TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Proposed Rezoning Initiative
DATE: September 11, 2000
This memorandum proposes a process to implement an affordable housing initiative in accordance with direction from Council on August 28, 2000. The initiative calls for rezoning parcels to reduce the allowable intensity of development in order to achieve affordable housing objectives.
The attached resolution would call public hearings for January 16, 2001, to consider rezoning for affordable housing objectives.
On April 10, 2000, the Council adopted a new Mixed Housing Ordinance. At that time the Council indicated its intent to consider a related proposal to establish an affordable housing incentive through rezoning. The proposal called for rezoning undeveloped properties to reduce allowable intensity of development. The owners of these properties could then apply for conditional use rezoning with an accompanying special use permit application, and offer considerations for achieving the Council’s policy for providing 15 percent affordable housing.
On April 10, 2000, the Council agreed to consider rezoning all undeveloped land to reduce the allowable intensity of development as a method of achieving affordable housing objectives. The Council would then entertain applications for conditional use zoning, along with a special use permit application, and apply its newly-adopted policy that 15 percent of all new housing units be affordable.
We understood the Council’s intent to be the consideration of rezoning for all undeveloped property in Chapel Hill to a low-density residential designation (i.e., Residential-1). As a result, any proposal for more intensive development of these properties would require a rezoning request. The conditional use and special use process would provide the Council a tool to encourage affordable housing in future residential developments of a higher density than R-1. The justification for such a rezoning initiative would need to be established as a component of public hearings, likely involving discussion of traffic, streets, stormwater management, and other public infrastructure components.
In studying the issue, we identified several circumstances in which the rezoning proposal would be problematic, and suggested additional criteria to address these issues (see Attachment 1). These concerns included the limited potential of applying the incentive on land that is less than one acre in size; whether publicly owned property should be exempt; and the status of undeveloped lots in subdivisions or other developments where construction of a dwelling(s) was anticipated but has not yet occurred.
On August 28, 2000, the Council agreed to criteria for identifying properties to include in the rezoning proposal, such that the initiative would consider those properties that have all of the following characteristics:
The attached Map 1 depicts the location of parcels that are at least three acres and undeveloped (shown in green) or contain one dwelling unit (shown in yellow), privately owned, and not covered by an active Town development approval.
We noted in our August 28 memorandum that it was our understanding of the Council’s intent to amend the zoning map such that all parcels with the above characteristics would be zoned for intensity no greater than that allowed by the Residential-1 category (low density residential). Accordingly, the proposal for rezoning calls for changes to Residential-1.
A final consideration is that some of the properties shown in Map 1 are in the Joint Planning Area, where rezoning proposals need to be considered at Joint Public Hearings by the Chapel Hill Town Council and the Orange County Board of Commissioners (and need to be approved by both). Accordingly we propose, as an initial step in this rezoning initiative if the Council decides to proceed, that the first consideration be properties within the Town’s unilateral zoning jurisdiction.
The result is Map 2 and Map 3, which show properties that would be included in a specific rezoning proposal, to change the zoning of all highlighted parcels to Residential-1. Each of the approximately 30 parcels would be analyzed separately and each could be subject to a protest petition.
The process for conducting a Public Hearing to consider proposed rezonings, as described above, will need to include extensive notification. State law requires that, for rezonings of this kind, the owner of each property considered for rezoning needs to receive a mailed notice, along with owners of all adjacent properties. Town policies require mailed notice to all property owners within 1,000 feet of a proposed rezoning. We have identified, on Maps 2 and 3, approximately 30 parcels that would meet the criteria described above. We estimate that mailed notices would need to be sent to approximately 1,000 households, at a cost of approximately $250 for postage. Display advertisements would need to be purchased twice to publish maps prior to a public hearing. These would need to be of a size similar to those we use for annexation hearings (approximately $1,700 each, running twice, totaling $3,400).
If the Town Council decides to pursue these rezoning initiatives, we recommend that the Town Council adopt the attached resolution calling public hearings for Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001, at 7 p.m. in the Council Chamber to consider zoning properties in Chapel Hill as shown in Map 2 and Map 3 to reduce the allowable intensity of development.
A RESOLUTION CALLING A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER REZONING (2000-09-11/R-7)
WHEREAS, the Town Council has adopted a Mixed Housing Ordinance and policies seeking 15% of housing units in developments be affordable; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council on April 10, 2000, indicated its intent to consider zoning undeveloped property in Chapel Hill to reduce the allowable intensity of development to achieve affordable housing objectives;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council calls public hearings for Tuesday, January 16, 2001, at 7 p.m. in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, 306 N. Columbia Street, to consider zoning property in Chapel Hill to reduce the allowable intensity of development as shown in Maps 2 and 3 of the Council’s agenda materials of September 11, 2000.
This the 11th day of September, 2000.