AGENDA #7

MEMORANDUM

TO: Mayor and Town Council

FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT: Review of Discussions Regarding a Proposed Single Family Overlay Zone

DATE: April 24, 2000

This memorandum responds to Council questions, raised on March 27, regarding the status of discussions about a proposed Single Family Overlay Zone.

BACKGROUND

On September 27, 1999, a petition was brought to the Town Council by a group of citizens called Northside Community Association. A copy of the petition is attached (please see Attachment 1). The petition asked the Town Council to consider creating a new zoning district called "Single Family Overlay Zone," for possible application to the Northside Neighborhood. The petition asked that the new zoning district contain the following features/requirements:

• No more than two unrelated individuals aged 18 years or older may reside in any dwelling unit

• If a single-family dwelling is converted to a two-family dwelling, no more than two unrelated individuals aged 18 years or older may have residence on that property.

• All dwelling units made non-conforming by this provision would have to annually register with the Town as a non-conforming use.

• Property owners of record as of the day of adoption of the ordinance would not be required to comply with the ordinance.

• Heirs to property would have special exemption.

• Definition of family: Persons occupying a single family dwelling unit where all members over the age of eighteen are related by blood, marriage, adoption, domestic partnership as defined by the Town of Chapel Hill ordinance, or are in foster care. No family shall have more than two unrelated individuals who are 18 years or older resident with such family. The term “family “ does not include any organization or institutional group.

A chronology of responses/actions resulting from this petition follows:

• September 27, 1999: The petition was presented to the Town Council. The Council referred the petition to the Town Manager for comment.

• November 22, 1999: The Town Manager submitted a set of 3 memoranda to the Council, responding to 3 petitions raising issues related to rental housing. One of those memoranda addressed specifically the Single Family Overlay petition. A copy of that memorandum is attached (please see Attachment 2).

• November 22, 1999: After discussion of the petition and the Town Manager's memorandum, the Council considered two resolutions as possible response: one would direct the Manager to initiate more aggressive enforcement of occupancy regulations in Northside; the second would call a Public Hearing to initiate a process to create a Single Family Overlay Zone. The Council chose to adopt the first resolution. A copy of the Council's Minutes from this portion of the November 22 meeting is attached (please see Attachment 3).

• March 9, 2000: A letter was written to the Mayor, Council, and Manager by Ms. Vivian Foushee, Ms. Mary Jones, and Ms. Estelle Mabry on behalf of the Northside Community Association, transmitted to the Town by EmPOWERment, Inc., asking questions about the status of discussions about the Single Family Overlay Zone proposal. A copy is attached (please see Attachment 4).

• March 17, 2000: A letter was sent from the Town Manager to Ms. Foushee, addressing her questions. A copy is attached here (please see Attachment 5).

• March 27, and April 10, 2000: Letters from Ms. Foushee, Ms. Jones, and Ms. Mabry were transmitted to the Mayor and Council, by EmPOWERment, Inc., asking again about the questions raised in Ms. Foushee's March 9 letter. Copies of these letters are attached (please see Attachments 6 and 7)).

• April 11, 2000: During a Public Information Meeting on the Comprehensive Plan, Northside representatives asked about the status of the Single Family Overlay Zone proposal. Planning Director Roger Waldon described the chronology noted above, and noted that this report was going to be presented to the Council and discussed on April 24.

• April 14, 2000: A letter from the Town Manager was sent to Ms. Foushee, reiterating the points made in the Manager's March 17 letter, and including details about this April 24 Council meeting (please see Attachment 8).

COMMENTS ON PROPOSAL

Some of the ideas in the September 27, 1999 petitions are being pursued: enforcement of occupancy regulations and consideration of rental licensing. These are initiatives that are ongoing or under consideration, and addressed in the draft Comprehensive Plan (please see discussion below).

We believe that there are problems, however, with the feasibility of the Single Family Overlay Zone proposal. For example, one provision that appears problematic is the concept of having different regulations apply to different properties, depending on who owns the property, who occupies the property, how long it has been owned, and how it was acquired. In addition, the provision that proposes restricting occupancy of a single-family house, or the two dwelling units of a duplex, to a total maximum of 2 unrelated people per structure, appears to be impractical and potentially difficult to enforce.

We believe that the Single Family Overlay Zone proposal that has been presented to the council raises constitutional and statutory questions that could render it infeasible.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN INITIATIVES

The draft 2000 Comprehensive Plan under consideration by the Town Council included a special focus on the Northside neighborhood. A Focus Area Report identified key issues of concern to the neighborhood. Other close-in neighborhoods, including the Town’s historic districts, received extensive attention during the process of developing the Plan.

The Plan (March 27, 2000 draft) proposes several strategies to conserve neighborhoods.

1) Neighborhood Protection (Strategy 3A): The Plan shows residential conservation areas for neighborhoods surrounding downtown and the University. Neighborhoods include Cobb Terrace, Northside, Cameron-McCauley, Franklin-Rosemary, Westwood, Purefoy Road, Mason Farm, Gimghoul, Laurel Hill, and Glenview. This designation means that “it is the stated policy of Chapel Hill that neighborhood protection issues in these areas are paramount.”

2) Small Area Planning Process (Strategy 3A-1): The Plan proposes extending the small area planning process to these established residential areas. The proposed Action Plan shows initiation of one residential area plan in the Mid-Term (2-5 years).

3) Design Guidelines (Strategy 3A-2): The Plan recommends developing design guidelines to ensure that development complements the fabric of existing neighborhoods, possibly in conjunction with small area planning. Guidelines should be adopted into the Town’s Development Ordinance, and could be in the form of a Residential Conservation Overlay District.

4) Vehicular Impacts (Strategy 3A-3): The Plan recommends reducing vehicular impacts on residential neighborhoods, and suggests in the Action Plan to develop a plan to address traffic and parking impacts on neighborhoods in the Mid-Term (2-5 years).

5) Growth Pressures (Strategy 3A-4): The Plan suggests alleviating growth pressures on these neighborhoods by considering selected opportunity sites for development elsewhere in Town.

6) Conversion of Owner-Occupied Properties to Rental (Strategy 3A-5): The Plan proposes implementing a strategy to address the effects on neighborhoods of the conversion of owner-occupied residences to rental properties. Actions proposed include:

a) Undertake enforcement of occupancy, parking, and noise regulations;

b) Develop a rental licensing and inspection program;

c) Develop ordinance modifications to address issues such as noise and front-yard parking (proposed as a Short-Term Action , 0-2 years);

d) Institute a neighborhood outreach program to student residents; and

e) Establish a “first-option fund” to buy and resell homes.

SUMMARY

We have not recommended that the Council initiate the creation of a Single Family Overlay Zone. We note that several related initiatives are included in the draft Comprehensive Plan.

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment 1: September, 1999 petition from Northside Community Association (p.5)

Attachment 2: November 22, 1999 Manager’s Memorandum discussing petition (p.6)

Attachment 3: Excerpt from November 22, 1999 Council minutes (p. 12)

Attachment 4: March 9 letter from Ms. Vivian Foushee, et. al. (p. 16)

Attachment 5: March 17 letter from Town Manager to Ms. Vivian Foushee (p. 18)

Attachment 6: March 27 letter from Ms. Vivian Foushee, et. al. (p.20)

Attachment 7: April 10 letter from Ms. Vivian Foushee, et. al. (p.21)

Attachment 8: April 14 letter from Town Manager to Ms. Vivian Foushee (p. 22)