AGENDA #4d
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Request for Expedited Processing of Special Use Permit Modification Application for UNC Airport Road Office Building
DATE: January 22, 2001
The Town Council has received and referred a petition from Bruce Runberg, representing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, requesting expedited processing of a Special Use Permit Modification application for the UNC Airport Road Office Building. 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 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 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 Mr. Runberg indicates that the University is beginning preparation for the implementation of the University Bond Projects. While this is not a project funded by the Bond, the University indicates that the building is necessary to house employees who will be relocated while other Bond Projects are constructed.
The Town Council approved a Special Use Permit for a 60,000 square foot project on February 9, 1998. The Permit required that work start by February 9, 2000. Final plans were never submitted and the project was not constructed.
The Concept Plan for a larger building (78,000 square foot building proposal) is scheduled to be reviewed by the Design Commission on February 7, 2001. A formal application for Special Use Permit Modification has not 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.
After receiving staff recommendations based on these criteria, the Council has approved expedited processing for :
Ø Intimate Bookshop,
Ø Erwin Village Subdivision,
Ø Ruth Faison Shaw Museum,
Ø Chapel Hill Public Library,
Ø Chapel Hill Public Housing,
Ø Culbreth Park Subdivision,
Ø East Chapel Hill High School,
Ø Orange County Southern Human Services Center,
Ø Hargraves Gymnasium addition,
Ø Transitional Housing on Clark Road,
Ø Chapel Hill Day Care at Southern Village,
Ø Bolin Creek Greenway Phase II,
Ø Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Transportation Center,
Ø WUNC Tower request,
Ø Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center,
Ø Pavilion,
Ø Southern Village Elementary School,
Ø Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity,
Ø Neville Tract,
Ø McDade House relocation,
Ø Freedom House,
Ø Orange Community Housing Corporation Scarlette Housing,
Ø Kenan Stadium Expansion,
Ø UNC Co-generation Facility Boiler Replacement,
Ø Chapel Hill Internal Medicine,
Ø Midway Business Center,
Ø Carol Woods Retirement Community (for Village Charter School use),
Ø University Mall Redevelopment,
Ø Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity House,
Ø Greene Tract rezoning,
Ø Manley Estates Housing,
Ø University Fraternity and Sorority applications (sprinkler projects),
Ø Carol Woods Retirement Center (for day care addition, dining hall expansion and new units),
Ø Church of the Holy Family Expansion,
Ø Eastwood Lake Project, and
Ø Chapel Hill Pediatrics.
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 believe that expedited review is justified in this case, because of the relationship of this project to the University Bond Projects. We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution directing the Town Manager to expedite processing of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s application for a Special Use Permit Modification for a new office building on Airport Drive.
Several development applications are currently working toward being placed on the Council’s public hearing schedule. The impact of granting expedited processing for the UNC Airport Drive Office application is that one less space will be available on the Council’s schedule for which the other applications are competing.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Letter from Bruce Runberg, Requesting Expedited Processing (p. 5).
A RESOLUTION DIRECTING EXPEDITED PROCESSING IN THE REVIEW OF SPECIAL USE PERMIT MODIFICATION APPLICATION FOR UNC AIRPORT ROAD OFFICE BUILDING (2001-01-22/R- 5)
WHEREAS, the Town Council has received a petition from Bruce Runberg, with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for expedited processing of a Special Use Permit Modification application seeking approval of a new office building on Airport 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 Modification application for the Airport Road Office Building in a manner that will speed review without sacrificing breadth or depth of analysis.
This the 22nd day of January, 2001.