CONCEPT PLAN REVIEW SUMMARY MINUTES
HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2007, 7:30 P.M.

Vice-Chairperson Stephen Rich called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Commission members present were Susan Smith, Sarah David, Stephen Rich, Louise Winstanly, Jim White, and Jennifer Koach. Staff members present were Dana Stidham and Renee Zimmerman.

UNC WESLEY FOUNDATION  (FILE 9788-35-4796)

The Town has received from the Wesley Foundation a request for a Concept Plan Review to demolish an existing building located at 214 Pittsboro Street and construct a 5-story building with 70,000 square-feet of floor area, including 22 dwelling units and 51 parking spaces. New floor area proposed is 70,000 square feet. The .673-acre site is located on the west side of South Pittsboro Street between Cameron Avenue and McCauley Street. The site is located in the Office-Industrial-2 (OI-2) zoning district and the Cameron-McCauley Historic District and is identified as Orange County Parcel Identifier Number 9788-35-4796.

CONCEPT PLAN PRESENTATION

The applicant presented a concept plan for a 5-story building with 70,000 square feet of floor area, including 22 dwelling units and 51 parking spaces at its current site on Pittsboro Street. A rezoning would be required to allow the proposed floor area.

The applicant also indicated to the Commission that the Wesley Foundation may have the opportunity to utilize an alternate site on Franklin Street, at 223 East Franklin Street.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

  1. A neighborhood resident expressed concerns about the congruity, height, and massing of the proposed building, as well as concerns about the precedent that would be set by the rezoning, in the context of concerns about the pressures facing the neighborhood.
  2. A second neighborhood resident indicated that although not opposed to the Wesley House and its mission, the existing development is already nonconforming with regard to floor area. The citizen expressed opposition to the rezoning and to the size of the project.
  3. A third neighborhood resident focused on the height of the proposed building, using the example that placing such a building on Pittsboro Street would be like placing the Bank of America building on Pittsboro Street. The citizen also expressed concern about the feasibility of parking.

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

  1. Commissioner Susan Smith expressed her belief that the design was too large in comparison to other existing buildings, while recognizing that a lot has been done to mitigate that on the Pittsboro Street side. She appreciated the effort in trying to create parking as well as the effort to keep the building users on campus, in a historical context.

    2. Commissioner Smith was not in favor of locating the building at the Franklin Street site, due to her concerns about tearing down a historic building.

    Commissioner Smith appreciated the need for the applicant to do something because of the state of the existing building, understanding the need to make enough money for the project to be viable, but maintained her concerns about the scale.

  2. Commissioner Sarah David expressed concern that about the proposed scale being too large and the building being too big for the location, although recognizing that the architects did a good job of trying to offset the massing. Commissioner David expressed concerned about the traffic impacts, despite the proposed use of innovative parking techniques.
  3. Commissioner Stephen Rich liked the design of the building (also acknowledging the innovative parking), but shared the concern about its size.

    4. Commissioner Rich thought that the center would fit well on Franklin Street, in the context of the other churches in that area, but acknowledged that it would require demolition of the existing old building, and requested that the applicant be aware of scale even in that location.

  4. Commissioner Louise Winstanly echoed Commissioner David’s comments regarding size and expressed opposition to the proposal to use the Franklin Street site.
  5. Commissioner Jim White concurred with the rest of the Commission.
  6. Commissioner Jennifer Koach indicated concern that the massing planned for the Pittsboro site is too large but does not like the idea of the Franklin Street site either, because of the necessity to tear down the existing historic building on that site.

Prepared for:    Stephen Rich, Vice-Chair
Prepared by:     Dana Stidham, Staff