AGENDA #1a
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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director David Bonk, Long Range and Transportation Coordinator |
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SUBJECT: |
Public Hearing: Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan Regarding Adoption of the Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force and Associated Concept Plan Report |
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DATE: |
November 12, 2007 |
On October 8, 2007, the Town Council called this Public Hearing to consider amending the Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan. Adoption of the attached Resolution would amend the Comprehensive Plan to include:
On September 24, 2007, the Council received and referred the Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force and the Chapel Hill Northern Area Workshop: Transit Oriented Development Concept Plans to the Planning Board, Transportation Board, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, Community Design Commission, and the Town Manager and Attorney.
The following text below, copied from each report, summarizes these documents, and includes the Task Force’s recommendation on the Illustrative Concept Plans.
Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force: This report, dated August 30, 2007 outlines the existing characteristics, opportunities and constraints of the Northern Area, establishes an overall vision and identifies issues that the Town and developers should address. It also makes specific recommendations and provides guidance on how to address the development and redevelopment of property in the areas to best serve the citizens of Chapel Hill. This document also includes an addendum titled Illustrative Conceptual Land Use Plans. This section of the report contains concept plans prepared by consultants, hired to facilitate a series of workshops, work with the Task Force to develop conceptual land use plans for the areas based on input and feedback from work sessions with the Task Force. The Task Force did not endorse the concept plans, but have included them for illustrative purposes only.
Chapel Hill Northern Area Workshop: Transit Oriented Development Concept Plans: The purpose of this report, dated September 24, 2007, is to detail the process and results of the Task Force consultant work sessions. It describes the way the work sessions were structured, the evolution of the land use plan from the first consultant drawings through the final ones based on task force input, and provides the final maps to the recommendations of the Task Force Report. The Task Force did not endorse the concept plans but used them to prepare goals and objectives. The Task Force requested that the concept plans be included as an addendum to the Task Force report for illustrative purposes.
Complete copies of these reports can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/2mg5fd and http://tinyurl.com/35kmxn.
Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force: We believe that the Final Report of the Northern Task Force could be an important addition to the Comprehensive Plan.
While the area-wide and focus area recommendations from the Task Force provide guidance for implementing transit oriented development within the northern area, they do not fully address more detailed design guidelines or development regulations we believe necessary to fully implement transit oriented development throughout the community. We recommend that the Council adopt the Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force, as recommended by the Task Force, as a component of the Comprehensive Plan.
Chapel Hill Northern Area Workshop: Transit Oriented Development Concept Plans: We believe that this report provides more detailed conceptual examples of transit oriented design in each of the focus areas (Attachment 2). We believe that the conceptual plans provide visual illustrations that incorporate the goals and objectives of the Task Force Report and provide context to the possible implementation of transit oriented development principles. Although not recommended by the Task Force, we recommend adoption of this more detailed workshop document as a component of the Comprehensive Plan.
The conceptual plans illustrate how adjoining properties could be developed in a conceptual manner that provides for an integration of uses and improved transit, pedestrian and bicycle access. We recognize that the conceptual plans present one possible scenario for implementing transit oriented development principles and that they would be used only as a guide for citizens and developers. We expect that these conceptual plans would be adjusted by developers as required to accommodate specific elements of individual proposals. We also believe that these concept plans can be used as the foundation for developing transit oriented development design guidelines. We recommend that the Council adopt the Northern Area Workshop Transit Oriented Development Concept Plans, as a component of the Comprehensive Plan.
Adopting the Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force and the Northern Area Workshop Transit Oriented Development Concept Plans, as components of the Comprehensive Plan, would achieve some of the same results as adopting a small area plan. It would also serve to conclude the Northern Area moratorium, inform the Comprehensive Plan Update, and further town-wide transit oriented objectives.
We believe, as adopted components of the Comprehensive Plan, that the vision and goals and objectives identified by the Northern Area Task Force can be used to inform land use decisions in the area, including the planning associated with the Long Range Transit Plan. We believe as components of the Comprehensive Plan, that together the Task Force Report and the Workshop Concept Plans provide valuable information to guide the Council’s consideration of transit oriented development in the northern area.
The October 8, 2007 memorandum to the Town Manager (http://tinyurl.com/2xpbw3) presented an option for Council consideration (i.e. Option #2) to update the Land Use Plan, a component of the Comprehensive Plan. In addition to adopting the Task Force Report and Concept Plan, we recommend identifying the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) opportunity sites consistent with the Northern Area Task Force Report.
To create the appropriate linkage between the Task Force Report/Concept Plans and the Land Use Plan, we recommend that the Council update the Land Use Plan and identify the focus areas in the Task Force Report as Transit Oriented Development opportunity sites (Attachment 3). This is a similar concept to the “D” Development Opportunity sites shown on the current Land Use Plan. Amending the Land Use Plan to include Transit Oriented Development (TOD) opportunity sites corresponding to the focus areas would provide guidance to developers as well as guide land development decisions and further Council objectives including the vision of the Task Force.
Long Range Transit Plans: The work of the Northern Area Task Force was coordinated with the ongoing development of the Chapel Hill Long Range Transit Plan. In addition to defining transit service and technologies, the Long Range Transit Plan work is underway and is expected to be completed in February 2008 and will be considered as a component of the Comprehensive Plan. The Long Range Transit Plan will also address the identification of transit oriented development opportunities in the community along major transit corridors. We believe that the Northern Area Task Force Report and Transit Oriented Development Concept Plans have and will continue to inform the development of the Long Range Transit Plan.
Comprehensive Plan Update: We anticipate that the work of the Northern Task Force will be incorporated into the update of the Comprehensive Plan. This update was delayed so the work of the task force could inform the update.
Higher Density Development Steering Committee: As we consider how to implement transit oriented development and higher density development along our major transportation corridors, we will be providing information to the Council regarding the implications of more intense development, including service implications. These staff reports will be provided to the Council upon completion of the work of the Town’s Higher Density Development Steering Committee.
Carbon Reduction and Greenhouse Gas Programs: The recommendations of the Northern Task force for transit oriented development will support Town’s efforts to reduce carbon production and greenhouse gas.
While the Northern Area Task Force Report addressed some of the elements of transit oriented development, we believe there is a need to add additional tools to the Town’s efforts to implement transit oriented development. Design guidelines that address the specific elements of transit oriented design will be necessary to assist in evaluating future development proposals. We believe specialized assistance will be necessary to ensure that these elements can be completed as soon as possible.
We also believe that the Town should pursue the development of specific zoning classifications for transit oriented development. These new zoning districts could be applied throughout Chapel Hill along major transit corridors as anticipated to be identified in the Long Range Transit Plan.
We have identified the following next steps for the northern area, and town-wide, for consideration. With Town Council concurrence, we can begin these steps prior to conclusion of the moratorium on January 31:
1) Review and consider adopting the Long Range Transit Plan to be used as a guide to identify major transit corridors and inform potential future transit oriented development opportunity sites;
2) Develop Transit Oriented Design Guidelines, with specialized assistance, to guide the design of transit oriented development in the TOD designations of the Comprehensive Plan; and
3) Construct transit oriented development zoning districts consistent with the recommendations of the Northern Area Task Force and Long Range Transit Plan to provide a range of zoning districts for consideration along our major transportation corridors.
We believe additional actions may be desired once initial options identified in this memorandum are in place.
Recommendations are summarized below.
Planning Board: The Planning Board met on October 30, 2007 and voted 6-0 to recommend that the Council adopt the Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force as a component of the Comprehensive Plan but exclude Chapel Hill Northern Area Workshop: Transit Oriented Development Concept Plans as a component of the Comprehensive Plan. The Board also recommended modifying the Land Use Plan to include Transit Oriented Development Opportunity Areas.
A copy of the Planning Board Summary Action is attached to the memorandum.
Transportation Board: The Transportation Board met on October 25, 2007 and voted 5-0 to recommend that the Council adopt the Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force as well as the Chapel Hill Northern Area Workshop: Transit Oriented Development Concept Plans as components of the Comprehensive Plan. Furthermore the Board recommended that in light of the fact that the Task Force did not unanimously endorse or recommend the development scenarios as shown on the Transit Oriented Concept Plans, the site design of said plans should be used as a first step to facilitate the creation of formal Transit Oriented Development design guidelines.
A copy of the Transportation Board Summary Action is attached to the memorandum.
Community Design Commission: The Community Design Commission met on October 24 and voted 9-0 to recommend that the Council adopt the Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force as a component of the Comprehensive Plan but exclude Chapel Hill Northern Area Workshop: Transit Oriented Development Concept Plans as components of the Comprehensive Plan.
Furthermore, the Commission recommended that the Council not adopt the Transit Oriented Opportunity sites as part of the Land Use Plan in the near term but prepare Transit Oriented Design guidelines and develop TOD zones within the next 9 months.
A copy of the Community Design Commission Summary Action is attached to the memorandum.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board: The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee met on September 25, 2007 and voted 8-0 and October 23, 2007 and voted 7-0 to recommend that the Council adopt the Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force as well as the Chapel Hill Northern Area Workshop: Transit Oriented Development Concept Plans as components of the Comprehensive Plan.
Furthermore, the Board recommended that the Council amend the Land Use Plan and identify Transit Oriented Development (TOD) opportunity sites in the focus areas of the Northern Area Task Force Report.
Copies of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Summary Action are attached to the memorandum.
Preliminary Recommendation: We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution to amend the Comprehensive Plan to include:
d. The Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force;
e. The Northern Area Workshop Transit Oriented Development Concept Plans, and
f. An updated Land Use Plan, a component of the Comprehensive Plan, to identify the transit oriented development (TOD) opportunity sites identified by the Northern Area Task Force Report.
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ISSUES |
Staff Preliminary |
Planning Board |
Transportation Board |
Comm. Design Commission |
Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Board |
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Amend The Comprehensive Plan To Include The Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force Report
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Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Amend The Comprehensive Plan To Include The Workshop TOD Concept Plans
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Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
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Amend The Land Use Plan To Identify TOD Opportunity Sites of the Task Force Report
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Yes |
Yes |
Didn’t Vote On This Item |
Establish Committee to Develop TOD Guidelines And Adopt TOD Opportunity Sites Within 9 Months |
Yes |
