ATTACHMENT 11
SUMMARY MINUTES OF A BUSINESS MEETING
OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2005, AT 7:00 P.M.
Mayor Kevin Foy called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Council members present were Sally Greene, Ed Harrison, Cam Hill, Mark Kleinschmidt, Bill Strom, Jim Ward and Edith Wiggins.
Council Member Dorothy Verkerk was absent, excused.
Staff members present were Town Manager Cal Horton, Deputy Town Manager Florentine Miller, Assistant Town Manager Bruce Heflin, Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos, Town Information Officer Catherine Lazorko, Public Works Director Bill Letteri, Internal Services Superintendent Bill Terry, Principal Long Range Planner Gordon Sutherland, Senior Long Range Planning Coordinator Chris Berndt, Planning Director Roger Waldon, Transportation Planner David Bonk, Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Bill Webster, Deputy Town Clerk Sandy Cook, and Town Clerk Sabrina Oliver.
Item 9 – Dobbins Hill Concept Plan
Planning Director Roger Waldon said the application before the Council tonight is unusual in several regards, the first of which is that the Council is considering this Concept Plan at a regular business meeting when they are normally heard at a public hearing.
Mr. Waldon said that the Wilson Assemblage Special Use Permit (SUP) application had been considered previously by the Council, and at that time concerns were raised regarding affordable housing. He said the applicant then came back to the Council on January 10 with the suggestion that in addition to pursuing the Wilson Assemblage SUP they would also consider pursuing a Modification to the adjacent Dobbins Hill SUP. Mr. Waldon said the applicant would apply to the State for tax credit commitments, and thereby produce affordable housing that would address the Council’s concerns.
Mr. Waldon said that one of the issues the applicant raised on January 10 was that in order to achieve those tax credit commitments from the State, which we believe are desirable for our community, then a “fast track” process would be necessary. He said the Council at that time established a schedule for continued discussions of the Wilson Assemblage SUP application as well as for the Dobbins Hill proposal.
Mr. Waldon said what the Council had before it now is the Dobbins Hill Concept Plan. He displayed a map which highlighted the location of the proposed Dobbins Hill development, and noted that this development had been a valuable and desirable affordable housing resource for the Town. Mr. Waldon said the proposal was to add residential units to the Dobbins Hill apartment complex located on the north side of Dobbins Drive, and includes two buildings with a total of 32 multi-family units and 54 parking spaces, adding that the Concept Plan is being proposed in conjunction with the proposed Wilson Assemblage. He noted that this is a 6.8-acre site located in the Residential-4 zoning district, and implementation of changes proposed in this application would require modification of the Dobbins Hill SUP.
Jack Smyre, representing the applicant, Crosland, Inc., stated that this Concept Plan for Phase II of Dobbins Hill is being proposed in response to the Council’s strong encouragement that Crosland find a way to add an affordable housing component to the neighboring Wilson Assemblage proposal. He displayed a map of the Dobbins Hill and Wilson Assemblage tracts, and noted that they understood that there would be linkage between the two applications by conditions as well as by infrastructure.
Mr. Smyre said that at the November 15 public hearing, the Council identified four key issues: the Sage Road connection; pedestrian circulation; location and mix of uses; and affordable housing. He said that action is being taken on all four issues, which would be reported on at the Council’s February 14 meeting. Mr. Smyre displayed graphic drawings on how they are addressing these four issues.
Mr. Smyre said that the affordable housing issue was of the most concern, and that is what he would be focusing on tonight. He gave a brief history, noting that the original tax credit affordable housing project was approved by the Council in 1993, and made housing permanently affordable to families earning 60% or less of the area’s median income.
Mr. Smyre said in response to the Council’s encouragement to provide affordable housing with regard to the neighboring Wilson Assemblage, Crosland proposes to add 32 units to the existing 55 affordable housing units to Dobbins Hill. He said that these 32 additional affordable housing units would target families earning 50% or less of the area’s median income.
Mr. Smyre stated again that there would be linkage between the two developments, noting that Phase II for the Dobbins Hill development is dependent on the approval of the Wilson Assemblage SUP. He said the two projects would be constructed together, adding that they share a northern access and stormwater. He said that the existing conditions include 55 units, 100 parking spaces, a tot lot and picnic areas, a clubhouse, access from Dobbins Drive, and that a dedicated right-of-way exists along Dobbins Hill’s northern border. Mr. Smyre then displayed a series of slides of the existing development.
Mr. Symre said their development program consisted of the following:
Mr. Smyre said the final result of Dobbins Hill Phases I and II were:
Mr. Smyre said they would be requesting two modifications of the regulations when they come back before the Council, which the Council is empowered to do under the Land Use Management Ordinance regulations:
Mr. Smyre reminded the Council that this project had been granted expedited review and they would be back before the Council on February 14, and would appear before advisory boards in March and April.
Mayor Foy asked Mr. Smyre if there was a physical connection between the two projects, such as a walkway or a road. Mr. Smyre said there is a vehicular connection proposed off the entry drive to the south. He added there was a sidewalk that runs along the public road that comes down Dobbins Drive, and connects with another sidewalk there. Similarly, Mr. Smyre said, on the northern road there is a sidewalk all along the southern edge, with three sidewalks coming out of the development connecting to that sidewalk.
Mayor Foy asked to what extent are these neighborhoods going to be “welcoming” to each other. Mr. Smyre said as much as two high-voltage lines running between the two would allow, noting the location of those lines on a map. He indicated on the map a possible pedestrian connection that could be considered. Mayor Foy suggested that some thought be given to that.
Mayor Foy said in regard to the tot lot on the northern end, there is a new road on both sides. He asked how children would be protected from the traffic. Mr. Smyre responded that the existing tot lot backs into the unimproved corridor of the right-of-way and there is no traffic, but when it is moved to its new location consideration of fencing might be appropriate in this area. Mayor Foy asked if this area is wooded. Mr. Smyre said there was a small area of pines in the corner, and it was not clear at this time if these would have to be removed. He said no detailed designs had been created at this time, and that would be included when the SUP comes forward.
Council Member Ward said he believed that pedestrian connectivity should be enriched, so that those residents who want to traverse east and west within the developments can do so. He asked Mr. Smyre about the minimum parking mentioned earlier, and asked if that was the Town’s minimum parking that was referred to. Mr. Smyre responded that 96 are required, and 100 are present today. As we move forward with the project, he said, 150 would be required and that is what we are proposing. Mr. Smyre added 150 is the minimum required by the Town.
Council Member Ward asked what was the experience at that location now in terms of the parking spaces and their use. Mr. Smyre stated that the apartment manager had reported that the demand is “just about right,” adding that there does not appear to be overcrowding, and there are some visitor spaces.
Council Member Strom thanked Mr. Smyre for his “strong” response to the issue of affordable housing. He said he believed this was an excellent way to achieve the standards the Council had set and targeting housing at 50% of the area’s median income was a strong contribution. Council Member Strom said he believed there would be more discussion on this on February 14 when the Council had an opportunity to look at this more closely and how the whole project had come together.
Council Member Harrison stated that the request for proposed modification is for more square footage, and this is equivalent to a rezoning from R-4 to R-5 in the Town’s view. He asked Mr. Smyre to explain why he was not requesting a rezoning instead of a modification to the SUP. Mr. Smyre responded that as they proceed with the concept plan proposal, they are “at a fork in the road.” He said they could file an application for rezoning if after looking at more details the Council decides that is a better way to proceed.
Mr. Smyre said there are two ways to achieve this. He said the Council has the power to modify to this level of floor area and density for public purpose, and this is certainly a public purpose project. Or, Mr. Smyre said, a rezoning could occur, but in the interest of time they had not proposed that route. He said that in fact, the modification process gives absolute certainty since you modify to a certain density level and a certain amount of floor area that a rezoning would not offer. Mr. Smyre said they would accept the Council’s guidance on this, adding if it became apparent that filing for a rezoning would be the better way to proceed, they would do so. Council Member Harrison he did not have an opinion on this one way or the other at this time.
Council Member Harrison asked if it was Mr. Smyre’s contention that the Council’s ability to modify these regulations was strong. Mr. Smyre responded it was strong, and would give the Council a target, meaning it would tell them to modify to this density exactly, and to this square footage exactly. He said that a rezoning does not offer that degree of specificity. Mr. Smyre said they were content to do it either way.
Council Member Ward said he wanted to make sure that as this project evolves that it incorporates the Town’s transit system. Mr. Smyre said that currently, residents walk down the sidewalk to catch the bus on Dobbins Drive. He said that it may be that they learn, as the Wilson Assemblage is built, that the corridor through that area could be used for buses, and if so the northern access would provide access to those routes. Mr. Smyre said we don’t have much frontage on Dobbins Drive now, but bus stops could be provided if they were located in the right-of-way.
Dr. Harvey Krasny stated he was not opposed to the addition of affordable housing at this site and to this community, adding that Crosland’s approach seems to be a viable one. However, he said, originally these 32 units were supposed to be in the Wilson Assemblage, but when the developer moved those units to the Dobbins Hill development, he apparently “forgot” to reduce the Wilson Assemblage’s 149 dwelling units by 32 units. Dr. Krasny said this means the addition of another 54 vehicles, or 14% more, to the overall property, on top of the 402 vehicles originally proposed for the Wilson Assemblage. Dr. Krasny asked the Council to require the developer to reduce the Wilson Assemblage units by 32 if those 32 units would be built in the Dobbins Hill complex, adding this would help reduce the number of vehicles at this site.
Dr. Krasny noted that Mayor Foy had been an advocate of avoiding the widening of thoroughfares, which he said the Mayor believed would result in more traffic and congestion in Town. He said in the last three years the Council had approved nearly 800 new vehicular parking spaces that would affect these immediate neighborhoods. Now, Dr. Krasny said, another 456 spaces are being proposed, and that would mean over 1200 new vehicles parking in the area, an area that is already heavily congested and is targeted for a $3 million superstreet project.
Dr. Krasny asked the Mayor directly how would the Town avoid widening Erwin and Sage Roads in the future if the Town continues to allow high density building that would bring more vehicles directly into their neighborhoods? He said in the end the taxpayers wwould suffer because they would have to pay for these widenings and roadway acquisitions. Dr. Krasny said the result would be that the traffic conditions would produce more pollution and hazardous driving conditions, and the neighbors would be forced to sell their homes and move elsewhere. He asked if this was rational growth.
Dr. Krasny referred to an article that quoted Council Member Verkerk, at the time of a proposed new subdivision off of Erwin Road near Inglewood. He quoted her as saying, “Erwin Road is being nickled and dimed to death.” Dr. Krasny said he could not have said it better himself.
COUNCIL MEMBER WARD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GREENE, TO REFER THIS ISSUE BACK TO THE STAFF, AND THAT STAFF RESPOND DIRECTLY TO DR. KRASNY’S CONCERNS. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).
A RESOLUTION TRANSMITTING COUNCIL COMMENTS ON A CONCEPT PLAN FOR DOBBINS HILL (2005-01-24/R-11)
WHEREAS, a Concept Plan has been submitted for review by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill, for Dobbins Hill; and
WHEREAS, the Council has heard presentations for the applicant, and citizens; and
WHEREAS, the Council has discussed the proposal, with Council members offering reactions and suggestions;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council transmits comments to the applicant regarding this proposal, as expressed by Council members during discussions on January 24, 2005, and reflected in the minutes of that meeting.
This the 24th day of January, 2005.