AGENDA #11

MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT:      Options for Responding to Requests to Initiate Neighborhood Conservation Districts

DATE:                        April 25, 2005

This report outlines potential options for responding to recent requests to initiate Neighborhood Conservation Districts in the Greenwood, Pine Knolls, and Coker Hills neighborhoods.   The Council’s adopted 2005 goals include developing a plan to address these requests as its third highest priority.

BACKGROUND

The Land Use Management Ordinance adopted by the Council on January 27, 2003 includes a provision for creating Neighborhood Conservation Districts.   The purposes of creating a Neighborhood Conservation District include preservation and protection of unique and distinctive older in-town residential neighborhoods or commercial districts which contribute significantly to the overall character and identity of the Town.  Please see Section 3.6.5 of the Land Use Management Ordinance (Attachment 1).

As stated in the Land Use Management Ordinance, a Neighborhood Conservation District is created as an overlay zoning district by enactment of an ordinance to designate the district.  The Land Use Management Ordinance charges the Planning Board, or a committee designated by the Town Council with representation from the Planning Board, with the responsibility for developing specific ordinance proposals for each proposed conservation district.

On February 23, 2004 the Town Council established the first neighborhood conservation district in the Northside Area. The work took eleven months from initiation of the process to enactment of the ordinance.  The process included the Council appointing a citizens’ advisory committee which included representation from the Planning Board.

The Land Use Management Ordinance provides three ways to initiate a Neighborhood Conservation District development process:

· at the direction of the Town Council; or

· at the request of owners representing 51% of the land area within the proposed district; or

· at the request of 51% of property owners in a proposed district.

CURRENT REQUESTS

Since the beginning of the calendar year, the Town Council has received three requests to initiate neighborhood conservation districts.

Greenwood Neighborhood:   On February 14, 2005 the Planning Board petitioned the Council to consider making the Greenwood neighborhood a Neighborhood Conservation District.  This proposal came in light of the Board’s review of a proposed subdivision in the Greenwood neighborhood (this subdivision request was subsequently withdrawn).  On February 28, the Council heard a report on a potential process for considering rezoning of the neighborhood after an additional subdivision application was submitted in the neighborhood.  The Council subsequently held a public hearing on April 18 and is considering the rezoning on tonight’s agenda.  On April 18, the Greenwood neighborhood submitted a formal petition with signatures from property owners in support of pursuing a Neighborhood Conservation District.  Please see Attachment 2 for material submitted related to the Greenwood neighborhood.

Based on our preliminary review of the petition submitted by the neighborhood, it appears that both petition criteria in the Land Use Management Ordinance for percentage of land area and percentage of property owners will be met. 

Pine Knolls Neighborhood:   On February 28, 2005, Ms. Delores Bailey, on behalf of the Pine Knolls neighborhood, presented a petition requesting Council consideration of a Neighborhood Conservation District for the Pine Knolls neighborhood.  At that time, Ms. Bailey indicated she was pursuing obtaining signatures for a formal petition.  On April 5, 2005, the Planning Board also petitioned the Council in support of the Pine Knolls request.  Please see Attachment 3 for material submitted related to the Pine Knolls neighborhood.

Coker Hills Neighborhood:  On March 7, the Coker Hills neighborhood petitioned the Council to consider establishing a Neighborhood Conservation District for the neighborhood.   On March 29, 2005, the neighborhood submitted its formal petition with signatures from property owners to the Town Clerk.  Please see Attachment 4 for material submitted related to the Coker Hills Neighborhood.

Based on our preliminary review of the petition submitted by the neighborhood, it appears that both petition criteria in the Land Use Management Ordinance for percentage of land area and percentage of property owners will be met. 

EXISTING POLICIES AND GOALS

The Town’s 2000 Comprehensive Plan establishes Residential Conservation Areas on the Town’s Land Use Plan.  The Land Use Plan designates certain areas surrounding the downtown and University of North Carolina campus as “residential conservation areas” because they are considered to be particularly susceptible to change.  This designation means, in part, that when policy choices that affect these areas are before the Town Council, the balance should tilt in favor of protection and preservation.  The Greenwood and Pine Knolls neighborhoods are included in the Residential Conservation Areas on the Town’s Land Use Plan.

The Greenwood and Pine Knolls neighborhoods are also identified as “areas most susceptible to change” on Figure 1 of the Comprehensive Plan.  These areas are more susceptible to change than others because of particular growth pressures or the potential availability of land for development.  The Comprehensive Plan notes “close-in residential neighborhoods” are subject to influences such as the demand for off-campus student housing and institutional development at the edges of campus.

The Council’s 2005 Goals adopted on February 28, 2005, established as its third goal in the highest priority category the initiation of additional neighborhood conservation districts as follows:

Description: Consider a process for developing additional neighborhood conservation districts in the Greenwood, Pine Knolls, Coker Hills, and Morgan Creek neighborhoods.

Product to be Produced and Timetable

· Interim Report to Council on Greenwood Neighborhood scheduled for February 28, 2005 (completed)

· Submit report on proposed process to Council by April, 2005 (completed with this report)

· Other steps to be determined by the Council

These goals are established based on the Council’s annual review of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.

OPTIONS FOR PROCEEDING

This section reviews options for addressing how the requests might be considered by the Council.  Our experience from the Northside Neighborhood Conservation District process is of help in evaluating the current requests. In that case, we found that the number of issues and degree of citizen involvement resulted in a significant expenditure of citizen, advisory board, and staff time for the project.

We suggest that any future process be tailored to address the specific situations of each neighborhood.  Some neighborhood processes may have fewer issues emerge than others, but for purposes of this memorandum, we have assumed conservatively that a similar level of effort to that of Northside would be necessary for any Neighborhood Conservation District initiative.

How would the process be initiated?

The Council may initiate a process on its own motion for any of the neighborhoods.

Alternately, to be valid under Section 3.6.5 (c) of the Land Use Management Ordinance regarding the petition process, a petition would need to contain signatures of owners representing 51% of the land area within the proposed district, or contain signatures of 51% of the property owners.

Can more than one district be developed at a time?

From a process viewpoint, we recommend that the Council consider proceeding with one district at a time.  This would allow advisory boards, citizens, and staff to focus on the issues related to one area at a time.  We do not have resources in place currently to be working on more than one such project at a time. In addition, we expect turnover in key staff positions that will reduce our capacity in general.

Who would staff the work?

Because of expected staffing changes within the Planning Department and the overall workload of the Department, we recommend that the Council budget funds for professional contracted services.  With Council authorization to proceed, the Manager would solicit professional services through an informal Request for Proposals process.  Planning Department staff would be involved in coordinating the work with the Planning Board, citizens and consultant.

We would report estimated costs of such an approach by June 13, 2005.  The report would include an estimate of the actual staffing costs for the Northside project for comparison purposes. 

We suggest that the option involving Town staffing of the project include funding for design professionals to work with the Planning Board or citizens’ committee.  In this option, it is likely that only one neighborhood area could be undertaken per year.

What advisory board process would be employed?

The Land Use Management Ordinance provides two options for preparing a plan for the proposed district:

• The Planning Board
• A Committee designated by the Town Council with representation from the Planning Board

We believe that using the Planning Board to develop these pending plans for Neighborhood Conservation Districts may shorten the process by drawing upon the Board’s familiarity with Town ordinances and processes, as well as its experience with the Northside district.  In addition, the Board would gain additional experience in crafting plans as it proceeds.

We recommend that the Council appoint 3-5 citizens from each neighborhood being studied to work with the Planning Board.  As one plan is finished, the Council could appoint citizens to work with the Planning Board on the next plan.

Alternately, appointing a Committee of citizens with representation by the Planning Board has the potential advantage of providing a venue for in-depth examination of citizen input and comments.  However, because three committees would be needed for each project area, this approach would take more staff and/or consultant effort, and would likely take a longer time period to implement.

What is the process for developing a neighborhood conservation district plan?

We believe it is desirable to develop a general “template” for how to approach the process of developing neighborhood conservation districts, with an eye to streamlining the approach and making efficient use of staffing resources. We suggest the following general process for developing a neighborhood conservation district:

• Using the Town’s advertising/appointment process, the Council would appoint 3-5 neighborhood citizens to assist the Planning Board with developing a draft plan.

• Neighborhood input would be solicited in three meetings.  The “expanded” Planning Board would host a kick-off open house where neighbors share concerns and interests.  Near the midpoint of the process, the Planning Board would host a Saturday charrette/workshop on developing a draft plan and design guidelines. Once a draft plan is prepared, a third meeting would be conducted to solicit community reaction. Mailings would be sent to all property owners.

• The expanded Planning Board could meet on its regular long-range meeting night (third Tuesday of the month) to develop a draft plan and design guidelines.  Citizen input meetings as noted above would be scheduled as special meetings.  A general schedule for Planning Board meetings on a neighborhood plan would be:

• Meeting One:  Introduce project, scope of work, and proposed schedule
• Meeting Two:  Hold open house for citizens (special meeting)
• Meeting Three:  Identify issues/examine data
• Meeting Four:  Discuss potential solutions (consultant offers ideas for discussion)
• Meeting Five:  Incorporate ideas into a preliminary plan
• Meeting Six:  Hold a Saturday neighborhood charrette/workshop on preliminary plan and to develop design guidelines (special meeting)
• Meeting Seven:  Consider comments from workshop and revised draft of Plan
• Meeting Eight:  Conduct Public Forum on Plan to solicit comments and reactions (special meeting)
• Meeting Nine:  Consider “final” draft and forward to the Town Council.

• The Town Council would call a public hearing and hold a work session if the proposal needs additional discussion.

• The Town Council would hold a public hearing.

• The Town Council would consider adoption of a Neighborhood Conservation District.

A specific schedule would be developed for each neighborhood.

What are the legal issues involved?

During the process of developing a neighborhood conservation district, legal review would be necessary during the development of the ideas generated by the process, the point where a draft plan is developed, and to advise Town Council during its review.  The neighborhood conservation district plans are ultimately an amendment to the Land Use Management Ordinance and the Zoning Atlas; therefore, the proposed regulations need to be reviewed for legality.

In the case of the Greenwood and Coker Hills neighborhoods, some neighborhood discussion has occurred about the possibility of replacing existing private restrictive covenants with standards in the Neighborhood Conservation District.  Legal advice would be needed to inform this process.  It is possible that some items included in private covenants may be beyond the Town’s statutory power, and not subjects appropriate as public standards.

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION

This paper has reviewed issues related to developing a potential process to address three requests for initiation of work on neighborhood conservation districts from the Greenwood, Pine Knolls, and Coker Hills neighborhoods.

We recommend that the Council consider doing each of these neighborhoods in separate processes done sequentially, with the order as deemed appropriate by the Council.  We suggest that the Council consider authorizing the Manager to develop cost estimates for the use of professional consulting services for the development of these three plans, for consideration in the 2005-2006 Town Budget.  We propose to report to the Council no later than June 13, 2005.

We also recommend that the Council consider a process involving the use of the Planning Board with additional appointed citizens from the neighborhoods to develop the plans.  In this report, we have presented a “model” process contemplated for each of the three neighborhoods.  This model incorporates substantial citizen input while attempting to achieve an efficient process accomplished in a timely manner.

ATTACHMENTS

1.         Section 3.6.5 of the Land Use Management Ordinance (p. 8).

2.         Material related to the Greenwood Neighborhood: (p. 12).

• Planning Board recommendation dated February 14, 2005 on Neighborhood Conservation District Designation

• Town Manager’s memorandum dated February 28, 2005 Consideration of Possible Rezoning Initiative for Greenwood Road Neighborhood.

• Petition for the Greenwood Neighborhood Conservation District  received on  April 18, 2005 (typical petition page).  The full petition is on file in the Town Clerk’s office.

3.         Material related to the Pine Knolls Neighborhood: (p. 22).

• Pine Knolls Petition for Neighborhood Conservation District Status received February 28, 2005
• Planning Board recommendation dated April 5, 2005 on Neighborhood Conservation District Designation

4.         Material related to the Coker Hills Neighborhood: ( p. 25).

• Coker Hills Petition for Neighborhood Conservation District Status received March 7, 2005
• Petition for the Coker Hills Neighborhood Conservation District received March 29, 2005 (typical petition page attached).  The full petition is on file in the Town Clerk’s office.