AGENDA #3a(2)

Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 5:03 PM

To: Joyce Smith

Subject: Petition to the Town Council

The owner of the Village Apartments, 213 E. Franklin Street, LLC, hereby petitions the Town Council to request that its application for a Special Use Permit (to be submitted in August) receive expedited review.

The Village Apartments, at 213 E. Franklin Street, were built in 1937. The three-story building currently houses 35 small student-oriented rental units, and is badly in need of modernization.

213 E. Franklin Street, LLC wishes to convert the Village Apartments into a condominium with 8 units to be known as McCorkle Place. Seven of the units would be large three-bedroom condominiums designed for sale and one unit, in compliance with the Town’s goal of 15% affordable housing component, would be a two-bedroom apartment reserved for rental to a family meeting the Town’s guidelines.

The plan also calls for a reconfiguration of the site to reduce the number of parking spaces from 23 to 15, reduction of impervious surfaces, creation of a new buffer area along a section of Robertson Lane, improved traffic circulation, and reduced traffic.

The plan is designed to maintain the historic character of the building, leave the footprint of the existing structures unchanged, dramatically enhance the beauty of the property with extensive landscaping, rejuvenate a landmark property, and, by locating permanent residents in the Town Center, assist in achieving the Town’s goal of revitalization of the downtown area.

As a result of the most recent rezoning during which the property was zoned OI-1, the existing structures and improvements have a large number of Non-Conforming Features, including minimum street setbacks, maximum square footage, maximum building height, maximum impervious surfaces, and minimum parking, just to name a few.

It is these existing non-conformities, combined with the proposed improvements to the building (the installation of shed dormers and the creation of an attic unit), which require that a Special Use Permit (SUP) be issued. Were the property zoned TC-1, an SUP would not be required to make the proposed improvements.

The owner believes that the following public purposes will be served through an expedited review of this application. The proposed development will:

• Help achieve the Town’s goal of revitalizing the downtown area;

• Create permanent residential housing in the downtown area;

• Provide affordable housing in the Town Center;

• Improve stormwater management through a reduction in impervious surfaces on the property;

• Enhance resale values for neighboring properties;

• Increase the Town’s real estate tax base;

• Reduce traffic and improve traffic flow in the area;

• Enhance the beauty of the Historic District by rejuvenating a landmark building as per State Historic Preservation Standards; and

• Enhance the beauty of Franklin Street by extending the Streetscape project.

Sincerely yours,

Joe Patterson

7 Cobb Terrace

Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Tel # 919 933-5488

Fax # 919 933-0266