AGENDA #4p
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area 2030 Regional Transportation Plan Schedule and Process.
DATE: November 24 , 2003
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide the Council with a status report on the development of a Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan. The attached resolution would refer the 2023 socio-economic projections to the Planning Board for comment and would call a public forum on the 2030 projections for January 12, 2004.
BACKGROUND
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area adopted a 2025 Long Range Transportation Plan in May, 2003. Federal regulations require that the Plan be updated no later than January 1, 2006. In order to meet both an Environmental Protection Agency deadline of April 2005, and a requirement to update the Regional Plan by January, 2006, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area has proposed to update the 2025 Plan and prepare a 2030 Plan. The schedule proposes that the Transportation Advisory Committee approve the 2030 Plan in October 2004.
The federal Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to designate areas as non-attainment or attainment following the adoption of new ambient air quality standards. The Environmental Protection Agency has begun the process of designating new non-attainment areas. As part of that process the State of North Carolina has submitted a recommendation to the Environmental Protection Agency for non-attainment areas.
The State recommendation includes Durham, Orange and a portion of northern Chatham County. Areas that are designated as non attainment must develop and adopt a 20 year long range transportation plan that can reduce the amount of air pollutants and meet a future air quality “budget”. Non-attainment areas that fail to meet the air quality budgets are designated non-conforming and have all federal transportation funds frozen until such time as they adopt a plan that show conformity.
It is expected that the Environmental Protection Agency will make a final decision on non-attainment areas by April 2004. Once the Environmental Protection Agency makes their final non attainment determination the Urban Area must complete an analysis of air quality conformity by April 2005, using the Regional Transportation Plan.
Related federal transportation regulations require that regional transportation plans be updated every three years. The existing 2025 Plan must be updated by May 2006.
DISCUSSION
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area has adopted a schedule for completing 2030 Plan and meeting the April, 2005 deadline for air quality conformity analysis (Attachment 1). The colored boxes indicate significant milestones or important decision points in the process. The red box designates final approval of the air quality conformity.
One of the first steps in that process is the development of socio-economic projections for 2030. Staff from the member jurisdictions have been working with staff from the Metropolitan Planning Organization to prepare draft 2030 projections for review. On November 12, 2003, the Transportation Advisory Committee reviewed and released for public comment the 2030 draft socio-economic projections.
We note that the 2025 projections were used in the development of population projections in the Town’s 2000 Comprehensive Plan and recommend that the Planning Board be asked to review and comment on the 2030 projections.
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area will hold a series of public workshops to review important elements of the 2030 Plan and the Transportation Advisory Committee will hold pubic hearings on to receive public comment. The public workshop in Chapel Hill is scheduled for December 4, 2003, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the Chapel Hill Public Library. The Transportation Advisory Committee will hold a public hearing on December 10, 2003, to receive public comment.
NEXT STEPS
We will begin reviewing the draft 2030 socio-economic data and propose to bring comments to the Council on January 12, 2004. We propose to provide the Planning Board with an opportunity to review and comment on the socio-economic data at its December 16, 2003 meeting.
The Transportation Advisory Committee will hold a public workshop on December 4, 2003, in Chapel Hill. The Transportation Advisory Committee will hold a public hearing on December 10th, but will accept public comment until January 14, 2004. The Transportation Advisory Committee is expected to review public comments and approve the 2030 projections on January 14, 2004.
MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION
Manager’s Recommendation: That the Council adopt the attached resolution, calling a public forum for January 12, 2004, on the 2030 Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area socio-economic and referring the projections to the Planning Board for comment.
ATTACHMENT
A RESOLUTION CALLING A PUBLIC FORUM ON THE DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO 2030 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROJECTIONS AND REFERRING THE 2030 PROJECTIONS TO THE TOWN PLANNING BOARD (2003-11-24/R-11)
WHEREAS, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area has begun the process to develop a 2030 Regional Transportation Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Transportation Advisory Committee has released for public comment the 2030 socio-economic projections;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby calls a public forum on the 2030 projections for January 12, 2004 in the Chapel Hill Council Chambers, 306 North Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, at 7:00 p.m.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council refers the 2030 projections to the Chapel Hill Planning Board for review and comment.
This, the 24th day of November, 2003.