AGENDA #5
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Information About Development Opportunity Sites
DATE: January 19, 2001
Discussion of the Comprehensive Plan’s designations of “Development Opportunity Sites” is on the agenda for the Council’s Planning Retreat. Attached is background information describing the concept, how it is treated in the Comprehensive Plan, along with a map showing the three locations in Chapel Hill that have been so designated.
TO: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
FROM: Roger S. Waldon, Planning Director
DATE: January 12, 2001
The Town Council has decided to discuss the Comprehensive Plan’s “Development Opportunity Site” designation on January 19. This paper offers background information that may be useful in the discussion.
The Town Council adopted a new Comprehensive Plan in May, 2000. There were several key ideas in this plan that became foundations upon which policies and strategies were built. One of those key ideas was to identify the areas in Chapel Hill that are particularly susceptible to change; and then to determine, for those areas, the locations in which change should be avoided versus the locations in which change might be accommodated.
The locations in which circumstances favored embracing change were subsequently designated in the Comprehensive Plan as “Development Opportunity Sites.” Following is text from the Plan that defines this concept:
“There are areas of Chapel Hill that represent opportunities for growth and/or redevelopment that support community objectives. Identification of these areas and consideration of creative new development forms, such as “mixed-use” and “conservation” developments, is an important part of achieving a positive future for Chapel Hill, in a manner that meets the needs of current and future residents and enhances community life.” (p. 5)
“From the standpoint of community character, a major objective is to direct growth pressures to locations that can accommodate them, thus helping to maintain the integrity of established neighborhoods. An example is the development of apartments along West Rosemary Street to absorb some of the rental demand that is impacting the Northside neighborhood.” (p 16)
“Development opportunity areas include the following:
· Areas appropriate for mixed-use development. These include mixed-use development areas designated on the Land Use Plan and existing and potential mixed-use centers.
· Specific sites appropriate for higher density residential development (up to 15 units per acre) to expand housing choice, including potential locations on West Rosemary Street in the downtown and the Greene tract in the Northwest Area.
· Selected sites along Airport Road that are either undeveloped or developed below their zoning capacity, including the Horace Williams tract and several smaller properties.” (p. 66)
Three sites were identified on the Comprehensive Plan’s Land Use Plan as Development Opportunity Sites. A map is attached showing those sites (indicated with a circled “D”). Comments on each follow:
NC 86 near Weaver Dairy Road: Several parcels in the NC 86 Corridor are identified, on both sides of NC 86. Some of the parcels are vacant, some have low-density use. A mobile home park exists on one of these properties.
NC 86 South of Homestead Road: The parcel identified on the west side of NC 86 was the subject of the recently-approved Chapel Ridge multi-family development.
15-501 at I-40: This is part of the “Northeast Gateway Corridor” currently under study by the Town Council, and the subject of a recent design competition.
Council members expressed interest in discussing the definition of “Development Opportunity Site,” to consider whether or not adjustments were necessary in the way these sites are treated in the Comprehensive Plan. Among the options for Council consideration could be:
1. Map (p. 4).