AGENDA #5f
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Request for Expedited Processing of Special Use Permit Modification Application for Eastowne 501 Office Building
DATE: November 24 , 2003
On November 17, 2003, the Town Council received a petition from Mr. Philip Post, representing TME Investments, regarding a proposed Special Use Permit Modification for the Eastowne 501 Office Building. The petition was referred to the Town Manager for review and recommendation. The petition requests expedited processing of a Special Use Permit Modification application. A copy of the petition is attached. We recommend no action on the request for expedited processing.
Expedited processing grants priority status for review at every step of the process, and grants priority status in being scheduled on agendas of advisory boards and the Town Council. A Special Use Permit Modification application would normally take nine months to a year to be reviewed by all the required boards and commissions and to be heard at a Public Hearing.
Following approval, an application normally takes four to five months to obtain approval of detailed construction drawings and final plans, prior to obtaining a Building Permit. The review process is often long because of the breadth and depth of review and analysis, and because many projects are usually being reviewed at any given time.
The November 12, 2001, approval authorized an office building at the corner of Eastowne Drive and Old Sterling Road (501 Eastowne Drive). Located in the Office/Institutional-2 (OI-2) zoning district, the 2001 Special Use Permit authorized a three-story building including 36,709 square feet of floor area and 131 parking spaces. At least 18 of the 131 parking spaces were to be placed under the building.
On November 17, 2003, the Town Council considered a Concept Plan for a modification to the previously approved office building. The Concept Plan proposed to instead construct a two-level 30,000 square foot office building with 107 parking spaces. Typically, once the Council approves a Special Use Permit for a building, the Town Manager can approve a smaller building as a part of Final Plans. In this situation, a specific stipulation in the Special Use Permit mandates under building parking. No under building parking spaces were proposed with the Concept Plan submittal. Town staff cannot administratively exempt an applicant from such a specific Council condition of approval.
This proposal has not been evaluated under the new Land Use Management Ordinance regulations. A complete staff review will be conducted when a formal Special Use Permit Modification application is submitted.
1. Recommend expedited processing only in cases where there is a public interest or public objective involved.
2. Recommend expedited processing only when a project that involves public interest would be harmed by following normal rules of procedure.
3. Avoid expedited processing in situations where other applications that do not carry this special status would be delayed.
Regarding the request for expedited processing, we did not find justification for granting expedited processing as we reviewed the petition submitted by Mr. Post for the 501 Eastowne Drive project. The proposal involves a change to a proposed office building. We do not believe that public interest or public objectives would be viewed as being addressed by this proposal. We believe that the application will need to be reviewed in the context of the new Land Use Management Ordinance, including changed provisions regarding stormwater management and the Resource Conservation District.
Several development applications are currently working toward being placed on the Council’s Public Hearing schedule. The impact of granting expedited processing for this office building application is that one less space would be available on the Council’s schedule for which other applications are competing.
Projects that have been granted expedited processing in the past are listed in Attachment 1.
Manager’s Recommendation: We recommend that the Council take no action on the petition requesting expedited processing.
If the Council chooses to grant expedited processing, adoption of the attached resolution would grant the request.
ATTACHMENTS
1. List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing (p. 5).
2. Memorandum from Mr. Philip Post (p. 7).
A RESOLUTION DIRECTING EXPEDITED PROCESSING IN THE REVIEW OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT MODIFICATION APPLICATION FOR THE EASTOWNE 501 OFFICE BUILDING (2003-11-24/R-11)
WHEREAS, the Town Council has received a petition from Mr. Philip Post representing TME Investments for expedited processing of a Special Use Permit Modification application seeking approval of changes to the previously approved Eastowne 501 Office Building; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council finds that there is a public interest associated with the proposed changes;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Town Manager is directed to expedite processing of a Special Use Permit Modification application for changes to the office building in a manner that will speed review without sacrificing breadth or depth of review.
This the 24th day of November, 2003.
List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing
November 24, 2003
After receiving staff recommendations based on these criteria, since 1993 the Council has approved expedited processing for:
Ø Intimate Bookshop,
Ø Erwin Village Subdivision,
Ø Ruth Faison Shaw Museum,
Ø Chapel Hill Public Library,
Ø Chapel Hill Public Housing,
Ø Culbreth Park Subdivision,
Ø East Chapel Hill High School,
Ø Orange County Southern Human Services Center,
Ø Hargraves Gymnasium addition,
Ø Transitional Housing on Clark Road,
Ø Chapel Hill Day Care at Southern Village,
Ø Bolin Creek Greenway Phase II,
Ø Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Transportation Center,
Ø WUNC Tower request,
Ø Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center,
Ø Pavilion,
Ø Southern Village Elementary School,
Ø Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity,
Ø Neville Tract,
Ø McDade House relocation,
Ø Freedom House,
Ø Orange Community Housing Corporation Scarlette Housing,
Ø Kenan Stadium Expansion,
Ø UNC Co-generation Facility Boiler Replacement,
Ø Chapel Hill Internal Medicine,
Ø Midway Business Center,
Ø Carol Woods Retirement Community (for Village Charter School use),
Ø University Mall Redevelopment,
Ø Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity House,
Ø Greene Tract rezoning,
Ø Manley Estates Housing,
Ø University Fraternity and Sorority applications (sprinkler projects),
Ø Carol Woods Retirement Center (for day care addition, dining hall expansion and new units),
Ø Church of the Holy Family Expansion,
Ø Eastwood Lake Project,
Ø Chapel Hill Pediatrics,
Ø UNC Airport Drive Office Building,
Ø Rams Plaza Renovations,
Ø Meadowmont School/Park,
Ø Meadowmont Wachovia Bank,
Ø Orange County Landfill,
Ø Rosemary Street Mixed Use Development,
Ø Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center,
Ø Rusch Road Habitat for Humanity Subdivision,
Ø Village Plaza Shopping Center,
Ø Meadowmont Hilltop and Greenway Condominium,
Ø Empowerment, 229 North Graham Street,
Ø Red, Hot and Blue Restaurant at Village Plaza,
Ø UNC Print Services,
Ø Town of Chapel Hill Operation Center, and
Ø Eastgate Shopping Center gas station conversion.
Requests for this special application processing by East Franklin Car Care, Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, an application for parking and refuse facilities at 317 W. Rosemary Street, The Franklin Hotel, Eastowne 501 Office Building, and Avalon Park Subdivision were not approved by the Town Council.