AGENDA #4c
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Purchase
of Open Space on
DATE:
The attached resolution would
authorize the Manager to use 1996 Open Space bond funds to purchase 12.59 acres
of property on the south side of
Since the early 1980s, the Town
has acquired about 50% of the greenway corridor along
On
On
On September 25, 2000, the Council authorized the Manager to begin grant and acquisition work for flood-damaged homes and lots on Dickerson Court; properties along Bolin, Dry, Morgan, and Wilson Creeks; and additional properties suitable for use of Open Space bond funds including recorded lots that do not comply with current standards for lot development and other undeveloped neighborhood lots with pocket park potential.
Since the early 1980s the Town has made an effort to acquire as much land along Morgan Creek as possible. At this time the Town has acquired almost the entire western half of the corridor from near Kingswood Apartments to the Merritt Pasture.
The 12.59-acre Morgan Creek tract that has been offered for sale is a land-locked parcel that lies directly across Morgan Creek from Frank Porter Graham School and adjoins the Carrboro Town line.
The southern portion of the site, directly across from Frank Porter Graham School, has some steep slopes. The remainder of the site is rolling, wooded open space. A Duke Power transmission easement is located on the property. We estimate that 15-20% of the property lies within the Resource Conservation District of Morgan Creek and a tributary.
A Phase I Environmental Study has been completed. The Report indicates that there is no evidence of any environmental contamination.
Grant Potential
In September 2000, the Council agreed to an open space acquisition strategy of attempting to leverage additional funds by using the Town’s Open Space bond fund as a match for possible grants. The timing required for this purchase would not allow us to apply for grants. The owner is interested in selling the property in 2001. We expect the next round of Clean Water Management Trust Fund grants to be due in December with notification of grant recipients to be made in mid-2002.
The property is currently useable only for open space purposes because it has no legal access. However, it is an important parcel from the standpoint of assembling the property needed to build the proposed Morgan Creek Trail between US 15-501 and Smith Level Road. It could also be a valuable parcel for any developer assembling adjoining parcels with road access.
Acquisition of the property would allow the Town to secure the westernmost parcel needed to eventually connect the trail to the future Carrboro trail system as well as preserving open space, steep slopes and riparian buffers.
The Capital Needs Task Force, a committee established to advise the Board of County Commissioners on matters related to the proposed upcoming bond election, has recommended that the November 2001 referendum include $1,000,000 in general obligation bonds for Chapel Hill’s development of the Morgan Creek and Bolin Creek greenways. They also recommended that the referendum include $750,000 for Carrboro’s development of the same projects. If this occurs, and if the citizens approve the referendum, the two Towns would then be in a position to work on the Morgan Creek Trail. The parcel under consideration would be vital for completion of the trail.
This offer to sell property to the Town presents several opportunities and costs that we list below for your consideration.
Potential Benefits of Acquiring the Property:
· This property is one of the tracts specifically identified for potential purchase by the Council in September 2000.
· This acquisition would add a significant portion of the Morgan Creek corridor to the Town’s inventory of open space including the slopes across the creek from Frank Porter Graham School.
· The property is needed to build the Morgan Creek Trail as described in the Town’s Greenways Master Plan.
· We could more easily link Frank Porter Graham School to the future greenway.
· Much of this property qualifies as stormwater conservation area.
· This is a legal lot that does not front on a road built to Town standards. Acquisition by the Town would prevent less than optimal development.
· We would have an opportunity to add significant amounts of riparian buffer and upland property to our open space inventory. Because of the limitations inherent in acquiring land through the subdivision process we usually acquire only the stream corridors. Equally important are the riparian buffers, or the narrow strips of higher ground that border the streams. We have not been able to preserve as many of these areas as we would like.
Potential Costs of Acquiring the Property:
· This purchase would use $189,000 of the remaining $1,560,493 in Open Space bond authorization, leaving $1,371,493 for other acquisitions. At this time, our contacts with other owners of property in which the Council expressed interest along Wilson Creek and Morgan Creek have yielded no other positive results. We will continue to contact property owners in these areas, but cannot at this time identify another parcel that we believe would be offered for sale to the Town.
· The purchase would remove the tract and any future improvements from the property tax base.
· The timing required for this purchase would not allow us to apply for grants.
Manager’s Recommendation: That the Council adopt the following resolution authorizing the Manager to use 1996 Open Space bond funds to purchase 12.59 acres of property along Morgan Creek for $189,000.
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MANAGER TO USE TOWN OPEN SPACE BOND FUNDS FOR PURCHASE OF TWO PARCELS (IDENTIFIED AS CHAPEL HILL TAX MAP LOTS 7.122.B.21 AND 7.122.B.21A) TOTALING APPROXIMATELY 12.59 ACRES OF PROPERTY SOUTH OF FRANK PORTER GRAHAM SCHOOL AND WEST OF HIGHWAY 15-501 FOR $189,000 (2001-09-10/R-3)
WHEREAS, in November 1996, Chapel Hill voters approved $3,000,000 in general obligation bonds for purchase of open space; and
WHEREAS, on May 26, 1998, the Council adopted the Chapel Hill Greenways Comprehensive Master Plan, which set as a goal the construction of a trail along Morgan Creek from the Merritt Pasture to the Carrboro Town line near Smith Level Road; and
WHEREAS, this 12.59 parcel meets the Council goal of acquiring land suitable for promoting non-automobile community connectivity and/or preserving scenic vistas, environmentally sensitive areas, Resource Conservation District land, community open space and neighborhood open space; and
WHEREAS, in September 2000, the Council identified the tract for possible acquisition; and
WHEREAS, the Town has been actively acquiring land along Morgan Creek;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Town Manager is authorized to use Town 1996 Open Space bond funds for purchase of 12.59 acres of property located west of Highway 15-501, east of Smith Level Road and south of Frank Porter Graham School.
This the 10th day of September, 2001.
ATTACHMENT 3
RECORD OF ACTIVITY – 1996 OPEN SPACE BOND
August 27, 2001
Bond Issue $3,000,000
1998 purchase of 6 acres at Roberson and Cleland Drives $265,000
1998 purchase of 7.6 acres at Bennett and Mt. Carmel Roads 167,343
1998 purchase of easements for Lower Booker Creek Trail 5,000
2000 purchase of Springcrest Property 798,665
2000 purchase of Little Creek Property 8,000
2001 authorized reserve for Dickerson Court grant match 150,000
Appraisals, legal fees, and environmental studies 45,499
Total allocated to date $1,439,507
Bond proceeds remaining to date $1,560,493
Cost to purchase Morgan Creek Property $189,000
Bond proceeds remaining if Morgan Creek property is purchased $1,371,493