AGENDA #8

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT:       Closure of a Section of Laurel Hill Road Right-of-Way Through the North Carolina Botanical Garden Property

 

DATE:             November 22, 2004

 

 

Adoption of Resolution A would order the closure of a section of Laurel Hill Road right-of-way through the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill.  Adoption of Resolution B would deny the University’s request to close this section of Laurel Hill Road right-of-way.  (Please see the area map presented in Attachment 1.)

 

The Town Manager recommends adoption of Resolution A.

 

BACKGROUND

 

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill requested that the Council consider closing a section of the Laurel Hill Road right-of-way within the North Carolina Botanical Garden property south of Fordham Boulevard and east of Manning Drive.  (Please see Attachment 2.)  The right-of-way is shown on Orange County Tax Map 7.66 and is located between Fordham Boulevard and Coker Drive.

 

The segment of Laurel Hill Road right-of-way that is under consideration for closure was dedicated by the University to the North Carolina Department of Transportation in 1978.  Subsequently, the State transferred control of the right-of-way to the Town in 1987.  This section of Laurel Hill Road is presently a public street owned and maintained by the Town.

 

According to State law, G.S. 160A-299, a Public Hearing and prior notice to adjacent property owners are necessary before closing a public right-of-way.  Under the statute, the Council may close the right-of-way upon determining that:

 

“closing the street or alley is not contrary to the public interest, and that no individual owning property in the vicinity of the street or alley or subdivision in which it is located would thereby be deprived of reasonable means of ingress and egress to his property.”

 

In accordance with State law and the Council’s September 13, 2004 resolution of intent, a Public Hearing was held on October 18, 2004, and continued on October 27.  Notice of the hearing was mailed to residents in the vicinity of the requested street closure, published in a local newspaper, and posted along the section of right-of-way in question.

 

If the right-of-way is closed, ownership of the property would revert to the University of North Carolina and the North Carolina Botanical Garden according to State law.  (Please refer to G.S. 160A-297 in Attachment 3.)

 

In late1988, the Council held a Public Hearing on a request from the University to close this section of Laurel Hill Road public right-of-way.  At about the same time, plans were being developed for widening Fordham Boulevard, then known as “The Bypass.”  Ultimately, the University chose not to pursue the matter and the Council took no action.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The University originally requested that the Council consider closing only a 0.2 mile section of Laurel Hill Road within the North Carolina Botanical Garden; and, subsequently amended its request to include the entire section of Laurel Hill Road between Fordham Boulevard and Coker Drive that transects the Garden property.

 

The University provided the following reasons for the requested right-of-way closure:

 

  • Safety for visitors walking across and along the area now dedicated as Laurel Hill Road.
  • Unification of the Garden lands.
  • Improved teaching effectiveness and visitor experience by providing for extension of the sound barrier along Fordham Boulevard.

 

The requested closure would eliminate through traffic within the Garden property, and would mitigate the potential for pedestrian/vehicle conflicts in the Garden. It would also provide an opportunity for the construction of a sound barrier across the existing opening where Laurel Hill Road now intersects with Fordham Boulevard.

 

Traffic Patterns

 

If the street is closed, traffic that now uses the Laurel Hill Road connection between Fordham Boulevard and Coker Drive would have to use alternative routes.  We think that most traffic would be diverted to Manning Drive.  Visitors could continue to enter the Garden parking area from the existing Old Mason Farm Road entrance.  We would expect Botanical Garden employees and volunteers to arrive from the Coker Drive entrance via Laurel Hill Road which would function as a service driveway within the Garden.

 

This section of Laurel Hill Road is on a bus route for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System.  The Operations Manager for the School Transportation Department advised us that only a minor route adjustment would be necessary if the requested closure is approved by the Council, and that it would not be a problem for the school system.  The Town does not have a public bus route that requires use of this section of Laurel Hill Road.  The Town’s Fire Department, Police Department, and Public Works Department have advised us that closure of this section of Laurel Hill Road would not significantly affect provision of emergency or routine services in this area of Town.

 

Traffic Volume

 

Town staff collected 24-hour traffic counts in the vicinity of the requested road closure. (Please see Attachment 4 for summary information on traffic counts.)  The highest volume of traffic that we recorded using this section of Laurel Hill Road was 189 vehicles over a 24-hour period.

 

We also reviewed the AM peak and PM peak traffic periods at the Manning Drive/Fordham Boulevard intersection to determine the potential impact of additional traffic that could be expected to use this intersection if Laurel Hill Road were closed through the Botanical Garden.  The current Level of Service at the Manning/Fordham intersection is ‘C’ for the AM peak period and ‘D’ for the PM peak period.  Level of Service ‘D’ is considered acceptable in Chapel Hill. 

 

Based on the relatively low existing traffic volume on Laurel Hill Road, we do not believe that the volume of traffic that could be expected to divert to Manning Drive and other streets as a result of the requested street closure would significantly affect intersection operations or Level of Service.

 

Proposed Mitigation Measures

 

Staff from the North Carolina Botanical Garden has discussed with neighbors the access and circulation changes that would occur if this section of Laurel Hill Road is closed as a public street.  We understand that the Garden has agreed to fund and provide the following improvements in conjunction with the street closure, if it is approved by the Council:

 

·        An improved pedestrian/bicycle corridor from the Coker Drive/Laurel Hill Road intersection to Old Mason Farm Road.

·        A right-turn lane on Manning Drive at its intersection with Fordham Boulevard.

·        Reconstruction of the Laurel Hill Road/Coker Drive intersection to replace the existing T-intersection with a curve to improve access to and from the surrounding neighborhood during inclement weather. (Please see the drawing provided in Attachment 5.)

 

The exact route of the pedestrian/bicycle corridor has not been determined at this time. The Garden would be responsible for construction and maintenance of the corridor.

 

The construction of a right turn lane on Manning Drive at its intersection with Fordham Boulevard would improve the efficiency and operational characteristics of the intersection. The design and construction of the right turn lane would require approval from the Town and from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

 

During inclement weather, particularly snow and ice storms, some local residents and users of Coker Drive prefer connecting directly with Laurel Hill Road to get to and from Fordham Boulevard, rather than staying on Coker Drive where drivers must negotiate a sharp turn and steep grade.  In conjunction with its request to close a section of Laurel Hill Road, and in response to residents’ concerns about ingress and egress during inclement weather, the Botanical Garden proposes to reconstruct and improve the Coker Drive/Laurel Hill Road intersection.  The design and construction of the intersection would be subject to Town approval.

 

Town staff mailed notice of the Public Hearing to 87 residents in the area surrounding the Garden.

 

Prior to the hearing we received three responses to our notices.  One resident called to support the closure, with the understanding that the proposed access and circulation improvements would be provided by the Botanical Garden before the street was functionally closed.  Two residents called opposing the street closure.  Copies of letters we have received regarding the proposed street closure are included tonight in Attachment 6.

 

Attachment 7 lists comments and question received at the Public Hearing on October 18 and October 27, 2004.

 

KEY ISSUES RAISED AT THE PUBLIC HEARING

 

The following discussion summarizes key issues raised at the Public Hearing and provides comment on each issue.

 

Key Issue – Funding and Construction of Mitigating Measures

 

Comment:  The Garden has committed to fund and construct a right turn lane on Manning Drive at Fordham Boulevard; to fund and reconstruct the Coker Drive/Laurel Hill Road intersection; and, to fund, construct and maintain a pedestrian/bicycle corridor between Coker Drive and Old Mason Farm Road.  We think these improvements mitigate the major concerns that some Garden neighbors have expressed regarding the closure of a section of Laurel Hill Road.   If the Council decides to close the right-of-way, we recommend these improvements be completed prior to functionally closing the street to public use.  The attached Resolution ‘A’ includes this stipulation.

 

Key Issue - Reduced Access to/from Surrounding Neighborhood(s)

 

Comment:  Laurel Hill Road is one of four points of access serving the surrounding neighborhood areas.  The Public School Transportation Department and the Town’s Fire, Police, Transit and Public Works Departments have indicated that closure of the road would not significantly affect routine or emergency services to the area.  Existing traffic volume on the subject segment of Laurel Hill Road is relatively low compared to similarly classified streets throughout Town. Although elimination of one means of public access would be an inconvenience for some residents in the area around the Garden, we think that the combination of existing alternative means of ingress and egress, coupled with improvements proposed by the Garden, provide reasonable and sufficient means of access to the neighborhoods that would be affected by the proposed closure.

 

Key Issue - Traffic Calming and Management Within the Garden

 

Comment:  Aside from closure of the section of Laurel Hill Road that transects the Botanical Garden property, other methods of calming and managing traffic passing through the Garden, if the road is not closed, have not been discussed in any detail.  We believe traffic calming techniques could be effective on this section of Laurel Hill Road if it remains open.  However, traffic calming alone would not achieve other Garden objectives such as unifying the Garden’s lands, improving teaching effectiveness and visitors’ experience, and providing an opportunity to extend the sound barrier across the existing intersection of Laurel Hill Road at Fordham Boulevard.

 

Key Issue - Construction Traffic

 

Comment:  If the right-of-way closure and roadway improvements are approved, it would be necessary to provide access for construction vehicles.  The Town could require that all construction traffic use Laurel Hill Road as access for the Coker Drive/Laurel Hill Road intersection reconstruction work, and that construction traffic working on the Manning Drive right turn lane would not be allowed to enter the surrounding neighborhood streets.

 

Key Issue - Impact on 916 Coker Drive

 

The Andersons, residents of 916 Coker Drive, would be temporarily affected by the reconstruction work at the intersection of Coker Drive and Laurel Hill Road.  The Andersons have inquired about following:

 

·        Can they move their mail box to the opposite side of Coker Drive, directly in front of their house, to ensure safe mail pick-up?

·        Would their driveway be blocked during construction?

·        Would their property and plantings be disturbed during the construction?

·        Can they select the plants to be installed in the right-of-way area adjacent to their property when Coker Drive is realigned?

 

Comment:  Relocation of the mail box would be up to the U.S. Postal Service.  The Town would not object to the relocation, provided it is done in accordance with Postal Service requirements.

 

The contractor would be required to maintain the Anderson’s driveway access during construction.  If it became necessary to temporarily close the driveway for a brief period, the contractor would be required to schedule the closure with the Andersons and to provide a minimum of 24 hours notice prior to restricting driveway access.

 

We do not believe that there needs to be any land disturbance on the Anderson’s property for the intersection improvement project.  Planting in the public right-of-way would be subject to Town approval.  We are unaware of specific plans by the Garden to replant disturbed areas of the right-of-way with other than groundcover necessary to mitigate erosion.

 

Key Issue - Fordham Boulevard Improvements

 

The following items were brought up at the Hearing with regard to Fordham Boulevard:

 

·        A pedestrian cross-walk with pedestrian signals at the Manning Drive/Fordham Boulevard intersection.

·        A pedestrian underpass on Fordham Boulevard.

·        Extension of guardrail and sound wall parallel to Woodbine Drive.

·        Bus pull-offs.

·        Intersection studies.

 

Comment:  We do not believe that the above-listed improvements have direct bearing on the proposed closure of the section of Laurel Hill Road between Coker Drive and Old Mason Farm Road.  We think that the mitigation measures proposed in Resolution A and described in this report would be satisfactory to offset the expected impacts of closing this section of Laurel Hill Road.

 

Any improvements within the Fordham Boulevard right-of-way, and within the Manning Drive right-of-way north of Fordham Boulevard, would require approval from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The Town would not object to the above improvements provided State and/or University funding is provided for design and construction.

 

Key Issue - Precedent for Closing the Street

 

A citizen stated at the Public Hearing that there is no precedent for closing an existing public street. 

 

Comment:  In recent years the Council has closed numerous unopened, unimproved rights-of-way that have been determined to serve no public purpose. To our knowledge, Laurel Hill Road is the only public street open to through traffic that has been proposed for full closure in the past 20 years. 

 

Property owners abutting the right-of-way are considered to have the greatest vested interest.  In this case, the right-of-way is abutted on both sides only by University property, and no private property owners are directly involved.

 

According to State law, the Council may close a street if it is not contrary to the public interest and if no one owning property in the vicinity is deprived of reasonable means of ingress and egress.  We think that this right-of-way closure would not be contrary to the requirements of applicable State law.

 

CONCLUSION

 

The University provided three reasons for closing Laurel Hill Road through the Botanical Garden.

 

  • Safety for visitors walking across and along Laurel Hill Road.
  • Unification of the Garden Lands.
  • Improved teaching effectiveness and visitor experience by providing for extension of the sound barrier along Fordham Boulevard.

 

Based on the low volume of vehicles now using Laurel Hill Road, and the lack of significant accident history, we believe that pedestrian/vehicle conflict problems could be handled with the implementation of traffic calming devices along the section of Laurel Hill Road that now transects the Garden property.  However, the installation of traffic calming measures alone would not achieve other objectives such as allowing for the installation of a sound barrier across the intersection opening at Fordham Boulevard and unifying the Garden lands as desired by the University.

 

The low volume of vehicles now using the street and the fact that there are other points of access  available to the neighborhood suggests that closure of this section of public street would not deprive individuals in the vicinity of reasonable means of ingress and egress. We also believe that the volume of traffic that would be displaced elsewhere by the proposed street closure would not result in significant detrimental effects on surrounding streets and intersections.

 

We believe that the proposed improvements to the intersection of Coker Drive and Laurel Hill Road would provide reasonable vehicular access during most weather conditions typically occurring in Chapel Hill.

 

Resolution A would approve the closure a section of Laurel Hill Road as requested, and would require the University to complete stipulated improvements prior the physical closure of the street. Resolution B would deny the right-of-way closure at this time, and would ask the University to consider other means of meeting its objectives with regard to Laurel Hill Road and its relation to the North Carolina Botanical Garden.

 

MANAGERS RECOMMENDATION

 

That the Council adopt the attached Resolution A closing the Laurel Hill Road right-of-way subject to stipulations described in the resolution.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

1.                  Area Map (p. 10).

2.                  UNC letter dated August 3, 2004 (p. 11).

3.                  GS160A-299 (p. 15).

4.                  Traffic Counts (p. 16).

5.                  Drawing of Property Realignment (p. 18).

6.         Citizens Correspondence (p. 19).

7.         Public Hearing Comments from October 18 and October 27, 2004 (p. 35).

8.         Information from the Botanical Garden dated November 17, 2004 (p. 39).

 

 

RESOLUTION ‘A’

 

AN ORDER CLOSING LAUREL HILL ROAD BETWEEN COKER DRIVE AND FORDHAM BOULEVARD (U.S. 15-501) AS A PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY (2004-11-22/R-12a)

 

WHEREAS, the Chapel Hill Town Council on September 13, 2004, adopted a Resolution of Intent to consider closing the Laurel Hill Road right-of-way between Coker Drive and Fordham Boulevard; and

 

WHEREAS, a Public Hearing regarding the proposed Laurel Hill Road right-of-way closure was held on October 18, 2004; and

 

WHEREAS, the Council finds, upon review of the facts and of information received at the Public Hearing, that closing the Laurel Hill Road right-of-way between Coker Drive and Fordham Boulevard would not be contrary to the public interest, and that no individual owning property in the vicinity of the Laurel Hill Road right-of-way proposed for closure would be deprived of reasonable means of ingress and egress to his or her property by the closing of said right-of-way;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby adopts this order pursuant to North Carolina G.S. 160A-299, permanently closing the Laurel Hill Road right-of-way between Coker Drive and Fordham Boulevard, subject to the reservation of a blanket easement for public utilities, public storm drainage facilities, and a pedestrian and bicycle access easement all of which shall be shown on a plat to be provided by the party requesting the right-of-way closure and approved by the Chapel Hill Engineering Department.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the physical closure to public use of this section of Laurel Hill Road shall not be implemented until such time the following improvements are completed and accepted by the Town Manager:

 

1)      Installation of a right turn lane on Manning Drive at its intersection with Fordham Boulevard.

2)      Realignment and reconstruction of the intersection of Coker Drive and Laurel Hill Road.

3)      Installation of an improved bicycle and pedestrian corridor connecting Coker Drive and Old Mason Farm Road.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that said plat and a copy of this order shall be recorded by the requesting party, with the Orange County registrar, upon approval by the Town and certification by the Town Manager that the preceding conditions of approval have been met.

 

This the 22nd day of November, 2004.

 

 

RESOLUTION ‘B’

 

A RESOLUTION DENYING A REQUEST TO CLOSE LAUREL HILL ROAD BETWEEN COKER DRIVE AND FORDHAM BOULEVARD (US 15-501) AS A PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY (2004-11-22/R-12b)

 

WHEREAS, the Chapel Hill Town Council on September 13, 2004, adopted a Resolution of Intent to consider closing the Laurel Hill Road right-of-way between Coker Drive and Fordham Boulevard; and

 

WHEREAS, a Public Hearing regarding the proposed Laurel Hill Road right-of-way closure was held on October 18, 2004; and

 

WHEREAS, the Council finds, upon review of the facts and of information received at the Public Hearing, that closing the Laurel Hill Road right-of-way between Coker Drive and Fordham Boulevard would be contrary to the public interest and that individuals owning property in the vicinity of the Laurel Hill Road right-of-way proposed for closure would be deprived of reasonable means of ingress and egress to his or her property by the closing of said right-of-way;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby denies the request to close the Laurel Hill Road right-of-way between Coker Drive and Fordham Boulevard (US 15-501).

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council requests that the University of North Carolina consider other means of meeting its objectives with regard to Laurel Hill Road and its relation to the North Carolina Botanical Garden.

 

This the 22nd day of November, 2004.