include those things, she
said.
Mr. Runberg commented that UNC already had
started working with the Town relative to the
CRed. He noted that the SUP that had
been approved for the modification to
the Cogenerational Plant had stated that the
capacity of the boilers would not be increased.
That is the case, Mr. Runberg said, but added
that UNC does burn more coal on some days
than on others.
Mr. Runberg said that UNC would not go beyond the
capacity of those boilers, and was fulfilling the
obligations they had agreed to in the SUP.
He said that UNC was doing energy modeling
on all of its projects. It was also
doing extra commissioning, he said, explaining that
this was an effort to improve the efficiency
of the buildings. Mr. Runberg said that UNC
was striving for a LEED silver level, and UNC
officials believe they will get 20 percent savings
above the current standards. Mr.
Runberg said there had been much fluidity over
the past six months or so over criteria for designing
facilities. He pointed out that UNC had come
before the Town under OI-4 and had met all
four criteria. The University was willing
to go along with something that "encourages 20
percent" and a silver level, since it plans to do
that anyway, he said.
Mayor Foy mentioned Council Member Hill’s objection to the
Carolina Inn portion of the modification. He
asked Mr. Runberg if UNC would object if the Council
decided to remove that item for discussion
while approving the other items. Mr.
Runberg replied that it would be fair and appropriate
to set that item aside for 60 to 90 days, but not to
ask UNC to start all over again.
Mr. Karpinos recommended recessing the hearing to a date
certain for that one item and then taking action
on the rest, if that was what the Council wished
to do.
Council Member Cam Hill MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Recess the
Public Hearing until February 12, 2007. THE MOTION
WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
Mayor Foy asked Council Member Ward if he would be willing
to make a motion with the modifications to stipulation
8, 9 and 9b that he had already moved and with the
removal of The Carolina Inn. Council Member Ward
moved that.
Council Member Greene said that Council Member Ward’s
language had satisfied her. She said there would
be one officer sitting in a cart controlling the lights and
another available to help people cross the
street. Council Member Thorpe said he was
satisfied with that as well.
Council Member Jim Ward MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Sally Greene, TO
Adopt R-14a as amended. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED
by a vote of 8-1, with Mayor Kevin Foy, Mayor pro tem Bill
Strom, Council Member Sally Greene, Council Member Ed
Harrison, Council Member Cam Hill, Council Member Mark
Kleinschmidt, Council Member Bill Thorpe, and Council
Member Jim Ward voting aye and with Council Member Laurin
Easthom voting nay.
Council Member Cam Hill MOVED,
SECONDED BY Mayor pro tem Bill Strom, TO
Recess the public hearing with regard to
the Carolina Inn to February 12, 2007. THE
MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
12.
|
Resolution to Establish a Schedule for
the Rogers Road Small Area Plan Process and to
Create a Rogers Road Small Area Plan Task Force
(R-15).
|
Mr. Bonk introduced the item.
Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Cam Hill, TO Adopt R-15 as
amended with the number of Rogers Road
residents changed from four to "up to
eight". THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY
(9-0).
13.
|
2035 Long Range Transportation Plan
Forecasts (R-16).
|
Mr. Bonk introduced the item.
Council Member Easthom verified that supporting the
resolution would mean agreeing to the map. She said
she could not endorse the assumption indicated by
the map that something would head north from Carolina
North. For that reason, she would vote
against the resolution, Council Member Easthom
explained.
Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Cam Hill, TO
Adopt R-16. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED by a vote of
8-1, with Mayor Kevin Foy, Mayor pro tem Bill Strom,
Council Member Sally Greene, Council Member Ed Harrison,
Council Member Cam Hill, Council Member Mark Kleinschmidt,
Council Member Bill Thorpe, and Council Member Jim Ward
voting aye and with Council Member Laurin Easthom voting
nay.
14.
|
Chapel Hill Bible Church Park/Ride
Terminal: Application for Special Use Permit
Modification.
|
Planning Director J. B. Culpepper introduced the
item. She noted that the applicant had expressed
concern at the public hearing about a proposed
condition that had an expiration date. Ms.
Culpepper said that concern should be accommodated by
the modified language in revised Resolution A. She
noted three other stipulations that had been included
in the revised resolution.
Mr. Neppalli reviewed the revisions included in R-17a
and explained why staff did not recommend that UNC pay
for implementation of a traffic signal at the Old Sterling
Drive/Sage Road intersection. He suggested that the
Council add that to the resolution, however, if they wish
the University to pay for it.
Mary Jean Felgenhauer, of UNC’s Facilities Planning
Office, submitted a letter in support of UNC’s
application for the UNC park & ride at Chapel Hill
Bible Church SUP Modification. She said that UNC had
presented evidence showing that the proposed
modification would meet the
required findings. With regard to finding
#3, she said, property values had continued to
increase during the previous years of growth and
development in this area.
In summary, said Ms. Felgenhauer, assessed values had
increased by 48 percent between 2004 and 2006 for
properties adjacent to the Church. She said the
proposed modification would have no significant impact
on the area and no detrimental effect on the value of
the contiguous property. Ms. Felgenhauer said
that UNC agrees to the recommendation that they
provide adequate and appropriate lighting, that they
install a blue box at the site, and that they reaffirm
their intent to monitor the operation. She asked
the Council to consider revising stipulation 8 to
allow UNC to open this facility in a timely manner
using the existing bus stop until improvements can be
implemented.
Harvey Krasney criticized the Bible Church for
reneging on its promise not to add more traffic
to this neighborhood during the week. He
said, if the Council insisted on passing this
"unnecessary application," he would like to see three
stipulations: a firm exit date of exactly
three years; mandatory full-time monitoring of both
lots to ensure that a maximum of 241 spaces
would be used by UNC commuters; and make UNC
contribute to the added safety measures needed on Sage
Road. Mr. Krasney also asked that the Council make
UNC pay a fair share of the added expense
for safety facilities on Sage Road.
Please stipulate that UNC pay at least half of
all cost that the Town incurs to install
added safety measures on all of Sage Road
between Erwin Road and US 15-501, he said.
Kevin Hewison said he was pleased that the
Council had taken up a number of neighborhood
suggestions and had pressed UNC and the Bible Church on
this issue. He said the current proposal
for five years or more, was different
from the straight five-year proposal that had
been presented to neighbors. Mr.
Hewison thanked the Town’s engineers for doing
the traffic impact assessment in a more complete way.
He said it did not make sense to say that traffic
would be impacted by the park and ride while also
saying that it would have little or no impact in
the neighborhood.
Mayor Foy asked if UNC would be willing
to provide the pedestrian safety improvements
that Mr. Neppalli was
recommending. Ms. Hewison replied that the
University would agree to that.
Council Member Ward asked for clarification on the
length of the lease. Ms. Hewison replied that,
as the resolution was written, five years would begin
with a signed lease. She listed a number of
conditions that would allow a 24-month extension at the
end. Council Member Ward asked if that meant seven
years would be the maximum length. Ms. Hewison
replied that she did not think there was a limit to the
number of two-year extensions that UNC could
request.
Council Member Harrison asked UNC officials to bring
back a written request if they want the Council
to take the discussion of other lots to the
MPO.
Council Member Easthom said she did not feel
entirely comfortable with the lease agreement.
She wondered if the Council would consider granting a
three-year lease and granting UNC a two-year
extension only if they demonstrate that they are
seeking other park and ride locations. Ms.
Hewison replied that UNC would not be willing to do a
three-year lease.
Council Member Kleinschmidt pressed the issue, and UNC
Associate Chancellor Carolyn Elfland
explained that three years would not be
enough time to justify the
University’s investment.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked how the Town could be
confident that UNC would continue looking for
other locations. Ms. Hewison noted that a number
of stipulations in the resolution had asked UNC to
provide bits of information as part of its
twice-a-year updates to Council. She said
they could easily include that information as
well. Council Member Kleinschmidt
proposed making the extension of the
lease contingent upon such
a demonstration to find other facilities.
Mayor Foy noted that both the Town and UNC had an
interest in finding a permanent solution on that
corridor. He said the Town wanted a real park
& ride lot, not a University only arrangement.
Mayor Foy pointed out
that both parties had a strong incentive to
have something there, but no one had been able to
figure it out.
Council Member Kleinschmidt commented that there did not
seem to be any incentive for UNC
to look further, however.
Mr. Runberg said that UNC would continue to
actively look for property in that area. He
said it would be fine too if a partnership could
be worked out with the Town. Mr.
Runberg told Council members that UNC had been
looking at other sites, but had discovered it was
nearly impossible to find anything at a
reasonable price.
Council Member Hill
commented that the Town’s and UNC’s goals
seemed to be aligned. Since this lot does
not satisfy all of UNC’s needs, the natural
inclination would be for them to keep looking, he
said. Council Member Hill noted that there
was a "sea of asphalt" around the Church.
The idea that it was not being used most days was sort
of ridiculous, he said.
Council Member Ward ascertained that UNC would ideally like
to start the parking lot in January because that is when
the spring semester begins. He verified that
the traffic light on Sage/Irwin could be up and
running by the summer, and noted that there could
be six months before then
without that device. Council Member Ward
wondered if the resolution could include
a solution if traffic problems arise.
Mr. Neppalli said that having the traffic signal up and
running should not take more than two months
after DOT starts construction. However, the
contractor does have six months to do so, he pointed
out. Mr. Neppalli said that the only option
would be to limit opening the lot until a signal
was in place, or until a specific month. He
added that he was not sure UNC would agree to
that.
Ms. Hewison said that since UNC begins operation
in January it could not pull permits half way through
the semester and leave people without
parking.
Mayor Foy commented that the Town needed to deal
with this short-term problem itself and ask the Town
Manager to have Town police keep an eye on
it.
Council Member Easthom said she did not like the
idea of an open-ended lease.
She would agree to five years as long as one
of the conditions was that UNC must demonstrate on
paper that it is actively
pursuing other locations, she said.
Ms. Hewison replied that UNC would be happy to provide
any such information that is not confidential.
Council Member Greene agreed that such a clause should be
in the SUP, and said she thought the issue had
previously been discussed. Mr. Karpinos
suggested adding the following language to stipulation
4d: "The permit holder shall demonstrate to the
Manager that it is actively looking for alternative sites
for a park/ride lot."
Council members accepted that language. Mayor
Foy suggested amending the resolution to include the
language and adding a stipulation with regard to pedestrian
improvements, as itemized in agenda item 4h. He asked
Ms. Hewison about her request that UNC be allowed to begin
operation with the existing stop. Ms. Culpepper said
that would address stipulations 8 & 9. Mayor
Foy verified that the change would remove "prior
to use" in both stipulations 8 & 9.
Council Member Sally Greene MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Recess the
Public Hearing until February 12, 2007. THE MOTION
WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
Council Member Sally Greene MOVED,
SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Adopt R-17a as
amended. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY
(9-0).
a.
|
Million Solar Roofs Initiative.
|
The Council appointed Logan Yonavyac to the Million
Solar Roofs Initiative.
b.
|
Public Housing Program Advisory Board.
|
The Council appointed LaVerda Pride to the Public
Housing Program Advisory Board.
a.
|
By the Mayor and Council Members.
|
1.
|
Petition regarding Empowerment, Inc.’s
Efforts to Petition Orange County for
Exemption from Property Taxes on the
Midway Office Building (R-18). (Council
Member Mark Kleinschmidt)
|
Council Member Kleinschmidt explained that
the resolution (R-18) would express the
Council’s intention that the small business
incubator be part of EmPOWERment’s non-profit
mission. He noted that few businesses
would do as EmPOWERment does, which is
to help other businesses get started and then
kick them out once they make a
profit. Council Member
Kleinschmidt pointed out that the Town did not
have control over the County assessor.
However, this would let Orange
County understand how the Council
thinks about EmPOWERment and what
EmPOWERment’s mission means to the community,
he said.
Council Member Mark
Kleinschmidt MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Jim
Ward, TO Adopt R-18. THE MOTION WAS
ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
2.
|
Process to Appoint Members to the
Hollow Rock/Erwin Road Property Park
Planning Advisory Committee (R-19).
(Council Member Sally Greene)
|
Council Member Sally Greene
MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Cam Hill, TO
Adopt R-19 as amended to nominate Council
Members Strom and Harrison to serve on the Hollow
Rock/Erwin Road Property Park Planning Advisory
Committee. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY
(9-0).
The meeting adjourned at 11:31 p.m.