DRAFT SUMMARY MINUTES OF A BUSINESS MEETING
OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
Monday, March 26, 2007, AT 6:30 p.m.


Present were Mayor Kevin Foy, Mayor pro tem Bill Strom, Council Member Laurin Easthom, Council Member Sally Greene, Council Member Cam Hill, Council Member Ed Harrison, 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, Police Chief Gregg Jarvies, Long Range & Transportation Coordinator David Bonk, Public Outreach Coordinator Len Cone, Mayoral Aide Adam Schaefer, Housing & Neighborhood Services Coordinator Loryn Clark, Information Technology Director Bob Avery, Human Services Coordinator Karen Rose, Engineer Services Manager Kumar Neppalli, Intern Bree Bean, Long Range Planner Frost Rollins, Parks and Recreation Interim Director Bill Webster, Finance Director Kay Johnson, and Town Clerk Sabrina Oliver.

1. Ceremonies:

Mayor Foy announced that Council Member Kleinschmidt would not be present at the meeting.

Mayor Foy announced a farewell ceremony for retiring Town Chief of Police, Gregg Jarvies, who had been Chief of Police since 2000, and had been with the Police Department for 32 years.  Mayor Foy stated that Mr. Jarvies had been held in high regard by Town residents, staff, and the Council.  He presented a certificate to Mr. Jarvies, which he said was an official proclamation on behalf of the Council that memorialized the work Mr. Jarvies had done for the Town.  Mayor Foy outlined such contributions as advocacy on behalf of department staff for training and education; ensuring that staff had effective safety gear; building relationships with other law enforcement agencies in the region and the State; and involvement of the community in public safety decisions.  Mayor Foy stated that, on behalf of the Council, the Town would celebrate the leadership and service of Mr. Jarvies by declaring Sunday, April 1 as Greg Jarvies Day in Chapel Hill.

Mr. Jarvies spoke a few words, thanking the Town, the Mayor, the Town Managers, the Council, his wife, and the citizens for their support.  He stated that Tom McCarthy would be the incoming chief, and that Brian Curran would be the interim chief.

Mayor Foy announced that the Town was using a new program that would enable people to access information about the Town more easily through the internet.  He said that with this program, the Town would broadcast all Town meetings live on the Town’s website, and that the public would be able to access the archives.  He thanked the Clerk’s Office and the Information Technology Department for this new program.

2. Public Forums and Hearings:  None

3. Petitions by citizens and announcements by Council members.

a. Petitions by citizens on items not on the agenda.

1. Carrboro New Horizon Task Force regarding Eubanks Road Planning.

Mayor Foy stated that the Carrboro New Horizon Task Force had requested that the Town appoint a representative to the task force.  Mayor pro tem Strom stated that the email with this request had been sent to Council Member Kleinschmidt and himself, as co-chairs of the Rogers Road Small Area Planning Group.  He said that he had discussed it with Council Member Kleinschmidt, and they believed that it would be appropriate to ask a Planning Board member to serve on the Carrboro task force.  Mayor Foy supported this idea.

Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Receive and Refer the petition to the Planning Board.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

2. James Allred, Student Body President of the University of North Carolina (UNC), presented a petition regarding an Increase in Emergency Call Boxes and Pedestrian-Level Lighting in Downtown Chapel Hill.

Mr. Allred, President of the Student Body of University of North Carolina (UNC), presented a petition to the Town regarding a proposed increase in emergency call boxes and pedestrian level lighting in the downtown area.  On behalf of the student body, he stated that the proposal represents a significant investment by students and a commitment to seeing improvements that will benefit both student residents and permanent residents.  He said that the proposal was developed from discussions with the students, the residents of the downtown area, and the Town Police Department.  

Mr. Allred explained that the proposal was for additional pedestrian level lighting and four direct service line emergency call boxes in the downtown area.  He said that UNC students had raised $80,000 for this proposal, which would cover the installation costs.  He asked the Town to assume the recurring costs, to ensure that the measures continued into the future.  Mayor Foy thanked him for the proposal and the contribution.

Council Member Sally Greene MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Receive and Refer the petition to the staff.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

3. Human Services Advisory Board to Reallocate 2006-2007 Human Services Funds.

Chair of the Human Services Advisory Board Larry Daquioag stated that last year, two of the agencies that had been recommended for funding had dropped out of the program: UNC Outreach Project for Homeless, and Youth Creating Change.  He said that this provided a financial return of $5,500 to the board.  Mr. Daquioag said that the board recommended to use these funds to support other agencies that were also serving these same areas.  He said that the board proposed to serve the homeless population with Club Nova and Chrysalis for a combined $4,000, and to serve the youth population with Street Scene Teen Center for $1,500. 

Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Sally Greene, TO  accept the recommendation of the petition.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

4. Timberlyne Residents regarding Improvement Recommendations of a Safer, More Active Community.

Kristina Peterson, representing residents from several neighborhoods adjacent to the Timberlyne Shopping Center, presented a series of recommendations to the Council for improvements to the area, for the 2007-2008 budget.  She said that residents requested traffic calming measures and completion of the sidewalk along Kingston Drive.  She said that residents recommended traffic calming measures along the major roads and intersections in the area, and safety measures for pedestrians.  Ms. Peterson said that residents recommended additional street lighting for certain sections of the neighborhood and improvements to the informal paths that meander through the neighborhood.

Ms. Peterson said that the residents had also raised the issue of safety for pedestrians crossing Weaver Dairy Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., stressing that this was a very important issue to them. 

Kim Bui supported Ms. Peterson’s comments, and suggested that the Town consider making signalized crossings at major crossing points of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Weaver Dairy Road.

Mayor Foy suggested referring this petition to the Northwest Task Force as well as to the staff.

Council Member Cam Hill MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Receive and Refer the petition to the staff.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

5. Whitney Kahn, YMCA Youth Director, regarding Community Development Block Grant funds.

Council Member Easthom stated that she had spoken with Ms. Kahn, who could not be present at the Council meeting, but had told her that the issue had been appropriately handled by staff, and that she (Ms. Kahn) would be present on Wednesday for the normal budget meeting. 

b. Petitions by citizens on items on the agenda.

Joyce Brown and Pauline Grimson, residents of the Cameron McCauley Historic District, raised concerns about a piece of property being purchased by the University of North Carolina that was located in the Cameron McCauley Historic District and the West Chapel Hill National Register District.   They stated that, as residents of the neighborhood, they had concerns about the University’s plans for the use of this property; and they wished to know if there were any regulations in Town ordinances or State regulations governing historic districts that would protect against the construction of large scale institutional buildings, or the use of the property as a parking lot.  They had presented two petitions to this effect, but Mayor Foy recommended that the two petitions be combined into one.

Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Cam Hill, TO Receive and Refer both petitions to the staff for feedback on April 11, 2007.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

Susan Levy from Habitat for Humanity expressed the organization’s gratitude, that, when the Council delineated the area of concern for the northern area on March 7, this delineation did not include the Sunrise Road Property nor the area off Rogers Road on Purefoy Drive.  She said that Habitat had been working to develop affordable housing on these sites, and she asked the Council to maintain the boundaries they had drawn.

c. Announcements by Council members.

Council Member Greene announced that there had been a celebration of the Morgan Creek Preserve that afternoon, and she thanked Council Member Ward for leading the committee, and the Council.  Council Member Ward added that the committee would continue, with plans to organize similar events in the future.  Mayor Foy suggested that the committee give the Council suggestions for areas of priority for focus in the future. 

Council Member Thorpe announced that two people on the Youth Committee were present, and he asked if the Council could go ahead with their appointments at that time?  Mayor Foy agreed that, after the completion and tabulation of the vote, the appointments could be made.  Eugene Farrar expressed the committee’s gratitude to the Council for moving forward on the Youth Council, which he said would be a great asset to the community. 

4. Consent agenda: action items.

Council Member Harrison explained that the Performance Agreement for the Proposed Operation of a Community Bicycle Loan Program represented an agreement with Students United for a Responsible Global Environment (SURGE) to set up and operate a short-term bicycle loan program in the community.  He said that there would be distribution sites on the University campus, in Chapel Hill, and in Carrboro. 

Mayor Foy stated that the Town would provide $15,000 in initial funding for this initiative.   Council Member Ward suggested that Town Hall be considered as a distribution site.  Mayor Foy suggested that the Council amend the resolution to add Council Member Ward’s suggestion.

Council Member Thorpe asked about the agenda item that concerned the public hearing for the Special Use Permit application for the Residences at Chapel Hill North.  Mr. Stancil explained that, at the last Council meeting, the Council had appointed a committee of members to address the affordable housing component of that project.  He said that the committee had met twice, but they had not yet finished their work, so they recommended that the public hearing be postponed until they had completed their task and were ready to report the results.  

Council Member Bill Thorpe MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Adopt R-1 as amended without R-5.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

A RESOLUTION ADOPTING VARIOUS RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES (2007-03-26/R-1)

A RESOLUTION NOMINATING APPLICANTS TO VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMITTEES (2007-03-26/R-2)

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 21 OF THE TOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES REGARDING PARKING REGULATIONS (2007-03-26/O-1)

A RESOLUTION APPROVING A PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT FOR THE PROPOSED START UP AND OPERATION OF A COMMUNITY BICYCLE LOAN PROGRAM (2007-03-26/R-3)

AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND “THE ORDINANCE CONCERNING APPROPRIATIONS AND THE RAISING OF REVENUE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2006” (2007-03-26/O-2)

AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND “THE ORDINANCE CONCERNING APPROPRIATIONS AND THE RAISING OF REVENUE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2006” (2007-03-26/O-3)

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE TOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES TO APPLY REGULATIONS NOW APPLICABLE IN TOWN CENTER-1 AND TOWN CENTER-2 ZONED AREAS TO TOWN CENTER-3 AREAS (2007-03-26/O-4)

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO SEEK FINANCING FOR VEHICLE REPLACEMENT PURCHASES FOR THE 2006-2007 FISCAL YEAR (2007-03-26/R-4)

A RESOLUTION MODIFYING THE 2005-2006 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM (2007-03-26/R-7)

Council Member Bill Thorpe MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Cam Hill, TO Adopt R-5.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

A RESOLUTION CONTINUING THE APPLICATION FOR LAND USE MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE TEXT AMENDMENT, REQUEST FOR PARTIAL REVOCATION OF THE CHAPEL HILL NORTH PHASE I SPECIAL USE PERMIT, AND RESIDENCES AT CHAPEL HILL NORTH SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION PUBLIC HEARING (2007-03-26/R-5)

5. Information items.

b. Public Awareness Strategy Regarding Proposed Changes to the Tree Protection Ordinance.

Council Member Harrison commended the staff’s work on this issue, and said that they had compiled an impressive package of publicity that would be very effective.

All other information reports were accepted by consensus of the Council.

6. University of North Carolina requesting Appointment of Neighborhood Committees.

Mayor Foy referred to a letter from the Chancellor of the University of North Carolina (UNC), proposing the formation of two neighborhood committees for the Law School and the Innovation Center respectively.  Mayor Foy stated that, in the letter, the Chancellor had invited the Town to join the University in developing these committees; but if this was not possible, then the University hoped that the Town would appoint a Council member to serve on the committees.  Mayor Foy said that in his earlier discussions with the Chancellor, he stated that the Town did not wish to join the University in appointing these committees, but the Council would consider having some other liaison relationship with the committees.

Mayor Foy requested that the Council decide how they wished to answer the Chancellor’s letter.  He said that his own preference would be to have a conduit between the committees and the Council, so that the Town could monitor what was happening with the projects and the neighbors’ concerns.  Council Member Harrison suggested that a potential source for a conduit could be the Planning Board, and he suggested that the Council discuss this option with the Planning Board.

Council Member Hill stated that he thought that the neighborhood committee was a good idea, but he was not sure of the value of the Town’s involvement in this process.  He said that he did not see this as a valuable use of staff’s time, given that the Town staff were already overstretched.   Mayor Foy said that he thought the involvement would provide an opportunity to have influence on a project before the University started to "dig in on it". 

Mayor pro tem Strom, stated that, in his opinion, the Council should not get involved in the committees.  He said that the Council serves as "the regulators of UNC" in certain situations, and he added that the Town’s official participation in a committee established by the University may imply some sort of endorsement of that project.  

Council Member Easthom stated that, in her opinion, the act of appointing members of the Council or the Planning Board to such a committee did not assume that the Council was endorsing any plan created by that committee, and that the plan would come before the Council in any case.  She said that it would be a good way for the Council to get information about what was happening and the neighbors’ concerns.

Mayor Foy clarified that the Town was being asked to consider this involvement on a trial basis for these two committees only.   Mayor pro tem Strom stated that if this is a trial run, then this should be made clear in the communication. 

Council Member Ward stated that he did not think the Town representative should be required to give the Council feedback, as this would start "vetting the conversation ahead of the actual public hearing".  He agreed that it should be started as a trial run at first.

Council Member Greene said that the motion that Council Member Harrison had proposed was to ask the Planning Board if they were willing to get involved, so it would be up to the Planning Board.  She added that she would willing to start it on a trial basis. 

Council Member Harrison agreed to modify the motion to specify that it would be started on a trial basis for these two projects only.  He said that the motion was to ask the Planning Board to discuss the issue, not to ask them directly to appoint someone.  Mayor Foy suggested that the Planning Board could get back to the Council after their next business meeting.   

7. Proposed Charge and Composition of a Town Sustainability Committee.

Council Member Ward stated that, in 2006, the Council had received a petition from the Million Solar Roofs Steering Committee requesting that this committee be reconstituted as a permanent Town committee, with an expansion of their original charge to include a broader range of energy efficiency and sustainability issues.  He said that the Council had referred the request to the Sustainable Energy and Environment Committee (SEE), and that they were bringing the item back again to the Council for additional conversation before sending it to the staff.  Mayor Foy clarified that the action the committee was seeking at this meeting was to discuss the issue and refer it to staff.

Council Member Ward stated that the Town had been taking a number of steps toward supporting sustainable initiatives of economic vitality, social equity, and environmental integrity, but that the approach had been somewhat ad-hoc thus far.  He said that the Town would benefit from an overall review of what had been achieved thus far, and the subsequent creation of a cohesive, innovative, and comprehensive plan for sustainability. 

Mayor pro tem Strom stated that the Town had been supporting a number of projects regarding energy efficiency, and that if this sustainability committee was developed, an immediate benefit to the Town would be that a member of this committee would serve on the Community Design Commission (CDC).  He added that the CDC normally looked at projects during the concept planning stages, so it would be helpful to have a member of the sustainability committee provide significant input at this stage.

Mayor Foy asked how the process would work, with respect to a specific development that came through the Town?  Council Member Ward replied that this process was still yet to be determined, but as he understood it, the Sustainability Committee would have an opportunity to see and assess projects coming through, as a liaison member of the CDC. 

Council Member Greene noted that a similar committee in Asheville had been in existence since 1999, and wondered if there was any information on how they had been functioning thus far?  Ms. Rollins stated that, since the Asheville Task Force had formed in 1999, they had been developing a strategy to address sustainability issues.  She said that they had only recently completed the strategy and had just started implementation.

Council Member Jim Ward MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Bill Thorpe, TO  refer to the Manager to come back with a recommendation.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

8. Follow-up Report on Development Activity in the North and Northwest Areas.

Mr. Stancil stated that, as development activity was occurring in the northern area, the Town had an opportunity to compare current results with what had been envisioned by the Comprehensive Plan in 2001.  He recommended that when the Council considered the composition of a task force for the northern area, it would include representatives from other areas of Town, so that ideas and lessons learned from the northern area could be applied to development activity in other areas.  He added that what was learned from this process could also inform the update of the Comprehensive Plan. 

Mr. Bonk presented a memorandum from staff, following the Council’s work session on March 7, 2007.  He said that the memorandum raised some questions that the Council had addressed on March 7, and also proposed several recommendations.  Mr. Bonk said that both residents and Council members had raised concerns that the Town lacked a firm vision for the northern area, and the entranceway in particular.  He said that concerns were also raised about pedestrian and bicycle safety.  He stated that the staff believed that the development of a vision statement for this area could address some of these issues, along with several ongoing studies, such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Town wide Pedestrian Safety Study and the Chapel Hill Long Range Transit Plan.

Mr Bonk stated that the Council had discussed several options for this area, such as rezoning, downzoning, and a moratorium.  He said that the Council had proposed the option of a moratorium as a means to freeze development until such time as a committee or task force would develop a vision statement and transit-oriented guidelines for the area.  Mr. Bonk said that the staff suggested that a moratorium may not be appropriate for this area at this time.  He said that a moratorium would need to address a specific problem identified by the Council, which did not seem to be the case in this instance.  He added that the regulations of a moratorium would not cover those projects that had already applied for a Special Use Permit. 

Mr. Bonk said that there were several projects in the concept plan phase, but with the exception of the University Station Project, the time required for these projects to go through the concept plan process and return to the Council with a proposal would take at least six months.  Thus, these projects could not proceed at a more rapid pace without a moratorium than they would have proceeded with a moratorium, he said.  Mr. Bonk said that, based on the current projects in the pipeline, the first Special Use Permit (SUP) application would not come before the Council until the fall, and he believed that the task force could make considerable progress by then.  

Council Member Greene stated that this was an important issue, because projects that had only submitted concept plans did not have any vested rights, but projects that had submitted SUP applications did have vested rights.  She said that it would be problematic if the Council had received SUP applications before the task force had completed their work.

Mr. Karpinos said that there were two questions in the resolution: what did a moratorium effect; and how would new rules effect a project that was in the pipeline when the new rules were implemented?  He said that if an SUP application had been submitted and was accepted, then the moratorium would not delay that project.  He added that if the Town imposed a moratorium, it would not accept any more SUP applications for that period of time, although they could continue to go through the concept plan process.

Scott Radway suggested that the traffic impact studies focus more on the larger picture.  He said that the Town relied on the private market for funds to conduct these studies, which narrowed the focus of a study to that particular project.  He said that the traffic modeling evaluation process should look at the larger planning picture.  Mr. Radway suggested that the composition of the northern area task force include one or two members from the Community Design Commission (CDC), as this commission would play a key role in acting on whatever recommendations came from the task force.  He said that there were pros and cons to having individuals from other parts of Town on the task force.

Del Snow supported establishing the task force and downzoning the University Station Project.  She said that the geographical parameters listed in the report should be from I-40 to Homestead Road, and from Rogers Road to Sunrise Road.  Ms. Snow requested that an analysis of environmental, health, stormwater, and neighborhood protection concerns be added to the charge of the task force.  Ms. Snow said that infrastructure and intersection improvements must be in place before new proposals are approved.  She preferred that the composition of the task force be restricted to neighborhood residents, with a Town staff member, and a Council liaison.  Ms. Snow supported a six-month moratorium, stating that existing health and safety challenges justified the need. 

Mayor Foy said that, with respect to rezoning the University Station Property, the Council had received an email from Bruce Valentine stating that the University would agree to a voluntary pledge withholding their development application until the task force had published their report.  Mr Karpinos stated that this memo would not be binding on the developer.

Mayor Foy asked the Council how they wished to proceed?  Council Member Thorpe suggested adding a representative from the Chamber of Commerce to the task force, and supported the idea of adding representatives from the larger Town community.  Council Member Greene supported this idea.  Mayor Foy suggested an alternative of three business owners or landowners of the area.  Council Member Easthom supported the idea of adding representatives from the CDC.  Mayor pro tem Strom suggested having five citizens (of the northern area) rather than three. 

Mayor Foy clarified that the appointments would be made at the second business meeting in April.  He recommended setting a date for receiving the final report from the task force, which was suggested as the second week in October.  These two amendments would be added to the resolution, and Council Member Easthom would serve as the Council liaison to the task force.

Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Cam Hill, TO Adopt R-9a as amended.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A NORTHERN AREA TASK FORCE AND THE COMPOSITION FOR THE TASK FORCE (2007-03-26-/R-9a)

Mayor pro tem Bill Strom MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Adopt R-9b.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

A RESOLUTION CALLING A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER REZONING THE AREA KNOWN AS UNIVERSITY STATION (2007-03-26/R-9b)

Mayor pro tem Strom asked how much staff time the rezoning could be expected to require? Mr. Bonk stated that he thought that the rezoning of a particular property should be a relatively simple exercise, involving a public hearing and a vote.  Mayor Foy explained that the resolution would call a public hearing to consider the rezoning.  Mr. Karpinos raised a concern that the resolution did not state what the property would be rezoned to?  Mayor Foy suggested amending the resolution to state that the property would be rezoned to R-1.

Council Member Hill stated that he supported resolution 9c directing the Town Manager to give the Council a report on zoning in other parts of the northern area, and to inform the Council if other actions should be taken.  Mayor Foy added that it would help the Council to acquire more information.

Council Member Cam Hill MOVED, SECONDED BY Mayor pro tem Bill Strom, TO Adopt R-9c.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE TOWN MANAGER TO PROVIDE A REPORT OUTLINING THE IMPLICATIONS OF DOWNZONING OR REZONING PROPERTY WITHOUT VESTED RIGHTS ALONG THE CORRIDOR OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BOULEVARD, WEAVER DAIRY ROAD, AND EUBANKS ROAD (2007-03-26/R-9c)

Mayor Foy asked the Council how they wished to proceed with the resolution to call a public hearing to consider a moratorium.  Council Member Greene said that she supported going ahead with the resolution, as she thought that the reasons for doing so were clear and reasonable.   She said that if the moratorium were not in place, she would be concerned about  applications that came in while the task force was still engaged in its work.  Council Member Easthom supported Council Member Greene’s comments, and added that she supported going ahead with the public hearing, as she was interested in hearing what the public had to say about this issue.

Mayor Foy asked Mr. Bonk about the commitment of staff resources that a moratorium would require.  Mr Bonk said that it would require staff time for the notification process and preparation for the public hearing.  He added that it was unclear to him whether the charge of the task force would be adequate to respond to the moratorium.  

Mr. Bonk said that the staff had identified four projects that would not be subject to the moratorium.  Mayor Foy asked, if a moratorium was not imposed, what would happen if the Town did receive an application in the intervening six months?  Mr. Bonk said that each project would go through a design review process that would normally take longer than six months, and any projects that were currently in the pipeline would not come before the Council as a proposal until the fall, at the earliest. 

Mr. Karpinos clarified that the resolution before the Council was not to establish a moratorium, but to call a public hearing to decide whether or not to do so.  He said that if the Council did decide to call a moratorium, then at that point they would decide the scope of the moratorium.  He added that it was assumed that a moratorium would effect anything for which an application had not yet been submitted.

Council Member Hill said that it seemed to him that if the Council downzoned the whole area, it would accomplish everything that the moratorium would accomplish, and it would be less onerous on the staff.   Mayor Foy stated that they did not know for sure, and he wondered what would happen if there were other plans coming forward that they did not already know about?  Council Member Greene expressed reservations about implementing a "blanket downzoning".  Mayor Foy stated that the Comprehensive Plan would serve as the overall blueprint, and that zoning could be separate from the Comprehensive Plan.

Mr. Karpinos explained that a moratorium would place a hold on all projects and work; nothing would be permitted within the specified period of time, other than minor changes.  He said that only the applications that were submitted prior to the moratorium would be allowed to go forward, and during this time, the task force would be responsible for figuring out how to solve the problem.  Mr. Karpinos said that without a moratorium, applicants would continue to go through the usual process, and anything that was submitted in the meantime would go forward. 

Mr. Stancil mentioned that an alternative option would be to include a study of the moratorium as a component of the resolution that asked the Manager to give a report on the workload and resource implications of rezoning and downzoning the area.  He suggested that this would provide information about each option to the Council in one package, and the staff could complete this process by the second meeting in April, when the Council would appoint the task force.  Mayor Foy suggested that the Council call the public hearing for the moratorium on May 7, but that they could cancel it later, if the information provided by the staff in April warranted a cancellation.

Council Member Laurin Easthom MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Jim Ward, TO Adopt R-9d.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

A RESOLUTION CALLING A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER DEVELOPMENT MORATORIUM OF THE NORTHERN AREA OF CHAPEL HILL (2007-03-26/R-9d)

9. Modifications to Revolving Acquisition Fund.

Ms. Clark proposed four modifications to the Revolving Acquisition Fund: to change its name to the Affordable Housing Fund; to allow funds to be used for the renovation of properties throughout Town and to reduce the sales price of homes; and to allow options for achieving permanent affordability.  She said they recommended that the Council continue to allow the Manager to approve use of funds for acquisition loans, and to approve renovation and home ownership grants to a maximum of $40,000. 

Mayor pro tem Strom asked how the figure of $40,000 was arrived at.  Ms. Clark said that it was based on some of the renovation loans that they had recently provided.  She clarified that amounts above $40,000 would require Council approval.

Mayor Foy asked for clarification regarding a letter that the Council had received from Robert Dowling requesting Council permission to access the Revolving Acquisition Fund to reduce the prices of existing land trust properties.  Mr. Dowling stated that the amount of $40,000 was normally enough to complete most renovations.  But he requested an exception in the case of the Greenway condominiums, stating that they would require amounts of $60,000 to bring each unit down to an affordable price.  Mayor Foy requested that Mr. Dowling wait until the Council’s next meeting for a decision on this issue, after they had received additional information from staff.

Mayor pro tem Strom suggested that a measure be added to ensure that the Council was kept apprised of the fund balance and all disbursements. He added that this would be for information only, not for Council approval.

10. Review of Downtown Parking Citizens Committee Report (R-8).

Ms. Johnson presented a response to the Downtown Parking Citizens Committee Report that had been received on February 26, 2007.  She said that the committee had raised a number of issues, such as information on signage; shared parking; Town and University relations; general customer experiences; and user-friendly technologies.  She said there were two items that the staff recommended looking at more closely, adding that when the committee was formed, an amount of $37,300 had been set aside to address parking issues, once the committee’s report had been received.

Ms. Johnson said that the committee had reached some conclusions about general principles related to downtown parking, but neither staff nor the committee had the expertise to create a specific rate structure for the Town.  She said that the staff therefore recommended recruiting an expert to look at a parking rate structure and the other items raised in the committee’s report, which would cost approximately $30,000.

Mr. Johnson said that when the Parking Committee was established, they had discussed a number of short-term proposals.  She said they offered four proposals for the Council's consideration.

Council Member Hill suggested that the discussion continue through a smaller Council and staff committee, which would report back to the Council at a later date.  He volunteered, along with Council Member Ward and Mayor Foy, to serve on this committee.

11. Appointments:

a. Orange Water and Sewer Authority.

The Council appointed Gene Pease to the Orange Water and Sewer Authority Board of Directors.

Orange Water and Sewer Auhtority Master Ballot

b. Youth Council Steering Committee.

The Council appointed Eugene Farrar, Jesse Gibson, Bonita Tolbert, Julie Wells, and Steve Wright to the Youth Council Steering Committee.

Youth Council Steering Committee Master Ballot

12. Petitions:

a. By the Mayor and Council Members.

Council Member Harrison petitioned the Council to start the process for an NC 54 corridor study in the next fiscal year.  He said that it would be coordinated by the staff to the Transportation Advisory Committee, and he was requesting to start the process now in order to match a similar proposal that was being submitted to the Durham governments from the Durham City-County Planning Director. 

Council Member Harrison said that the information being developed from the Long-Range Transit Master Plan would offer useful information for this process.  He said the project would involve multiple jurisdictions and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, adding that the capacity issues on NC 54 exceeded those on other roads in Chapel Hill.

Council Member Ed Harrison MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Bill Thorpe, TO Receive and Refer the petition to the Manager.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

14. Request for closed session to discuss property acquisition, personnel, and litigation matters.

Council Member Cam Hill MOVED, SECONDED BY Council Member Bill Thorpe, TO Enter Into Closed Session as authorized by North Carolina General Statue Section 143-318.11 (a)(5), to discuss possible acquisition of real estate adjacent to the Town Operations Center site and G.S. 143-318.11 (a)(4) to discuss the Lot 5 downtown economic development .  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.