ATTACHMENT 1

Excerpt from DRAFT Minutes of the October 27, 2003 Chapel Hill Town Council Meeting

PUBLIC FORUM: RECOMMENDED PRINCIPLES, GOALS AND STRATEGIES FOR THE HORACE WILLIAMS PROPERTY (CAROLINA NORTH)

SUMMARY OF CITIZENS' COMMENTS

· Thatcher Freund commended the Committee for a job so well done that he could find no fault in it.  All of the points the Committee had made were critical, he said, but he recommended working on the especially contentious ones first.  These include traffic congestion on Airport Road and neighborhood streets and the resulting threat of the degradation of existing neighborhoods.  Mr. Freund suggested that the Town limit commuter parking so there would not be a superhighway through Weaver Dairy Extension to Homestead Road.  He stressed the need for adequate parking for residents to keep traffic from spilling over into neighborhoods.

Mr. Freund recommended developing creative alternatives to transit, such as using the rail line that runs from Hillsborough to Downtown Chapel Hill. Mr. Freund recommended preserving 75% of the open space as the Committee had recommended.  Doing so would mean reaching consensus on the largest issue facing the Town, he said.  Mr. Freund stated that if UNC respects the Town's powers over zoning and the Town respects the University's legitimate needs, then the Town would have something it could be proud of.

· Rudy Juliano praised the Committee for its visionary report, but expressed concern about Goal 1A/Subsection B, which proposed enhancing bus service on Airport Road and continuing to study a fixed guideway corridor.  This approach is fundamentally flawed and would do a major disservice to neighborhoods in the northern part of Chapel Hill, he said.  Mr. Juliano stressed that traffic between Carolina North and the UNC campus should use a dedicated corridor that is isolated from local street traffic.  Otherwise, he said, traffic will be jammed on Airport Road from Estes Drive to Weaver Dairy Road and will spill out onto neighborhood streets.

· Paul Wilson, speaking for the Lake Ellen Homeowners Association, addressed the issue of stormwater runoff from Carolina North.  UNC needs to take strong proactive measures to see that there will not be sewage spills, downstream flooding, and damage to the Lake Ellen Dam, he said, and asked, "If they get it wrong, who pays?"

· Horace Williams Citizens Committee Member Al Burk, speaking as a Northhaven resident, asked the Council to specifically address the following points when looking at UNC's proposals for Carolina North: 

o Be conscious that the 2003 plan will likely move Carolina North to the southern border.  Due to the proximity of Northhaven, Ironwoods and Elkin Hills, the development should be re-centered on the Horace Williams tract.

o Surround existing neighborhoods with ample, irrevocable, protective buffers through zoning or whatever means necessary.

o Remediate all hazardous waste sites before Carolina North construction begins or deal with it promptly as part of the construction.

o Require a fixed guideway transit corridor between Carolina North and the main campus to minimize traffic and parking impacts of Carolina North. 

· Jay Brenman pointed out that Carolina North would be huge and that allowing UNC to put an auto corridor in a residential neighborhood would not be like allowing a private developer to put in a road for Meadowmont.  Many of UNC's plans include having Weaver Dairy Road link into Weaver Dairy Extension in a “Cary Parkway” fashion, he said.  Mr. Brenman noted that Weaver Dairy Extension was100% residential and the second largest school district in Chapel Hill.  If traffic coming from I-40 were allowed to travel through this neighborhood to gain access to Chapel Hill North that would greatly degrade the neighborhood, he said.  Mr. Brenman proposed that the Town Council not allow that cut-through.

· Northwoods resident Lauren Eastham described having an entrance at Homestead Road as a violation of UNC's stated principle of respecting the privacy and integrity of adjoining neighborhoods.  She said that Weaver Dairy Extension was a neighborhood road filled with children who play on both sides of the street and in the median.  People frequently cross that road, she explained, adding that the Weaver Dairy Extension actually splits the Vineyard Square neighborhood in two.  Ms. Eastham reported that realtors were continuing to tell people that Vineyard Square would be a quiet, residential neighborhood.  Realtors had not been mentioning Carolina North or the potential for a four-lane thoroughfare through that area, she said.

· Cam Hill, a Citizens Committee member, proposed that problems of affordable housing, traffic and air pollution could be effectively addressed if UNC would house more of its students in dormitories.  For every 1,000 students housed in dormitories an additional 250-300 affordable housing units would become available to the rest of the community, he said.  Mr. Hill said that this was not just an opportunity but a necessity if the Town was to absorb that development.

· Diane Vandenbroek said that positioning Carolina North on the southern part of the Horace Williams tract would upset the environment.  It would mean that the road from Homestead Road to Carolina North would cut through a natural area and cross a deep ravine, she said.

· UNC Vice Chancellor for Research Tony Waldrop, who is leading the Carolina North planning efforts, explained that he had presented a draft plan to the Carolina North Advisory Committee, which consists of UNC personnel, individuals from the community, Council members, Carrboro Board of Aldermen members, and Orange County Commission members.  The Advisory Committee would hold an open public meeting in mid-November, he said.  Mr. Waldrop emphasized that UNC welcomed feedback from any group that wanted to comment on the draft plan.  He looked forward to working with the Town Council and other entities in the community to make this a positive activity, he said.

Council Member Bateman clarified that the Advisory Committee consists of four different committees, and that the draft would be presented to all four together.  She asked Mr. Waldrop to comment on UNC's timetable.  Mr. Waldrop replied that this would depend on the amount of feedback they receive and the time it takes to turn that into draft recommendations for the Carolina North Executive Committee.  They would like to do it in the next six month, he said, but stressed that they would take the time necessary to address concerns in a true partnership.

Mayor Foy pointed out that there was a parallel process going on.  The Town had asked for a Citizens Advisory Committee to develop some principles that the Town and Council could base its comments on as UNC moves forward.  He noted that UNC also has advisory committees, to which Council Members Bateman and Ward represent the Town Council and Cam Hill and Ruby Sinreich are the Town's appointees.

Council Member Harrison inquired about the composition of the Executive Committee.  Mr. Waldrop replied that it consisted of the Chancellor, Provost, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, himself, and three members of the Board of Trustees. Council Member Harrison ascertained that the Executive Committee would be the final decision-making body, from UNC's standpoint.

Council Member Wiggins asked when the Council's recommendations and the results of the Citizens Committee's work could best be plugged into UNC's process. Mr. Waldrop replied that UNC already had read the Committee's report and had started to compare that with its own plan.  He hoped there would not be a single timeframe but that all would work together while moving forward and implementing the project, he said.

Council Member Wiggins pointed out that some of tonight's comments had differed from the Citizen Committee's report.  She requested that UNC reference in its report where the Citizens Committee's recommendations had informed or been compatible with UNC's plans.  Mr. Waldrop replied that it would not be possible to do that on a point by point basis. But, UNC could indicate where they had listened to the Committee, he said.

Council Member Wiggins suggested that this be done as specifically as possible so that everyone on the Citizens Committee could see that their work was meaningful and had been incorporated into UNC's report.

Mayor pro tem Evans asked Mr. Waldrop to invite the Citizens Committee when he presents the report to the Advisory Committee.  Mr. Waldrop replied that he would extend an invitation to anyone interested in attending.

· Steve Scroggs, Assistant Superintendent for Support Services for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, stressed the need for a school site within the Carolina North complex.  The School System has a history of collaborating with UNC, he said, giving the Frank Porter Graham School and Scroggs Elementary School as examples.  Mr. Scroggs argued that having a school on the Carolina North site would make sense in terms of UNC's sustainability, walkability and livability goals.  With regard to the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, he noted the need to make infrastructure and capacity gains in a very timely manner. 

· Diane Bachman recommended holding a symposium to draft a solution that must be rationalized with various transportation plans.  She said that having a state-of-the-art goal would maximize the Town's opportunity to minimize road widening and to protect all neighborhoods from congestion, pollution, and added safety risks.  Ms. Bachman spoke in favor of breaking the one car/one driver syndrome.  She suggested adding attached-only housing to affordable housing goals.  Ms. Bachman raised the possibility of having more than one orientation to Airport Road.  She suggested considering alternative transportation and developing standards for scalable buffers with hard edges to protect neighborhoods from noise.

· Sally Greene, a Planning Board member, discussed the Carolina North site's four, or more, waste dumps, at least two of which were toxic and one of which had benzene levels reported at 30,000 times allowable State levels.  These chemicals were "surely" making their way downstream toward Lake Ellen, Lake Forest and Booker Creek, Ms. Greene said.  She stated that UNC representatives had claimed a clean-up would interfere with development.  But she proposed that UNC had a report which includes a plan and timetable for cleaning up the high benzene site.  Ms. Greene told Council members that the estimated cost of cleanup would be $15-$25 million.  Cleanup would take 20 years, and the tract could be developed around that site, she said.

Ms. Greene noted that UNC had received money from the State for a characterization study, which would be a first step in the cleanup.  She urged UNC to clean the site up for reasons of community health and environmental stewardship.  Then, UNC would truly be a model research university by setting an example of civic responsibility, she said.  Ms. Greene characterized one Citizens Committee recommendation as "weak."  She said that it should have read as follows:   "The remediation of all hazardous waste sites at Horace Williams shall begin promptly and be pursued diligently until complete."