Item #3

 

Background Information for a Discussion of Carolina North among

Members of Chapel Hill Town Council and

Members of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees Buildings and Grounds Committee and University Administration

 

September 25, 2008

 

 

I.          Introduction

 

The Chapel Hill Town Council adopted a resolution on June 25, 2008, that authorized “the Mayor to appoint Council members to meet with University representatives over the summer to plan a work session with the full Council and members of the Board of Trustees in September.”  The objective of the work session is to provide a public educational session designed to better understand options for guiding development at Carolina North.  The work session has been scheduled for Thursday, September 25, 2008.  That same resolution of June 25 also authorized the continued joint work of the Town and University staffs in preparation for this work session.  This document provides historical background on previous planning work related to the Carolina North site.  This document also provides status information regarding three foundation studies related to the proposed Carolina North development.

 

II.         Historical Information

 

A.        Previous cycles of planning for Carolina North

 

  1. Planning in the Mid-1990s           

 

Four University committees plus committees representing each of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, working with the firms of JJR Incorporated and Parson Brinckerhoff, produced a report that considered both the Horace Williams Property and the Mason Farm Property (including the area containing the Friday Center and the so-called Parker Property).  The report summarizing this work was completed in 1998 and can be viewed online at http://research.unc.edu/cn/jjr_report.pdf.  

 

  1. Planning in the Late 1990s

 

As the main campus master planning process with assistance from the firm of Ayers Saint Gross (ASG) was getting under way, the University formed an advisory committee consisting of administrators, faculty, and members of the community to consider utilization of the Horace Williams Property.  The product of this work was a land use plan (the 2001 plan) that assumed continued operation of the Horace Williams Airport in conjunction with development that would have occurred in both Chapel Hill and Carrboro.  This plan is available online at http://research.unc.edu/cn/asg_present.ppt.

 

  1. Planning in the Early 2000s

 

Reconsideration of the interaction between the status of the HW Airport and any development on the adjoining property led to the creation of a new land use plan in May 2004 that assumed closure of the HW Airport.  A PowerPoint presentation of the 2004 plan for Carolina North is available at http://research.unc.edu/cn/ASG2004.ppt. The Horace Williams Citizens Committee (HWCC) was formed in 2003 (in parallel with the planning that produced the 2004 plan for Carolina North).  The HWCC report of March 2004 was adopted as Town policy.  (Please see Appendix A for a copy of this report and the resolution.)  The University prepared a written response to this report. 

 

  1. Planning Cycle of 2006

 

Chancellor Moeser formed the Leadership Advisory Committee (LAC) in early 2006 with University administrators, faculty, and technical experts augmented by representatives from Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, the Chamber of Commerce, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board, Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), EmPOWERment, Inc., and the State of North Carolina.  The LAC was charged to develop consensus principles that could serve as a basis for planning for Carolina North.  The LAC report was completed and submitted to the Chancellor at the end of January 2007.  The report and its appendices are referenced further below (Section III.A.3).  Planning for Carolina North proceeded from that point, culminating in the land use plan (the 2007 plan for Carolina North) that has been approved by the University’s Board of Trustees.

 

B.        Master Plan for the UNC Main Campus and Carolina North

 

The Master Plan for the UNC Main Campus was first completed and approved in March 2001.  The most recently updated version of the Master Plan was completed in March 2006 and is available at http://www.fpc.unc.edu/Portals/0/Documents/Plans/MasterPlan/UNC-Update061907.pdf.  With approval of the bond referendum in the fall of 2000 and the University’s subsequent allocation of additional funds for new construction, renovation, and infrastructure, essentially all of the opportunities for development on the main campus identified in the Master Plan have been either used or committed. Carolina North represents the primary opportunity for expansion of core University activities.  Carolina North also represents an opportunity to extend the University’s research mission, strengthen research connections with the private sector, and enhance contributions to economic development.

 

The Carolina Innovation Center concept has been discussed between officials of UNC-Chapel Hill and Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., since 2004.  The Center’s objective is to meet the University’s need for a facility that will enable the University and its faculty who have created intellectual property to form companies and pursue the commercialization of these innovations.  The Innovation Center is intended to be the first project in the larger Carolina North development.

 

C.           Community Input to University’s Planning for Carolina North

 

  1. The Horace Williams Citizens Committee report is mentioned earlier (see Section II.A.3).  The results of this report are reflected as inputs to the work and report of the Leadership Advisory Committee and its appendices (see further reference below in Section III.A.3).

 

  1. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce prepared a document titled “Principles for the Development of Carolina North” that was adopted by the Chamber Board of Directors in March 2006.  The results of this report are reflected as inputs to the work and report of the Leadership Advisory Committee and its appendices (see further reference below in Section III.A.3).

 

  1. Inputs for consideration by the Leadership Advisory Committee were received from other community constituencies during the course of the LAC meetings.  They are reflected as inputs to the work and report of the Leadership Advisory Committee and its appendices (see further reference below in Section III.A.3).

 

III.           Current Plans and Studies

 

The Horace Williams Citizens Committee report recommended three “foundation studies” related to the planning for Carolina North.  One of those studies has been completed and the other two should be completed by mid-November, as summarized below.

 

A.   Ecological Assessment

 

Through the architectural firm Ayers Saint Gross, the University engaged Biohabitats, Inc., to conduct a comprehensive ecological assessment of the entire Carolina North property and to provide advice on which portions of the site were most suitable for development and which portions were most suitable for conservation.  That work has been completed and the final report for the ecological assessment can be accessed at http://research.unc.edu/cn/ecological_assessment.pdf. As a result of the work in the ecological assessment, the University’s 50-year land use plan is concentrated on portions of the Carolina North site that have previously been disturbed or developed.

 

B.   Transit Study

 

The towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have jointly sponsored a long range transit study that is specifically considering the likely impact of the proposed development of Carolina North.  A Monitoring Committee with representation from the three sponsors selected the firm of TranSystem to conduct this study and their work is nearing completion.  The Monitoring Committee plans one additional meeting in October with the consultant to hear their financial evaluation of the primary investment opportunities.  Following that meeting the remaining work will consist of preparation and presentation of the final report.  Completion is expected in early November.

 

C.   Fiscal Impact Analysis

 

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill agreed to fund a fiscal impact analysis that would evaluate the impact of the development at Carolina North.  An Oversight Committee consisting of representatives from the two towns, Orange County, and the University selected the firm of TischlerBise to conduct this work and their work is also nearing completion. The final report is expected in late October or early November it will contain a projection of the baseline impact of Carolina North that will include separate projections of direct impact (costs and revenues) indirect impact (costs and  revenues).  With their final report, TischlerBise will also deliver to the University the model that they are using for analysis and they will provide training so that additional scenarios of interest can be explored by either of the two towns, Orange County, or the University.

 

D.   Carolina North Plan

 

The Chapel Hill Town Council and the University’s Board of Trustees held a work session on Sunday, January 13, 2008, in which the participants held an informal discussion of the University’s 50-year development plan.  The report by Ayers Saint Gross that describes the plan can be accessed at http://research.unc.edu/cn/CNPlan_2007.pdf.