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, Planning Director JB Culpepper, Development Coordinator Gene Poveromo, Long Range & Transportation Coordinator David Bonk, Engineer Services Manager Kumar Neppalli, Transportation Director Steve Spade, Fire Chief Dan Jones, Police Chief Gregg Jarvies, Police Major Brian Curran, Engineering Director George Small, Long Range Planner Frost Rollins, Long Range Planner Anna Biton, Inspections Director Lance Norris, Information Technology Director Bob Avery, Public Works Director Bill Letteri, Budget Analyst Rick Shreve, and Town Clerk Sabrina Oliver.
Mayor Foy introduced Council Member Dan Bessie from Winston Salem.
Mayor Foy explained that the purpose of the meeting was to hold a work session on the Town�s northwest quadrant, creating an opportunity for the Council to exchange ideas and give some guidance and possible policy formulation. He clarified that this was a work session, not a public hearing, thus giving the Council an opportunity to engage in a deeper discussion and analysis of the issue. Mr. Stancil stated that the session was an opportunity to discuss some of the activities taking place in the northwestern part of Chapel Hill, and to review the results of the Comprehensive Plan adopted by the Council in 2001, with respect to managing the growth in that area. He said that the planning staff would give an overview of what was happening in the northwest area, including roadway improvements, bicycle and pedestrian studies, and additional information on multi-jurisdictional controls for this area. Mr. Stancil said that the intention was to give the Council a framework for thinking about higher density growth in the future, using a multi-disciplinary, multi-functional approach, and that the staff had hoped to receive guidance and direction from the Council.
Ms. Culpepper stated that as Chapel Hill matured, the Town was finding that previous planning had defined an area restricted by an urban services boundary and the associated rural buffer. She stated that, because the Town would not grow into the rural buffer, development activities were occurring within the urban services boundary. She said that the staff�s presentation would cover activities in the Northern Area of Chapel Hill, which had several undeveloped and underdeveloped properties remaining, and which was bound by the railroad track to the west; the interstate to the north; Carol Woods and Sunrise Road to the east; and Homestead Road to the south. Ms. Culpepper said that implementation of the 2000 Land Use Plan and the Comprehensive Plan were underway, including such themes as environmental protection, neighborhood protection, and encouragement of a balanced multi-modal transportation system.
Ms. Culpepper said that the Town had been working with the city schools to identify potential future school sites in this area, and that development had been occurring generally in the area as anticipated. She stated that the Comprehensive Plan emphasized transit and encouraged mixed-use development on major transportation corridors, adding that the Planning Board was working to update the plan, as requested by the Council.
Ms. Culpepper presented Chapel Hill�s zoning map, and explained that the zoning map was not usually amended to reflect the desired uses identified on the Land Use Plan, adding that the Council often considered rezoning applications with requests for development. Ms. Culpepper presented a map showing areas currently under construction, areas with active development applications in process, and areas for which concept plans had been submitted. She emphasized that the concept plan provision provided developers a pre-application opportunity to obtain early feedback on their ideas.
Mr. Bonk presented a map showing the current traffic conditions in the northern area, indicating average daily traffic volumes, as recorded by the NC Department of Transportation (NC DOT) in 2005. He stated that a key element of the comprehensive plan would be to establish a more robust public transit network and development along major transit corridors, in line with the region�s transportation plan.
Mr. Bonk presented a map summarizing the existing and proposed bicycle, sidewalk, and greenways facilities in the northern area, explaining that they had completed an implementation plan to install pedestrian improvements previously recommended to the Council along Martin Luther King Boulevard. Mr. Bonk described the planned improvements to the corridor. He added that they had completed a survey of neighborhoods to the east and south of the Timberline Shopping Center, and he anticipated that the neighborhood would present their own priority projects to the Council in the near future. Mr. Bonk also presented some initial ideas for how the Town might improve transit services in the area.
Mr. Neppalli described a few proposed changes to Weaver Dairy Road under the Transportation Improvement Program, which had been discussed with NC DOT. He explained that during a recent project development, they had found that several intersections were failing during peak hours, and they had expressed their concerns to NC DOT. He outlined various options they had discussed with NC DOT to address the issue, adding that they were not sure yet which option they would recommend to the Council.
Ms. Culpepper stated that the information just presented was a brief summary of some of the activities that were underway: the Comprehensive Plan update; the Rogers Road Small Area Planning; consideration of new transit routing; pedestrian and bicycle improvements; and discussions with NC DOT and the land owners regarding improvements along Weaver Dairy Road. She stated that she believes that growth is occurring as anticipated; in some areas, growth is less than anticipated. She said that they hoped to have another work session with the Council in June to focus on development of a framework to evaluate higher density development, building on the Town�s recent experiences.
Mayor Foy suggested that the Council proceed by identifying issues regarding this area, and suggesting some ideas for addressing these issues; then figuring out the next steps.
Mayor pro tem Strom said that one thing the Council could do fairly quickly would be to change the zoning. He asked if there was an entranceway overlay type zone that the Council could create. He said he supported the pedestrian amenities, bus shelters, safety issues, and other components, and he wondered if it was possible to address the umbrella of zoning as well as the aesthetic that the Town was seeking.
Ms. Culpepper responded that a zoning change was possible and within the Council�s control. She said that she was aware that there was some dissatisfaction with the current mixed used OI-1 Zoning District. Mayor pro tem Strom suggested that the Town might down-zone, while discussing the type of development desired. He said that the Town had made a mistake when it agreed to widen Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to four lanes. He suggested that the Town look at the South Road and Country Club intersection for an example of how an intersection may be improved, while maintaining its aesthetic quality.
Mayor Foy stated that the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Weaver Dairy Road served as the entrance to the neighborhood, but was not very attractive. He asked the Council to think about how they could improve its aesthetic quality. Ms. Culpepper stated that re-zoning to a lower-intensity use would be helpful, but the street scape element needed consideration.
Council Member Ward stated that the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Weaver Dairy Road had the pieces that people needed for their daily lives, but the design, volume, and speed presented a problem; the Town needed to make the intersection more pedestrian friendly. He emphasized the difference between average daily traffic volume and traffic numbers at peak times. He asked if there were opportunities to involve the developers in some of the road re-design, and he advised that the affordable housing units be preserved.
Council Member Hill suggested that the Council could specify its desires for those areas designated as development opportunity areas, and the Town could attach approval of the Special Use Permit to meeting the criteria established for those areas.
Mayor Foy said he wondered if the Town had decided to re-zone a property, how would potential developers know that the Town did not really want that particular zoning, that it was just a holding pattern. Ms. Culpepper stated that staff could relay that information when developers came to propose particular projects. Council Member Kleinschmidt added that the residents living around the areas would also need to be informed.
Council Member Hill supported eliminating residential zoning along Interstate 40, for such reasons as noise and light pollution. He noted that these areas should be limited to commercial zoning. Mayor pro tem Strom supported this idea. Council Member Hill said that the same concerns raised for the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Weaver Dairy Road intersection were also concerns in other areas, such as US 15-501. He suggested that many speeding and traffic problems were caused by vehicles entering and exiting the Town limits.
Council Member Kleinschmidt stated that in previous planning, the Town had not established enough connection routes. He said that downtown worked well because there were three routes, Franklin, Rosemary, and Cameron, to move cars across Town. He said that Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was the only way to get into the northern area, but if there were more connections and alternate routes for traffic, then there would be less pressure on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Council Member Easthom agreed with the statements about aesthetic appeal and pedestrian friendliness of the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Weaver Dairy Road intersection, stressing that the Town needed to prioritize ensuring that the intersection was walkable. She expressed an interest in down-zoning, and suggested conducting an area-wide traffic impact analysis. She said that the Town should assess the anticipated impact that new development projects would have on future traffic patterns.
Mayor Foy asked about NC 86, stating that Chapel Hill called this road Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, but that NC DOT called it State Highway 86. He said he wondered if it would be possible to change the designation of this road. Mr. Neppalli said it was possible to change the designation from a state highway to a state road, but there were pros and cons to this. He said that the Town would lose quite a bit of State and federal funding, but it would have more control over the road. He said that there was a process, which would require approval from the State Transportation Board. At Mayor Foy�s suggestion, Mr. Stancil stated that the staff would prepare a cost-benefit analysis of the issue to present to the Council at a later date.
Council Member Greene agreed with the comments on the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Weaver Dairy Road, and on the connectivity between neighborhoods within the Town. She said that she had recently reviewed documentation from a similar decision-making process in the 1980s, when the Town widened Fordham Boulevard (US 15-501) to four lanes. She said that there were a number of discussions at that time about ensuring safety for pedestrians trying to cross US 15-501; but despite the concerns raised, this did not happen. She cautioned against making the same mistake in this case. Council Members Greene and Thorpe agreed that the Town should decide what sort of development it wanted for the northern area before specific projects came forward for consideration.
Council Member Easthom suggested that the Council engage in a process of creating a vision for this area. She said the small area planning process was too long, but perhaps there was a shorter alternative that would achieve similar results.
Mayor Foy suggested that the Council create a task force for the northern area, which would be charged with advising the Council in six months the strategies for this area, and the Council could determine the composition of the task force. He added that, in the meantime, the Council would ask the Planning Department to place a moratorium on new development projects, and suggested that staff could advise the Council on what they could do in the short term, such as re-zoning.
Mayor Foy suggested that Council should still come forward with the Crosland Development Project, but that this would be the only exception. Mayor pro tem Strom supported the idea of forming a task force. Council Member Ward stated that the planning process should include transit routes for this area. Mayor pro tem Strom added that there was a significant amount of park and open space in the area. Council Member Kleinschmidt stated that these areas were not noticeable from the road, so efforts should be taken to integrate the road visually with the neighborhood.
Gary Buck stated that he had submitted an application to the Council over four years ago for Chapel Watch Village. He said that they had met all of the requirements during this time, and they were scheduled to meet with the Planning Board on March 20, the Transportation Board on March 22, and the Council on April 16. He requested that the Council permit them to continue with the process as scheduled.
Town Attorney Karpinos clarified that the staff would provide a report in response to the Council�s proposal, which would include the options the Council has for this moratorium, and what the law provides, with respect for how it would apply to pending applications, such as this one.
Council Member Laurin Easthom MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Enter Into Closed Session as authorized by North Carolina General Statue Section 143-318.11 (a)(6), to discuss a Personnel Matter. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).