AGENDA #9
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Request for Expedited Processing of Special Use Permit Application for Chapel Hill Pediatrics
DATE: September 11, 2000
The Town Council has received and referred a petition from Dr. Jennifer Lail, representing Chapel Hill Pediatrics, requesting expedited processing of a Special Use Permit application for a new office/clinic building on Sage Road. The attached resolution would authorize expedited processing of this 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 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 three to four months to obtain final approval of detailed construction drawings and final plans in order to then obtain a Building Permit. 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 petition from Dr. Lail indicates that Chapel Hill Pediatrics is in the beginning stages of a building project. The Concept Plan for the new offices was reviewed by the Design Commission in June. A formal application for Special Use Permit has been submitted.
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 Scarlette 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, the Greene Tract rezoning, Manley Estates Housing, University Fraternity and Sorority applications, and the Carol Woods Retirement Center (for day care addition, dining hall expansion and new units).
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.
Manager’s Recommendation: We did not find justification for granting expedited processing as we reviewed the petition submitted by Dr. Lail. We did not find a public purpose or public objective stated in the petition. In addition, the Council criteria indicates that we should recommend expedited processing only when a project that involves public interest would be harmed by following normal rules of procedure. We found no evidence in the petition that public interest would be harmed if the Special Use Permit application went through the normal process.
Adoption of the attached resolution would grant expedited processing for the Chapel Hill Pediatrics application, if the Council chooses to grant this request.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Letter from Dr. Jennifer Lail, Requesting Expedited Processing (p. 4).
A RESOLUTION DIRECTING EXPEDITED PROCESSING IN THE REVIEW OF SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR CHAPEL HILL PEDIATRICS
(2000-09-11/R-10)
WHEREAS, the Town Council has received a petition from Dr. Jennifer Lail for expedited processing of a Special Use Permit application for Chapel Hill Pediatrics; and
WHEREAS, the proposal involves a new building on Sage Road; and
WHEREAS, the proposal would satisfy a public purpose objective;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Town Manager is directed to expedite processing of a Special Use Permit application for Chapel Hill Pediatrics, in a manner that will speed review without sacrificing breadth or depth of analysis.
This the 11th day of September, 2000.