AGENDA #3b(2)

February 11, 2005

Mr. Kevin Foy; Mr. Ed Harrison,

Ms. Edith M. Wiggins, Mr. Bill Strom;
Mr. Mark Kleinschmidt, Ms. Dorothy Verkerk,

Mr. Jim Ward, Ms. Sally Greene, Mr. Cam Hill

Town Hall
306 North Columbia Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Dear Mr. Mayor and Members of the Town Council,

On behalf of the Erwin Village Home Owners Association and the residents of Erwin Village, we want to express our deep disappointment over the recent Town Council hearings on the Wilson Assemblage development.  While we can appreciate the Council’s opposition views concerning the lack of affordable housing in Chapel Hill, we were stunned that not a single Council member addressed the issue of opening up McGregor Drive to Sage Road traffic and the impact that decision would have on the residents of Erwin Village. 

During our presentation and comments to the Board, we probably had a false sense of security given how vocally even the developers addressed the issue of opening up McGregor; noting it would ‘drastically alter’ our neighborhood and ‘materially affect’ our quality of life – not to mention the value of our homes or the safety of our children.  We hope that you can imagine our dismay by what seemed like a blatant disregard by the Council regarding this critical neighborhood issue; and this in the face of countless residents of Erwin Village showing up to the Council meeting and patiently sitting through the numerous political ramblings about the lack of affordable housing, confusion about the development and tedious bantering about what was proposed last year versus what was being proposed today.

To date, we have shown a strong and unified community stance in opposition to the Wilson Assemblage development.  We have expressed our concerns to the Council with respect and we have demonstrated our commitment through participation at numerous planning meetings and through coordinated letters to the Council on the issue.  Furthermore, we have provided a petition signed by 100% of Erwin Village residents and most of the residents at McGregor Place seeking the Council’s support on this important issue. 

Our community believes the current traffic infrastructure is a serious safety concern, not just a quality of life issue.  Those in support of the development offer that traffic has always been a problem, thus the Council should not bother to consider its impact – this notion is simply absurd.  These are exactly the kind of factors the council should consider when deciding on such governing issues – safety, quality of life, impact to residents, existing home values, highest and best use of the land, etc. 

We feel it is also important to note that our community is already impacted by the series of development projects already approved for our area (Marriott Residence Inn, the “Super Street” and commercial office development along Sage).  We face construction along our overburdened roads on a daily basis.  We cannot fathom the impact of funneling the “15-501” nightmare to the serenity we currently find on McGregor Drive.  We are appreciative of many of the improvements made by Crosland, who has clearly shown a willingness to be collaborative with our community.  We are most thankful for their numerous recommendations to the Council not to open up McGregor Drive under any circumstances given the unnecessary impact on our community.  We are very happy to accept the recommendation of the developer to connect our communities with a pedestrian/bicycle path that can be built to allow emergency vehicles to pass through if ever needed.

In the coming weeks and months we hope that the Council will acknowledge our community’s interest concerning this serious issue and publicly address our shared concerns.  As a formidable constituency, we do not feel we should be made to accept silence on this issue.

Sincerely,    

The Erwin Village Home Owners Association