AGENDA #6
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Continuation of Concept Plan Review: Chapel Watch Village
DATE: November 21, 2005
PURPOSE
Tonight, the Council continues the September 26, 2005 Concept Plan Review for Chapel Watch Village Residential Development. The purpose of tonight’s session is to receive comments from the staff in response to questions raised during the September 26, 2005 Concept Plan review. Questions raised on September 26, 2005 focused on a proposed connection of the Chapel Watch Village street network to Maywood Drive in the existing Larkspur Subdivision.
The proposed Chapel Watch Village is located on the south side of Eubanks Road, north of the Larkspur Subdivision. Chapel Watch Village proposes the construction of 120 multi-family dwelling units.
CHAPEL WATCH VILLAGE – ACTIVE SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION
Tonight’s review of the Chapel Watch Village Concept Plan is unusual because 1) this is the second time the Council will consider a Concept Plan for this project; and 2) there is an active Special Use Permit application for Chapel Watch Village on file with the Town.
Because there is an active Special Use Permit application on file for this project, tonight’s Concept Plan Review discussion by the Council is quasi-judicial in nature.
BACKGROUND
On March 17, 2003, the Town Council reviewed a Concept Plan for Chapel Watch Village. On May 5, 2003, the Town received and accepted a Special Use Permit for the Chapel Watch Village project. Earlier this year the applicant informed staff about proposed changes to the plan and a desire to return to the Concept Plan Review process.
On May 16, 2005, the Council received public comment on the proposed Chapel Watch Village Concept Plan. Residents of the Larkspur Subdivision voiced concerns about the proposed street connection to Chapel Watch Village and the Traffic Impact Statement prepared for the Chapel Watch Village project.
On May 16th the Council requested that the Transportation Board review and comment on the following issues:
On September 26, 2005 the Council received comments from the Transportation Board and citizens. The Council referred questions from the September 26 Concept Plan review to the staff and continued the review to November 21, 2005. A copy of the September 26, 2005 memorandum is attached (Attachment 9).
DISCUSSION
As described above, tonight’s review of the Chapel Watch Village Concept Plan is unusual because this is the second time the Council will consider a Concept Plan for this project; and there is an active Special Use Permit application for Chapel Watch Village on file with the Town. The staff has not conducted an evaluation of the Concept Plan, and therefore our comments are preliminary in nature.
RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS FROM SEPTEMBER 26, 2005
Attached to this memorandum are correspondence, citizen questions, and staff responses (Attachments 7 and 8).
The following questions were raised during the September 26, 2005, Concept Plan Review.
1. A Council member requested information on the location of sidewalks in the area surrounding the Larkspur neighborhood.
Comment: A copy of the October 27, 2004, Pedestrian Facilities Plan (Northwest Quadrant) is attached to this memorandum (Attachment 1). Existing and proposed sidewalks are located on this plan.
2. A Council member asked that the Town Attorney describe the legal requirement associated with the disclosure of information to purchasers of residential property.
Comment: Please refer to the text (provided below) from a June 27, 2005 memorandum, to Mayor and Town Council from the Town Manager and Town Attorney, responding to a previous Council request concerning this subject.
“Chapter 47E of the NC General Statutes requires disclosure of information to purchasers of residential property. Information that is required to be disclosed is listed in Sec. 47E-4:
§ 47E-4. Required disclosures
(a) With
regard to transfers described in G.S. 47E-1, the owner of the real property shall furnish to a
purchaser a residential
property disclosure statement. The disclosure statement shall:
(1) Disclose those items which are required to be disclosed relative to the characteristics and condition of the property and of which the owner has actual knowledge; or
(2) State that the owner makes no representations as to the characteristics and condition of the real property or any improvements to the real property except as otherwise provided in the real estate contract.
(b) The North Carolina Real
Estate Commission shall develop and require the use of a
standard disclosure statement to comply with the requirements of this section. The disclosure
statement shall specify that certain transfers of residential property are excluded from this requirement
by G.S. 47E-2, including transfers of residential
property made pursuant to a lease with an option to purchase where the lessee
occupies or intends to occupy the dwelling, and shall include at least the
following characteristics and conditions of the property:
(1) The water supply and sanitary sewage disposal system;
(2) The roof, chimneys, floors, foundation, basement, and other structural components and any modifications of these structural components;
(3) The plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling, and other mechanical systems;
(4) Present infestation of wood-destroying insects or organisms or past infestation the damage for which has not been repaired;
(5) The zoning laws, restrictive covenants, building codes, and other land-use restrictions affecting the real property, any encroachment of the real property from or to adjacent real property, and notice from any governmental agency affecting this real property; and
(6) Presence of lead-based paint, asbestos, radon gas, methane gas, underground storage tank, hazardous material or toxic material (whether buried or covered), and other environmental contamination.
The disclosure statement shall provide the owner with the
option to indicate whether the owner has actual knowledge of the specified
characteristics or conditions, or the owner is making no representations as to
any characteristic or condition.
(c) The rights of the parties to a real estate contract as to conditions of the
property of which the owner had no actual knowledge are not affected by this
Article unless the residential disclosure statement states
that the owner makes no representations as to those conditions. If the
statement states that an owner makes no representations as to the conditions of
the property, then the owner has no duty to disclose those conditions, whether
or not the owner should have known of them.”
(Emphasis added.)
3. A Council member asked the staff to describe the street construction standards for the roads in the Larkspur neighborhood.
Comment: The construction specifications for the streets in the Larkspur neighbor are included in a chart attached to this memorandum (Attachment 2). Street classifications, as classified by their functional relationship to through-traffic services and land–access service, for the Larkspur neighborhood are either collector (Old Larkspur Way) or local (Town Design Manual-Attachment 3). A map identifying streets classified as collector roads, within the Town, is also attached to this memorandum (Attachment 4). Although the right-of-way width and cross-section of Old Larkspur Way varies, the Town classifies the entire length of Old Larkspur Way as a collector road.
4. A Council member asked staff to clarify the circumstances surrounding the approval of the Larkspur Subdivision as it relates to the vehicular connection to Chapel Watch Village.
Comment: A review of the November 19, 2001 Public Hearing Summary Minutes on the Larkspur Subdivision proposal indicated that the Chapel Watch applicant supported restricted vehicular access between the Larkspur development and the Northwood neighborhood. The minutes also state that the Chapel Watch Village applicant agreed to provide a vehicular connection between the Larkspur proposal and his proposed Chapel Watch Village project.
5. A Council member asked if and how much the streets in Northwood were used by cut-through traffic between Eubanks Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Comment: A study was conducted by the Town’s Traffic Consultant regarding cut-through traffic from Eubanks Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the Northwood neighborhood. The funds for the study were provided by the Chapel Watch Village developer. A copy of the study and findings are attached (Attachment 5).
The data collected shows that four estimated cut-through trips were made, during the three peak travel periods on a typical weekday.
6. A Council member asked that consideration be given to different options for the connection between the Larkspur neighborhood and Chapel Watch Village.
Comment: Following the September 26, 2005 meeting, the applicant agreed to propose options for a connection between the Larkspur neighborhood and proposed Chapel Watch Village project. The applicant’s October 5, 2005 memorandum (Attachment 6) proposed the following two options: a) full vehicular access; or b) emergency, bike and pedestrian access only, blocked with bollards, similar to the connection between the Larkspur and the Northwood neighborhoods.
7. A Council member asked staff to evaluate traffic calming measures that the Council could consider if the connector was open.
Comment: At this point in the process we have not made an evaluation of possible traffic calming measures for Larkspur or this proposed development. Following this Concept Plan Review, we expect that the applicant will submit a revised Special Use Permit application. Once we receive the revised Special Use Permit application, Town staff will conduct a review of the proposal and prepare a recommendation.
8. A Council member asked how the Council could evaluate a scenario in which the final decision to open or close the connection would be delayed until a future date.
Comment: At this point in the process we have not evaluated a scenario in which a decision on the status of the connector would be delayed. Following this Concept Plan Review, upon receipt of a revised Special Use Permit application, we will conduct a review of the proposal and prepare a recommendation.
NEXT STEPS
Following tonight’s meeting, upon receipt of a revised Special Use Permit application, the staff will continue the process of reviewing the applicant’s proposal. Once staff has completed their review, the application will be scheduled for review by the Town’s Advisory Boards. The Planning Board, Transportation Board, Community Design Commission, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Greenways Commission will review the application and forward recommendations and comments to the Council.
RECOMMENDATION
We recommend that the Council review this Concept Plan proposal, receive comments from citizens, and adopt a resolution transmitting comments to the applicant.
ATTACHMENTS
1. October 27, 2004, Pedestrian Facilities Plan Northwest Quadrant (p. 7).
2. Road standards chart and map of Larkspur subdivision (p. 8).
3. Street classification standards from the Town’s Design Manual (p. 10).
4. Map identifying Town streets classified as collector roads (p. 12).
5. Northwood Traffic Data: Eubanks Road/Martin Luther King Blvd. (p. 13).
6. Applicant’s proposed options for connection between Larkspur and Chapel Watch (p. 17).
7. Correspondence received since the September 26, 2005 Public Hearing (p. 18).
8. Additional materials handed out during the September 26, 2005, Concept Plan Review (p. 43).
9. September 26, 2005, Chapel Watch Village Concept Plan memorandum (begin new page 1).
