AGENDA #7

MEMORANDUM
TO:	Mayor and Town Council
FROM:	Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
SUBJECT:	Public Hearing:  Possible Extension of Development Moratorium in the Northern Area Action Item:  Implementation Proposals for the Northern Area
DATE:	January 14, 2008

PURPOSE

Tonight, the Council holds a Public Hearing to consider two related matters:

• Extension of the temporary development moratorium in the Northern Area; and
• Consideration of implementation proposals for the Northern Area.

I recommend concluding the Northern Area moratorium and beginning implementation of the Northern Area Task Force recommendations as follows:

• Take no action on the Ordinance to extend the temporary development moratorium, thereby ending further consideration of this item. In consultation with the Planning staff and the Town Attorney, I do not believe that the legally required basis for extension of this moratorium can be demonstrated. Please refer to the attached memorandum, Possible Extension of Development Moratorium in the Northern Area, for additional information.

• Adopt the Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force and associated amendment to the Land Use Plan, both as components of the Comprehensive Plan. Once adopted, they will be a guide for land use decisions. I also recommend an associated Action Plan regarding the future of the Town as we approach build-out. Please refer to the attached memorandum, Implementation Proposals for the Northern Area, for a more detailed description of the proposed Action Plan.

DISCUSSION

The Northern Area Task Force Report provided a vision statement, goals and objectives to shape the type of development envisioned for the Northern Area and included recommendations for future development in focus areas within the Northern Area. The focus area recommendations generally outline the preferred form and density of development and redevelopment.

In order to conclude the Northern Area moratorium and to implement the recommendations of the Northern Area Task Force, I recommend the Council consider the following actions:

1. Adopt Resolution A, amending the Comprehensive Plan to adopt the Final Report of the Northern Area Task Force and amending the Land Use Plan, a component of the Comprehensive Plan, to include “Development Opportunity Areas” in addition to those areas currently on the Land Use Plan (see Attached Map on Implementation Proposals for the Northern Area memorandum).

Incorporation the Northern Area Task Force recommendations into the Comprehensive Plan and amend the Land Use Plan, consistent with other Town-wide initiatives to inform the Council’s discussion regarding transit-oriented development. Upon adoption, the documents will be a guide to land use related decisions in the Northern Area.

2. Complete Town-wide initiatives, which are currently underway, and implement the proposed Action Plan below to better inform development decisions in the Northern Area. These current initiatives and recommended Action Plan are as follows:

Initiatives Currently Underway:

• The Higher Density Development Steering Committee, a staff group I appointed, to better understand the cost/benefits of service implications of higher density residential development, will report to the Council early in 2008.
• The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan is being developed. As part of that process, the Council approved 2035 housing and employment projections which identify more intense development areas along major transportation corridors throughout the community.
• The Long Range Transit Plan is currently being developed by a consultant for the Town. The LRTP is being developed using the adopted 2035 land use projections, which include the identification of potential transit oriented development sites intended to support the goal of increasing transit usage throughout the community. The LRTP is anticipated to include those sites and recommend additional locations for transit oriented development.

Action Plan:

• Adopt Resolution B indicating the Council’s interest in future development applications incorporating the realignment of University Station Road with a new entrance at Timberlyne Shopping Center, as identified in the Northern Area Task Force Report.
• Continue discussions of a Strategic Plan process at the upcoming Council Retreat to review the assumptions that are the basis for development recommendations and decisions.
• Acquire community impact modeling (transportation, environmental, and fiscal) and visualization software (visual impact) to assess community impacts of development.
• Consider developing the capacity to perform community impact modeling.
• Appoint a committee, composed of representatives from Town advisory boards, to oversee the work of a consultant to prepare transit oriented development design guidelines and transit oriented zoning districts.
• Create higher density residential zoning districts to accommodate higher density residential development. These districts could be applied, at the Council’s discretion, in conjunction with development applications.
• Analyze data from the Carolina North fiscal equity study, which may provide valuable information for the Town’s modeling efforts.

Please refer to the attached memorandum, Implementation Proposals for the Northern Area, for more detail regarding coordination with other planning efforts. Please also refer to the timeline attached to that memorandum.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Moratorium Extension: I recommend that the Council take no action regarding the extension of the temporary development moratorium in the Northern Area and conclude discussion of the moratorium.

Implementation Proposals for the Northern Area: In regard to the related Northern Area item, Implementation Proposals for the Northern Area, I recommend that the Council take the following actions tonight:

• Adopt Resolution A amending the Comprehensive Plan to adopt the Final Report of the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force and amending the Land Use Plan a component of the Comprehensive Plan, to include “Development Opportunity Areas;”
• Continue initiatives currently underway including the work of the staff Higher Density Development Steering Committee and the Long Range Transit Plan, being developed as a component of the Comprehensive Plan; and
• Implement Action Plan and endorse the bulleted list of Action Plan items indicated in the Discussion Section immediately above; and
• Adopt Resolution B indicating the Council’s interest in future development applications incorporating the realignment of University Station Road with a new entrance at Timberlyne Shopping Center, in accordance with the Task Force Report.

Please see the two attached memoranda for additional discussion.