AGENDA #4j

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Expedited Treatment for Special Use Permit Application for Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

 

DATE:             May 24, 2004

 

On May 3, 2004, the Town Council received a petition from Dan Lehman, representing the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church regarding expedited processing for the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church project.  The petition was referred to staff for review and recommendation.   The petition request expedited processing of a Special Use Permit application.  A copy of the petition is attached.  The attached resolution would authorize expedited processing of this application.  We recommend adoption of the resolution.

 

BACKGROUND

 

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 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 three to four 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.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Request:  The petition requests Expedited Processing status of a Special Use Permit application.  The application proposes to demolish the existing structure and replace it with a new sanctuary space for the Church.  The Historic District Commission had a Concept Plan review of the application on May 13, 2004 and their comments are attached.  We have not received a formal Special Use Permit application.

 

Expedited Processing:  We have generally followed the criteria listed below in making recommendations to Council on requests for expedited processing.

 

  1. Recommend expedited processing only in cases where there is a public interest or public objective involved.

 

  1. Recommend expedited processing only when a project that involves public interest would be harmed by following normal rules of procedure.

 

  1. Avoid expedited processing in situations where other applications that do not carry this special status would be delayed.

 

Several development applications are currently working toward being placed on the Council’s Public Hearing schedule.  The impact of granting expedited processing for the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church 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 are identified in Attachment 3.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Manager’s Recommendation:  We believe that expedited review is justified in this case, because demolition of the existing building and construction of a new facility would improve the safety of the immediate neighborhood and the community in general.  We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution directing the Town Manager to expedite processing of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

  1. Petition requesting Expedited Processing (p. 4).
  2. Historic District Commission Concept Plan Proposal comments (p. 5).
  3. List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing (p. 6).

A RESOLUTION DIRECTING EXPEDITED PROCESSING IN THE REVIEW OF SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR THE HOLY TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH (2004-05-24/R-7)

 

WHEREAS, the Town of Chapel Hill has received a petition for the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church requesting expedited processing of a Special Use Permit application seeking approval of a new sanctuary building; and

 

WHEREAS, the proposal would satisfy a public purpose objective;

 

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 application for the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in a manner that will speed review without sacrificing breadth or depth of analysis.

 

This the 24th day of May, 2004.