AGENDA #4e
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Request
for Expedited Processing of Special Use Permit Application for First Baptist
and Manley Estates, Inc. HUD 202 Apartments
DATE: January 24, 2000
The Town Council has received a petition from Mr. Arthur R. Cogswell for expedited processing of a Special Use Permit application for First Baptist and Manley Estates, Inc. HUD 202 Apartments. The Apartments are proposed to be located on the east side of Merritt Mill Road south of Park Road (please see attached letter). The attached resolution would authorize expedited processing of the application.
Expedited
processing grants priority status for review at every step of the process, and
grants priority status in being scheduled on agendas of advisory boards and the
Town Council. A Special Use Permit
Modification application would normally take nine months to a year to be
reviewed by all the required boards and commissions and to be heard at a Public
Hearing. Following approval, an
application normally takes two to three months to obtain final approval of
detailed construction drawings and final plans. The review process is often long because of the breadth and depth
of review and analysis, and because many projects are usually being reviewed at
any given time.
The applicant
indicates that the First Baptist and Manley Estates, Inc. HUD 202 Apartments
have been awarded a HUD grant for construction of 41 apartments designed for
qualified elderly residents of Chapel Hill.
The applicant indicates that to receive this grant, the building plans
and specifications must be submitted to HUD by June 17, 2000, together with the
approved Special Use Permit.
We have
generally followed the criteria listed below in making our recommendations to
the Council on requests for expedited processing:
1. Recommend expedited processing only in cases where there is a public interest or public objective involved.
2. Recommend expedited processing only when a project that involves public interest would be harmed by following normal rules of procedure.
3. Avoid expedited processing in situations where other applications that do not carry this special status would be delayed.
Following
staff recommendations based on these criteria, the Council has approved
expedited processing for the Intimate Bookshop, Erwin Village Subdivision, Ruth
Faison Shaw Museum, Chapel Hill Public Library, Chapel Hill Public Housing,
Culbreth Park Subdivision, East Chapel Hill High School, Orange County Southern
Human Services Center, the Hargraves Gymnasium addition, Transitional Housing
on Clark Road, Chapel Hill Day Care at Southern Village, Bolin Creek Greenway
Phase II, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Transportation center, WUNC Tower
request, Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center, the Pavilion, the Southern Village
Elementary School, Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, the Neville Tract, McDade House
relocation, Freedom House, Orange Community Housing Corporation Affordable
Housing, Kenan Stadium Expansion, UNC Co-generation Facility Boiler
Replacement, Chapel Hill Internal Medicine, Midway Business Center, Carol Woods
Retirement Community (for Village Charter School use), the University Mall
Redevelopment, and Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity House.
Requests for
this special application processing by East Franklin Car Care, Kappa Alpha
Theta sorority, and an application for parking and refuse facilities at 317 W.
Rosemary Street were not approved by the Town Council.
We believe
that this request for expedited processing is justified, because the project
will lose the federal grant money for construction if the Special Use Permit
has not been issued by June 17, 2000.
Additionally, we believe the apartment project would serve a need in Chapel
Hill for reasonably-priced housing.
Manager’s Recommendation: We believe that expedited processing is justified in this case, because the application is scheduled to receive a HUD grant for the construction and because the project would serve a need for reasonably-priced housing. We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution, directing the Town Manager to expedite processing of the Special Use Permit application for the First Baptist and Manley Estates, Inc. HUD 202 Apartments project. The resolution calls for a May 15, 2000 Public Hearing before the Council. Although a formal Special Use Permit application has not yet been submitted, the application has been through the Concept Plan process. We anticipate formal submittal of the Special Use Permit application at the end of January.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Letter from Mr. Arthur R. Cogswell Requesting Expedited Processing (p. 4)
A RESOLUTION DIRECTING EXPEDITED PROCESSING IN THE REVIEW OF THE
SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR THE First Baptist and Manley Estates, Inc. HUD
202 Apartments PROJECT (2000-01-24/R-4)
WHEREAS, the
Town Council has received a petition from Mr. Arthur R. Cogswell for expedited
processing of a Special Use Permit application for the First Baptist and Manley
Estates, Inc. HUD 202 Apartments, proposed to be located on the east side of
Merritt Mill Road near Park Road; and
WHEREAS, the
proposal is to provide housing for elderly residents of Chapel Hill with the
aid of a HUD grant; and
WHEREAS, the
project would serve a need in Chapel Hill for reasonably-priced housing;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Town Manager is directed to expedite processing of the Special Use Permit application for First Baptist and Manley Estates, Inc. HUD 202 Apartments, in a manner that will speed review without sacrificing breadth or depth of analysis.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a Public Hearing has been called for Monday, May 15, 2000, to consider the application.
This the 24th day of January, 2000.