AGENDA #8a
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Randy Kabrick, P.E.
Chair, Horace Williams Citizens Committee
SUBJECT: Comparison of the University’s May 5, 2004 Presentation on Carolina North with Principles, Goals and Strategies for the Horace Williams Property (Carolina North)
DATE: October 11, 2004
On behalf of the Horace Williams Citizens Committee (Committee), I am pleased to transmit our analysis comparing the University of North Carolina’s May 5, 2004, presentation on plans for Carolina North with the Principles, Goals and Strategies for Guiding the Development of the Horace Williams Property (please see Attachment 1).
On May 24, 2004, the Council referred the University’s presentation to the Committee for feedback on how the University’s plans, as presented to the Council on May 5, 2004, match up with the Committee’s Principles, Goals and Strategies report.
BACKGROUND
On October 7, 2002, the Town Council adopted a resolution establishing a charge for the creation of a Horace Williams Citizens Committee. The 22-member Committee began meeting in March 2003.
The Committee submitted a draft of the Principles, Goals and Strategies for Guiding the Development of the Horace Williams Property (Carolina North) to the Council on October 27, 2003, for consideration. The report responded to the Council’s charge to “develop a set of Principles, including community interests and goals and objectives, to guide the Council’s deliberations with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill regarding the development” of the Horace Williams property (Carolina North).
The Committee presented its final Principles, Goals and Strategies report to the Council on January 28, 2004.
On March 22, 2004, the Council adopted a resolution accepting the report and stated that the Council would “carefully review each of the recommendations to determine which ones need further work and how to go about doing so.” The Council also called for transmitting the report to the UNC Board of Trustees, which was done on April 5, 2004.
At a special meeting of the Town Council on May 5, 2004, the University gave a PowerPoint presentation titled “Carolina North: Conceptual Draft Master Plan.” On May 24, 2004, the Council referred the University’s presentation to the Committee with instructions to compare the Principles, Goals and Strategies document with the University’s plan.
Process
Over the summer the Committee met in subcommittees to compare how the University’s presentation addressed the Principles, Goals and Strategies report. The Committee reconvened in August and September 2004 to review the subcommittee’s comments and discuss comments of the full Committee to be included in the comparative analysis submitted tonight.
The Committee completed the analysis worksheet at its meeting on September 30, 2004.
Format
The attached analysis (Attachment 1) is formatted in two columns. The Principles, Goals and Strategies from the Committee’s final report are listed in the left-hand column. The Committee’s comments on the University’s plans in relation to our final report are listed in the right-hand column. The comments are placed near the relevant principle, goal or strategy in the left-hand column.
The analysis does not comment on each principle, goal and strategy. We felt that many aspects of the Carolina North Conceptual Draft Master Plan were not detailed enough to allow for a comment on each principle, goal and strategy. In particular, we noted that the University has not responded to many questions the Council transmitted to the University on April 28, 2004 (please see Attachment 2).
NEXT STEPS
The Committee has not scheduled additional meetings. We stand ready to carry out additional tasks in the Council’s charge to us when requested to do so. The Council’s charge includes the following tasks requiring the continued involvement of the Committee:
· Provide advice to the Council concerning Town input to the University related to those Principles that should be considered as the University’s plan is prepared.
· Keep the Council informed about work in progress on a regular basis.
· Propose a process for Council consideration identifying points in the process where Public Hearings and Forums would be appropriate, to be able to bring information to the attention of the community and provide opportunity for citizen comment.
· Prepare recommendations for the Council's consideration regarding the University's plan for the Horace Williams property once a proposal is developed.
· Provide advice to the Council about ways to incorporate these Principles into the Council's ultimate zoning and ordinances for the Horace Williams property.
CONCLUSION
The Carolina North Draft Conceptual Master Plan contained insufficient detail for a complete comparison to the Committee’s Principles, Goals and Strategies report. To obtain the needed detail, we request that the Council ask the University to respond to the Principles, Goals and Strategies adopted by the Council, and to the Council's Letter of April 28, 2004.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Comparison of the University’s May 5, 2004, Presentation on Carolina North with Principles, Goals and Strategies for the Horace Williams Property (Carolina North), October 11, 2004 (begin new page 1).
2. Letter from Mayor Kevin Foy to Chancellor James Moeser, April 28, 2004 (p. 19).