AGENDA #1
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Proposal to Pledge Funding for a Multi-Jurisdictional Purchase of Property Adjacent to Erwin Road and Pickett Road
DATE: March 21, 2005
Note: The Council is asked to consider action on this item tonight because Durham County officials state that they must decide how to proceed on this issue by April 1. The Council is not scheduled to have a regular business meeting until April 5.
Adoption of attached resolution would indicate the Council’s intent to provide $100,000 of 2003 Open Space bond funds for the multi-jurisdictional purchase of a 42.83-acre tract located at the point where Erwin Road crosses from Orange into Durham County.
BACKGROUND
In 1988, Duke University identified the property as surplus and available to sell for income.
Duke University has agreed to sell 42.83 acres located on the south side of Erwin Road and east side of Pickett Road to the Crosland Development Company. This land is split by the County line, with 11.19 acres in Orange County and 31.63 acres within Durham County.
Crosland Development has the entire 42.83 acres under option for purchase. They have an approved subdivision plan for the 31.6 acres within Durham County that includes 41 lots. The Orange County portion of the property (11.19 acres) was proposed for a conservation and public access easement to be dedicated to Orange County. The developer has also agreed to dedicate a conservation and public access easement to Durham County for 3.5 acres that would allow public access for a trail through this portion of the development’s open space to the Solterra community.
The Durham City/County Subdivision Ordinance allows a public agency to reserve public facility sites for 120 days if they are shown in an adopted plan. Durham County requested the delay to provide time to review the merits of potential acquisition of the property by the government. This reservation expires after April 8, 2005.
On July 17, 2004, the State legislature enacted local legislation that allows the Town to purchase open space property within the County where the Town is located, outside of the Town’s jurisdictional limits, as long as condemnation is not used and when such purchase is consistent with the purposes of Part 4, Article 19, Chapter 160A of the North Carolina General Statutes. These provisions of the law contemplate purchase of open space in order to preserve it as “important physical, social, esthetic or economic assets to existing and impending urban development” (N.C.G.S. Sec. 160A-402).
On January 24, the Council authorized the Town Manager to enter into negotiations with Durham County, the City of Durham, and Orange County managers to investigate the potential acquisition of the parcel.
On March 9, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Orange County Work Group requested that all of the governments make any formal commitments to a potential purchase prior to the April 8 deadline.
DISCUSSION
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Orange County Work Group has suggested that the entire 43-acre tract could be purchased for use as public open space or a regional park, owned and operated cooperatively by Durham County and Orange County. The Town would have to own at least a portion of the site if the Council agrees to participate in the purchase and uses Open Space bond funds.
Proposed Purchase: The purchase price is $1.5 million. Durham County has assumed the lead in this effort and has indicated that the County could pay for the portion of property not covered by other governments, grants, or the Erwin Area Neighborhood Group. The Town Manager has indicated in discussions that the Council might contribute as much as $100,000 toward the effort. However, the Town Manager has also noted that the Council has not authorized specific actions. At this time neither Orange County nor the City of Durham have committed any specific amounts to the acquisition, although we expect them to meet and discuss the issue prior to the April 8 deadline.
Status of 2003 Open Space Bond Funds:
2003 Open Space Bond Authorization $2,000,000
Bond Funds Spent as of March 2005 $665,000
Total Remaining Funds/Authorization 1 $1,334,000
1 Of this amount we currently have approximately $534,000 on hand. The remaining $800,000 would be included in the scheduled 2006 bond sale.
Erwin/Pickett Road Property
The property is located near New Hope Creek. The portion of the property in Orange County is included in the New Hope Creek Corridor Master Plan which was adopted by all four jurisdictions in 1991. The Plan also calls for a public access point and trail head on approximately eight acres on the west side of Pickett Road within Orange County that is owned by Duke University but not under option by Crosland. The Plan does not specifically call for the acquisition of the Durham County portion of the Crosland site, although its preservation would support the goals and intent of the overall Plan.
Penny Property
The Penny family owns a total of 59 acres south of the Erwin Road tract including 20 acres of floodplain land within Orange County that the New Hope Plan proposes to be preserved. See the attached Penny proposal and map. They also own 39 acres of uplands on both sides of Pickett Road within Durham County. The property includes their personal home and a historically significant house. The Penny family has indicated their interest in potentially preserving both their floodplain and upland as additional open space if the Duke University property was also preserved. The Penny proposal would involve public acquisition of 25 acres of primarily floodplain land for $137,500 or $5,500 per acre. In addition, they would place a conservation easement on the upland portion.
The Penny tract is adjacent to a 7-acre Duke property that is part of the New Hope Corridor Master Plan and a significant stretch of New Hope Creek. We believe that the Penny property should be acquired by some local government or conservation agency if the New Hope plan is to be fully realized.
RECOMMENDATION
Town Manager’s Recommendation: We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution, authorizing the expenditure of $100,000 of open space bond funds, pending the completion of a successful agreement among the interested local governments that would purchase the property on Erwin Road.
ATTACHMENTS
A RESOLUTION INDICATING THE COUNCIL’S INTENT TO PROVIDE $100,000 TO BE USED FOR A MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL ACQUISITION OF 42.83 ACRES OF PROPERTY OWNED BY DUKE UNIVERSITY ADJACENT TO ERWIN ROAD AND LOCATED WITHIN BOTH ORANGE AND DURHAM COUNTIES (2005-03-21/R-1)
WHEREAS, a 42.83-acre tract of land straddling the Orange-Durham County line was the subject of a recent subdivision application in Durham County referred to as Erwin Trace; and
WHEREAS, Durham County requested a delay to provide time to review the merits of potential acquisition of the property by the government; and
WHEREAS, this reservation expires after April 8, 2005; and
WHEREAS, the proposed subdivision involves issues related to the Joint Planning Agreement that has been executed by Orange County, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro, and issues related to land management in the corridor of New Hope Creek; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that the property would best serve the needs of the community as open space or a public park; and
WHEREAS, the Council seeks to assist in the acquisition of the property; and
WHEREAS, the City of Durham, Orange County, Durham County, the Erwin Area Neighborhood Group, and other agencies are possible partners in the proposed acquisition;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council indicates its intention to provide $100,000 to be used for the purchase of a 42.83-acre tract from Duke University that is located at the point where Erwin Road crosses from Orange into Durham County, if an agreement can be reached with the other interested local governments for its purchase.
This the 21st day of March, 2005.