AGENDA #9
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Update on Durham’s NC 54/I-40 Corridor Study
DATE: February 26, 2001
This report responds to the Town Council’s request for additional information on Durham’s NC 54/I-40 Corridor Study Plan. In particular, details are provided about Durham’s designation on maps in the Draft Plan of “proposed thoroughfares” shown entering Chapel Hill, and a potential transit station near the Chapel Hill Town Limits.
BACKGROUND
On January 22, 2001, the Council received a report on the NC54/I-40 Corridor Study, and referred requests for additional information to the Manager (please see Attachment 1). Since that time, a revision of the Study has been issued, dated February 2, 2001 (please see Attachment 2).
The NC 54/I-40 Corridor Study Draft Plan contains policies, an implementation statement and a set of maps that detail, among other issues, a potential future land use pattern for the southern portion of the City of Durham and Durham County. The Town limits of Chapel Hill form the western boundary of the study area, specifically “Subarea C” in the Draft Plan. Durham’s Urban Growth Boundary forms the southern boundary of the study area, and Research Triangle Park is immediately to the east.
The Durham City Council and County Board of Commissioners had been expected to adopt the plan late last year, but the Durham City Council in November returned it to the Planning Committee of the Durham Planning Commission for further refinement.
On Wednesday, February 14, 2001, the Planning Committee unanimously recommended approval of the Draft Plan, with one change – changing the proposed land use map for a small area near Interstate 40 and NC 54 from Office to Low Density Residential.
The Draft Plan now goes to the County Commissioners, possibly on March 12, 2001, according to the Durham City/County Planning Department. The City Council is to consider adopting the document after the County Commissioners take action on it.
One of the questions raised by the Chapel Hill Town Council regards depiction in the Draft Plan of “proposed thoroughfares” entering Chapel Hill near Meadowmont and The Oaks. We have spoken with the Durham City/County Planning Department and the Durham Transportation division to gather more information on this issue.
According to T.E. Austin, lead planner on the NC 54/I-40 Corridor Study Draft Plan, the “proposed thoroughfares” were included to reflect routes shown in the local Thoroughfare Plan and do not represent any new proposed connections. The proposed thoroughfares show up as lines drawn on three maps in the Draft Plan’s Map Book (please see Maps 1, 2, and 3, attached).
None of these proposed roads is scheduled for funding in the state Transportation Improvement Plan. All likely would be built as the area is developed, with the right of way reserved during site plan review, according to Durham’s Transportation office. Each proposed thoroughfare is discussed below.
· Ephesus Church Road (see the label “1” on Map 1)
This is the proposed “straightening” of Ephesus Church Road where it curves north to Pope Road.
· Lancaster Drive (Number 2 on Map 1)
This would tie into the Lancaster Drive stub-out in The Oaks. The street, if completed, would connect Pinehurst Drive in The Oaks with the proposed Southwest Durham Drive (Number 4 on Map 1).
· Meadowmont Lane (Number 3 on Map 1)
Meadowmont Lane, under construction in Meadowmont, extends north from NC 54 and bends to the east as it passes north of the UNC Business School Paul J. Rizzo Center property. Meadowmont Lane ends at the City Limits as a stub-out that could be connected to a future street, such as a Southwest Durham Drive.
· Southwest Durham Drive (Number 4 on Map 1).
This is the Durham County portion (outside Chapel Hill’s Town Limits) of the old Laurel Hill Drive corridor. Southwest Durham Drive would extend from the Meadowmont Lane stub-out, which ends at the Chapel Hill Town Limit.
Map 2 indicates potential future “vehicular connections” between Farrington Road and the corridor for the Southwest Durham Drive. These are not on the Thoroughfare Plan, but were included on the map to indicate the need to provide east-west and north-south connections in that area, according to the City/County Planning Department.
Southwest Durham Drive, if built, would pass through a portion of the study area in which future development is uncertain. The Draft Plan indicates the area’s future land use as Low Density Residential (see Map 2). However, the Draft Plan indicates the area as being a potential transit station. If the station is built, the Draft Plan states that “within one-eighth mile of the station, develop at a much higher intensity with a mix of integrated housing and non-residential uses.” The Draft Plan states that within a half mile of the station, “develop at a lesser intensity with a mix of integrated housing and non-residential uses transitioning to the surrounding Low Density Residential” areas (see p. 34 of Draft Plan).
The shaded circle in Map 3 depicts the “Core” and “Support” areas for the potential transit station. The outer area extends far enough to include an area within Chapel Hill. The transit corridor is shown on this map as the dashed line that extends from Meadowmont and runs parallel to Southwest Durham Drive and Interstate 40.
Implications for Chapel Hill
Potential Impacts
The potential impacts of the land use, transportation and other policies in the Draft Plan depend on several factors. One issue relates to traffic. If the roads shown connecting Chapel Hill were built, Lancaster Drive and Meadowmont Lane would receive increased traffic. However, these connections were anticipated in the Thoroughfare Plan and in the stubbing out of these two streets. Also, construction of a Southwest Durham Drive and connections into Chapel Hill as drawn on the Thoroughfare Plan map would absorb some of the traffic on existing streets such as Pope Road and Ephesus Church Road.
The largest unknown impact relates to the area designated as a potential future transit station. The Draft Plan suggests that the area should develop in a low-density residential character without the station. The Existing Land Use map in the Draft Plan (see Map 4) indicates that this area currently is either low-density residential or agricultural land.
If the station becomes a reality, the Draft Plan indicates that significantly more dense development would be encouraged around the station. A portion of the shaded area showing an area of greater density one-half mile around the transit station is located in Chapel Hill’s jurisdiction. We note that the Town’s land use plan would govern in this area; the Town’s land use plan shows predominantly low density residential and institutional land uses. Existing low-density neighborhoods in this area of Chapel Hill that currently abut the low-density areas outside Town in Durham’s jurisdiction could be subject to a change in the neighboring land use if development occurs as contemplated by this Corridor Study. However, the Corridor Study Draft Plan does suggest that transitions should occur to the surrounding low density residential uses.
Communication
The Draft Plan makes no reference to communicating in the future with the Town of Chapel Hill on growth issues in the study area.
The Durham-Chapel Hill Work Group has received periodic updates on the development of the Corridor Study during its quarterly meetings. Chapel Hill Planning Department staff has attended several public information meetings held on the Study by the Durham City/County Planning Department. To date, the Town of Chapel Hill has not submitted formal comments on the proposal.
NEXT STEPS
The Draft Plan next goes to the Durham County Commissioners, possibly on March 12, 2001. Subsequently, the Durham City Council will consider adopting the document.
MAPS
1. Thoroughfares and Improvements (Map C-8 in the NC 54/I-40 Corridor Study Draft Plan)
2. Future Land Use (Map C-9 in the NC 54/I-40 Corridor Study Draft Plan)
3. Long Range Transportation Future Land Use (Map C-10 in the NC 54/I-40 Corridor Study Draft Plan)
4. Existing Land Use (Map C-5 in the NC 54/I-40 Corridor Study Draft Plan)
ATTACHMENTS
1. Memorandum to Council of January 22, 2001 (begin new page 1).
2. NC 54/I-40 Corridor Study Draft Plan, Durham City-County Planning Department, February 2, 2001, with accompanying Map Book (p. 22).