AGENDA #4g

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Request for Expedited Processing of Special Use Permit Application for the Sunrise Road Habitat for Humanity Development

 

DATE:             November 8, 2004

 

 

On October 18, 2004, the Town Council heard an oral petition from Habitat for Humanity, and referred it to the Town Manager for review and recommendation. The petition requests expedited processing of a Special Use Permit application for the Sunrise Road Development.  We recommend adoption of the attached resolution, which would authorize expedited processing of this application.

 

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 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.

 

Of thirteen applications currently seeking Town Council approval, eight have expedited processing status.  The following current applications awaiting Council review have previously been granted Expedited Processing:

 

·            Eastgate Shopping Center – Starbucks (Expedited Processing granted November 10, 2003);

·            229 North Graham Street – EmPOWERment Zoning Atlas Amendment and Special Use Permit (Expedited Processing granted September 23, 2002);

·            Southern Community Park Special Use Permit (Expedited Processing granted March 22, 2004);

·            Homestead Park Aquatic Center Special Use Permit Modification (Expedited Processing granted March 22, 2004);

·            Holy Trinity Church Special Use Permit (Expedited Processing granted May 24, 2004);

·            OWASA I-40 Booster Pump Station Special Use Permit (Expedited Processing granted June 30, 2004);

·            Southern Orange Senior Center Special Use Permit Modification (Expedited Processing granted September 27, 2004);

·            McCorkle Place Development Special Use Permit (Expedited Processing granted September 27, 2004).

 

The following active applications awaiting Council review do not have expedited status:

 

·            Chapel Watch Zoning Atlas Amendment and Special Use Permit;

·            The Farm Special Use Permit;

·            Montessori School Special Use Permit;

·            Wilson Assemblage Special Use Permit;

·            Chapel Hill North Special Use Permit.

 

Sixteen other applications that are in Final Plan review have recently been approved by the Town Council.  Of these sixteen applications that have been approved by the Town Council, eight have expedited processing status.  In total, of the applications both seeking approval and that have been approved by the Council, sixteen of the 29 applications have expedited processing status.

 

We believe that this application meets the Council’s criteria for granting expedited processing; however, because of the other 16 applications previously granted such status, there will likely not be much shortening of the review time for this project if expedited processing is granted.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Request:  The petition request expedited processing status of a Special Use Permit application.  We understand the application is proposing to construct a residential development consisting of 50 dwelling units on the east side of Sunrise Road, approximately 700 feet north of Ginger Road.  Access is proposed to the site from Sunrise Road.  Although a formal application has not yet been submitted, we note that a Concept Plan application was reviewed by the Town Council at the October 18 Council meeting.

 

The applicant’s request for expedited processing of the Sunrise Road Development indicated that the development will provide 50 affordable housing units.  All of the units will be affordable to households earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income.  The proposed housing development meets the Council’s affordable housing goals.

 

Expedited Processing:  We followed the Council-endorsed criteria listed below when 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.
  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.

 

Several development applications are currently working toward being placed on the Council’s Public Hearing schedule.  The impact of granting expedited processing for Sunrise Road Development is that one less space would be available on the Council’s schedule for which other applications are competing.

 

We believe that the proposal meets the objectives for public purpose in the three criteria above for granting expedited processing status.  We recommend that the Council grant Expedited Processing Status for the Sunrise Road Development.

 

Projects that have been granted expedited processing are identified in Attachment 1.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Manager’s Recommendation:  We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution.  Adoption of the resolution would grant expedited processing for the Sunrise Road Development application, if the Council chooses to grant this request.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

  1. List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing (p. 5).

 

A RESOLUTION DIRECTING EXPEDITED PROCESSING IN THE REVIEW OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR SUNRISE ROAD DEVELOPMENT (2004-11-08/R-6)

 

WHEREAS, the Town of Chapel Hill has received an oral petition for Sunrise Road Development requesting expedited processing of a Special Use Permit application seeking approval of construction of 50 affordable dwelling units; and

 

WHEREAS, the Town Council finds that there is a significant public purpose associated with development of this application;

 

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 Sunrise Road Development in a manner that will speed review without sacrificing breadth or depth of analysis.

 

This the 8th day of November, 2004.

 

ATTACHMENT 1

 

List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing

November 8, 2004

 

After receiving staff recommendations based on these criteria, since 1993 the Council has approved expedited processing for:

 

Ø      Intimate Bookshop (burned downtown building)

Ø      Erwin Village Subdivision (Affordable Housing)

Ø      Ruth Faison Shaw Museum (Nonprofit initiative)

Ø      Chapel Hill Public Library (Public Project)

Ø      Chapel Hill Public Housing (Public Project)

Ø      Culbreth Park Subdivision  (Public Project)

Ø      East Chapel Hill High School  (Public Project)

Ø      Orange County Southern Human Services Center  (Public Project)

Ø      Hargraves Gymnasium addition  (Public Project)

Ø      Transitional Housing on Clark Road  (Affordable Housing)

Ø      Chapel Hill Day Care at Southern Village  (Community Day Care)

Ø      Bolin Creek Greenway Phase II  (Public Project)

Ø      Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Transportation Center (Public Project)

Ø      WUNC Tower request  (Public Project)

Ø      Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center  (Public Project)

Ø      Pavilion  (Economic Opportunity)

Ø      Southern Village Elementary School  (Public Project)

Ø      Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity  (burned structure)

Ø      Neville Tract  (Public Project)

Ø      McDade House relocation  (Historic Structure)

Ø      Freedom House  (Community Services)

Ø      Orange Community Housing Corporation Scarlette Housing (Affordable Housing)

Ø      Kenan Stadium Expansion  (Public Project)

Ø      UNC Co-generation Facility Boiler Replacement  (Public Project)

Ø      Chapel Hill Internal Medicine  (Patient - Community Demand)

Ø      Midway Business Center  (Nonprofit Community Economic Development)

Ø      Carol Woods Retirement Community (Village Charter School)  (School)

Ø      University Mall Redevelopment  (Council Committee)

Ø      Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity House  (sprinkler project)

Ø      Greene Tract rezoning  (Public Project)

Ø      Manley Estates Housing  (Affordable Housing)

Ø      University Fraternity and Sorority applications (sprinkler projects),

Ø      Carol Woods Retirement Center (for day care addition, dining hall  expansion and new units)  (Community need for Daycare)

Ø      Church of the Holy Family Expansion  (Community Nonprofit)

Ø      Eastwood Lake Project  (Stormwater Management)

Ø      Chapel Hill Pediatrics  (Patient - Community Demands)

Ø      UNC Airport Drive Office Building  (Public Project)

Ø      Rams Plaza Renovations  (Related to work of Council Committee)

Ø      Meadowmont School/Park  (Public Project) 

Ø      Meadowmont Wachovia Bank  (Affordable Housing Opportunity)

Ø      Orange County Landfill  (Public Project)

Ø      Rosemary Street Mixed Use Development  (Public Interest)

Ø      Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center  (Public Project)

Ø      Rusch Road Habitat for Humanity Subdivision  (Affordable Housing)

Ø      Village Plaza Shopping Center  (Significant Cooperative Initiative)

Ø      Meadowmont Hilltop and Greenway Condominium  (Affordable Housing)

Ø      Empowerment, 229 North Graham Street  (Nonprofit Community Group)

Ø      Red, Hot and Blue Restaurant at Village Plaza  (No physical changes, adjusting archaic condition)

Ø      UNC Print Services  (Public Project)

Ø      Town of Chapel Hill Operation Center  (Public Project)

Ø      Eastgate Shopping Center gas station conversion  (Contaminated Soil)

Ø      OWASA Wastewater Treatment Facility  (Public Project)

Ø      Village Plaza Theaters  (Related to Construction in Progress)

Ø      Southern Community Park  (Public Project)

Ø      UNC Softball Complex  (Public Project)

Ø      Homestead Park Aquatic Center  (Public Project)

Ø      Holy Trinity Church  (Community Nonprofit)

Ø      OWASA I-40 Booster Pump Station  (Public Project)

Ø      Southern Orange Senior Center  (Public Project)

Ø      McCorkle Place Development  (Related to Council Objective)

 

Requests for this special application processing by East Franklin Car Care, Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, an application for parking and refuse facilities at 317 West Rosemary Street, The Franklin Hotel, Eastowne 501 Office Building, and Avalon Park Subdivision were not approved by the Town Council.