SUMMARY MINUTES OF A BUSINESS MEETING

OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL

Monday, November 26, 2001, AT 7:00 P.M.

 

 

Mayor Rosemary Waldorf called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

Council members present were Flicka Bateman, Joyce Brown, Pat Evans, Kevin Foy, Lee Pavăo, Bill Strom, Jim Ward, and Edith Wiggins.

 

Staff members present were Town Manager Cal Horton, Assistant Town Managers Sonna Loewenthal and Florentine Miller, Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos, Assistant to the Manager Bill Stockard, Parks and Recreation Director Kathryn Spatz, Finance Director Jim Baker, Police Chief Gregg Jarvies, Public Works Director Bruce Heflin, Fire Chief Dan Jones, Planning Director Roger Waldon, Stormwater Engineer Fred Royal, Human Resources Director Pat Thomas, Transportation Director Mary Lou Kuschatka, Engineering Director George Small, Public Works Internal Services Superintendent Bill Terry, Assistant Finance Director Kay Johnson, Principal Planner Rob Wilson, Traffic Engineer Kumar Neppalli, Senior Long Range Planning Coordinator Chris Berndt, Development Coordinator J.B. Culpepper, and Town Clerk Joyce Smith.

 

Item 1 – Ceremonies: Recognition of Retirees

 

Mayor Waldorf recognized eight recently retired or retiring employees:

 

·        William Turner – 1992-2001, Transportation

·        Bunny Spadaro – 1981-2001, Human Resources

·        Myrna Lopez – 1983–2001, Town Clerk’s office

·        Betsey Lloyd – 1975–2001, Transportation

·        Robert Vaughn – 1970–1/1/02, Public Works

·        Tommy Sanford – 1970–1/01/02, Public Works

·        Fred Battle – 1970–1/01/02, Parks and Recreation, formerly Public Works

·        Pat Thomas –1981–1/01/02, Human Resources Director

 

Mayor Waldorf read a proclamation honoring Margaret and George Taylor, who are Civil Rights leaders and members of the University faculty, and noted that Wednesday, November 28, 2001, has officially been designated as Margaret and George Taylor Day in Chapel Hill.

 

Mayor Waldorf also read a proclamation for Art and Kani Hurow, who have served on many boards and committees of the Town, and noted that Wednesday, November 28, 2001, has officially been designated as Art and Kani Hurow Day in Chapel Hill.


Item 2—Public Hearings: None

 

Item 3—Petitions by Citizens and Announcements by Council Members

3c(1) Mayor Waldorf, regarding a Resolution Receiving and Acknowledging Chancellor Moeser’s Communication Regarding Fiscal Equity Issues.

 

Mayor Waldorf reported she had been disappointed that the agreements were not more fully responsive to the community concerns and needs articulated by the Council, and that an agreement that would be more clearly binding on both parties had not been reached.  She added that after a year of discussions, commitments from the University on a number of key issues had been reached and it would remain for future Councils to continue this work on behalf of the community.  Mayor Waldorf urged the Council to formally receive and acknowledge the Chancellor’s November 16, 2001 communication, noting that it would be a record of the agreements resulting from the series of discussions held between the Town and the University during 2001.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER WIGGINS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 1.

 

Council Member Foy agreed that the statement from the Chancellor represented a step in the right direction, but the work needed to continue, and there would be a lot more work to do and this would not be the final version of what needed to be worked out with the University.

 

Council Member Strom agreed that there was a tremendous amount more in hand than when the Town and University started the process.  He urged Mayor-Elect Foy to actively and progressively pursue a continuing dialogue early in the next year.  Council Member Strom said he hoped that Mayor-Elect Foy could bring forth a model for the Council to continue to address the issues.

 

Council Member Wiggins stated that the Board of Trustees does not go along with the Chancellor, but the Chancellor has to go along with the Trustees.  She added that no matter what the Town’s Mayor was able to negotiate with the Chancellor, it would always be subject to the Trustees’ review.

 

THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).

 

 

A RESOLUTION RECEIVING AND ACKNOWLEDGING CHANCELLOR MOESER’S NOVEMBER 16, 2001 COMMUNICATION AS A RECORD OF AGREEMENTS THAT RESULTED FROM TOWN AND UNIVERSITY DISCUSSIONS IN 2001 (2001-11-26/R-1)

 

WHEREAS, the Town of Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have engaged in a series of discussions during 2001 about matters of mutual interest; and

 

WHEREAS, certain agreements between the Town and the University are recorded in stipulations included in the University Development Plan approved by the Town Council in October 2001; and

 

WHEREAS, University Chancellor James Moeser has put forward in a communication dated November 16, 2001, and attached hereto, a statement that “shall serve as a record of the agreements that resulted from the series of discussions” between the Town and the University during 2001;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council formally receives and acknowledges the Chancellor’s November 16, 2001 communication as a record of the agreements that resulted from the series of discussions held between the Town and the University during 2001.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

Item 4 – Consent Agenda

 

Mayor Waldorf, referring to Item 4j, Resolution Authorizing Appointment Process for Two Community Representatives to Assist the University in Planning and Programming the Arts Common, said a representative from the University suggested that this be done as soon as possible.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WARD, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).

 

 

A RESOLUTION ADOPTING VARIOUS RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES (2001-11-26/R-2)

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby adopts the following resolutions and ordinances as submitted by the Town Manager in regard to the following:

 

a.

Adoption of Closed Session Minutes. 

b.

Schedule for Considering Petition to Rezone Parcel at South Columbia Street and Old Pittsboro Road (R-3).

c.

Recommended Reclassification of Therapeutic Recreation Specialist Position (O-1).

d.

Multi-Way Stop Signs at the Intersection of Hamilton Road and Prestwick Road (O-2).

e.

Resolution to Increase Cablevision Public Access Fees by the Amount of the Inflation Factor (R-4).

f.

Closure of a Segment of Hillcrest Road Right-of-way (R-5).

g.

Closure of a Segment of the Ridgewood Lane Right-of-way (R-6).

h.

Authorization for Manager to Approve Change Orders on Fire Station #5 Construction Contract (R-7).

i.

Resolution Accepting Bid for Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (R-8) (O-2.1).

j.

Resolution Authorizing Appointment Process for Two (2) Community Representatives to Assist the University in Planning and Programming the Arts Common (Mayor Waldorf) (R-9).

k.

Budget Amendment for Orange County Library Support (O-3).

l.

Recommended Amendment to Personnel Ordinance Concerning Time Limits for Employee Grievance Appeals (O-4).

m.

Ordinance Amendment to Change Language in Town Code from “Personnel” to “Human Resources” (O-5).

n.

Traffic-Calming Measures for Mason Farm Road (R-10); (O-6a); (O-6b).

o.

Resolution Authorizing Disposition of Surplus Property (R-11).

p.

Resolution Scheduling a Hearing on Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance for Schools (R-12).

q.

Deleted.

r.

Town Annexation Issues:

a.       Resolution Identifying Areas as Being Under Consideration for Possible Future Annexation (R-13).

b.       Overview of Areas Under Consideration for Possible Annexation.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

A RESOLUTION SCHEDULING A HEARING ON REZONING PETITION (2001-11-26/R-3)

 

WHEREAS, on October 22, 2002, Mr. Joe Capowski submitted a petition to the Town Council to rezone a parcel at South Columbia Street and Old Pittsboro Road from Office Institutional-3 to Residential-2;

 

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council schedules a public hearing for May 20, 2002, at 7 p.m. in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, 306 N. Columbia St., to consider rezoning the 0.8-acre parcel at South Columbia Street and Old Pittsboro Road (Tax Map Number 7.88.H.1) from Office Institutional-3 to Residential-2.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE POSITION CLASSIFICATION AND PAY PLAN DATED NOVEMBER 1, 2001  (2001-11/26/ O-1)

 

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill as follows:

 

Section I:  That the Ordinance Establishing a Position Classification and Pay Plan (2001-8-27/O-4) is amended as follows:

 

In Section III of the Ordinance in grade 35 add the line “Recreation Specialist – Community Based Therapeutic Recreation”

In Section IV, part C, in the Parks and Recreation Department, DELETE the lines

 

                                                            Full-time                       Part-time

   Position:                                            No.    Hrs.                    No.     Hrs.                   Grade

 

Recreation Specialist                             2          37.5                 4          20/25               31-33

 

and ADD the lines

 

Recreation Specialist                             1          37.5                 4          20/25               31-33

Recreation Specialist - Community

          Based Therapeutic Recreation     1          37.5                 -           -                       35

 

Section II: This ordinance is effective upon adoption

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001

 

 

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 21 OF THE TOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES REGARDING STOP REGULATIONS (2001-11-26/O-2)

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill as follows:

Section 1.         Section 21-13(a) of the Town Code of Ordinances, “Right-of-way and stop regulations.” is hereby amended by deleting the following:

“Through Streets                                Stop Streets

Prestwick Road                                    Hamilton Road”

Section 2.  Section 21-13(c) of the Town Code of Ordinances, “Right-of-way and stop regulations.” is hereby amended by inserting the following, in appropriate alphabetical order:

“Intersection(s)

            Hamilton Road and Prestwick Road

Section 3.  This ordinance shall become effective December 17, 2001.

This the 26th day of November, 2001.


A RESOLUTION ADOPTING AN INFLATION ADJUSTMENT TO THE PUBLIC ACCESS FEE BILLED TO CABLE TELEVISION CUSTOMERS IN CHAPEL HILL (2001-11-26/R-4)

 

WHEREAS, on November 12, 2001, the Town Council held a public forum on whether to increase the cablevision public access fee; and

 

WHEREAS, a one-cent increase in the public access fee would generate about $1,454 in additional annual funds;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby increases the public access fees from 69 to 70 cents per month, beginning January 1, 2001.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

A RESOLUTION CLOSING AN UNIMPROVED SEGMENT OF HILLCREST ROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY (2001-11-26/R-5)

 

WHEREAS, the Town Council on September 24, 2001 adopted a resolution of intent to consider closing part of the Hillcrest Road right-of-way, and a public hearing thereon was held on November 19, 2001; and

 

WHEREAS, closing this part of the Hillcrest Road right-of-way would not be contrary to the public interest, and no individual owning property in the vicinity of the right-of-way would be deprived of reasonable means of ingress and egress to his or her property by the closing of said right-of-way, provided that blanket access and utility easements are reserved.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby adopts this order pursuant to the North Carolina G.S. 160A-299, permanently closing approximately 1,000 feet of the unimproved segment of the Hillcrest Road right-of-way as shown on Orange County Tax Map 7.56, subject to the reservation of blanket utility and access easements, all of which shall be recorded on a plat to be provided by the parties requesting the right-of-way closure and approved by the Chapel Hill Engineering Department.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

A RESOLUTION CLOSING A SEGMENT OF THE RIDGEWOOD LANE RIGHT-OF-WAY (2001-11-26/R-6)

 

WHEREAS, the Council on October 22, 2001 adopted a resolution of intent to consider closing part of the Ridgewood Lane right-of-way and a public hearing thereon was held on November 19, 2001; and

 

WHEREAS, closing this part of the Ridgewood Lane right-of-way would not be contrary to the public interest, and no individual owing property in the vicinity of the right-of-way would be deprived of reasonable means of ingress and egress to his or her property by the closing of said right-of-way.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby adopts this order pursuant to the North Carolina G.S. 160A-299, permanently closing the northern end of the Ridgewood Lane right-of-way as shown on Orange County Tax Map 7.48, subject to the reservation of a blanket utility easement, all of which shall be recorded on a plat to be provided by the party requesting the right-of-way closure and approved by the Chapel Hill Engineering Department.

 

This is the 26th day of November, 2001

 

 

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO CONTINUE THE CONTRACT WITH RESOLUTE BUILDERS, INC. (2001-11-26/R-7)

 

WHEREAS, the Town of Chapel Hill has entered into a contract with Resolute Builders, Inc., as the general contractors of Fire Station #5 for $750,925; and

 

WHEREAS, during the construction of the Fire Station, change orders totaling $49,906 have been approved by the Town Manager; and

 

WHEREAS, anticipated change orders will cause the contract to exceed the original contract price by more than $50,000;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Town Manager is authorized to approve a change order for the two anticipated changes for additional plantings and plaster upgrade in the apparatus bay for an approximate total of $8,339.  In addition, the Town Manager is authorized to approve unanticipated change orders of up to an additional $10,000 if it is necessary to complete the project and it is within the project budget.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE BID FOR THE PURCHASE OF SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS (2001-11-26/R-8)

 

WHEREAS, the Town of Chapel Hill has advertised notice of waiver of the formal bid process by legal notice in The Chapel Hill Herald Classifieds on November 15, 2001, in accordance with G.S. 143-129(g) for the purchase of self-contained breathing apparatus; and

 

WHEREAS, a formal bid competition was held by the City of Concord, N.C. with a bid opening of July 13, 2001 in accordance with G.S. 143-129; and

 

WHEREAS, Newton’s Fire & Safety, Inc. offers the Town self-contained breathing apparatus at the same price as offered to the City of Concord, N.C.; and

 

WHEREAS, in addition to federal grant funding, according to the United States Fire Administration, the Town is required to commit matching grant funds of $20,375.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Town implements the waiver of formal bid process in accordance with G.S 143-129(g) and accepts the offer to sell of Newton’s Fire & Safety, Inc. in the amount of $203,750.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND “THE ORDINANCE CONCERNING APPROPRIATIONS AND THE RAISING OF REVENUE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2001 (2001-11-26/O-2.1)

 

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Budget Ordinance entitled “An Ordinance Concerning Appropriations and the Raising of Revenue for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2001” as duly adopted on June 25, 2001 be and the same is hereby amended as follows:

 

ARTICLE I

 

                                                  Current                                                                       Revised

APPROPRIATIONS                  Budget                Increase           Decrease                  Budget

                                                             

GENERAL FUND

     

      Fire                                  4,715,625                203,750                                      4,919,375           

 

ARTICLE II

 

REVENUES

 

GENERAL FUND

 

    Grants                                   658,817               183,375                                         842,192           

    Fund Balance                     1,669,201                 20,375                                      1,689,576 

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN APPOINTMENT PROCESS FOR TWO (2) COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES TO ASSIST THE UNIVERSITY IN PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING OF THE ARTS COMMON (2001-11-26/R-9)

 

WHEREAS, the University’s Board of Trustees will soon approve an architect for the Arts Common, which will be located in an area from Franklin Street to Cameron Avenue; and

 

WHEREAS, the Arts Common will provide expansion of the Ackland Art Museum and new facilities for Music and Communication Studies, as well as underground parking; and

 

WHEREAS, Chancellor James Moeser has invited the Town Council to designate two community representatives to assist the University in the planning and programming of this space, which will be of vital importance to the Town and University community;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill hereby authorizes an advertisement, application, and appointment process for the Council to name two community representatives to assist the University in the planning and programming of the new Arts Common on campus.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001. 

 

 

AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND “THE ORDINANCE CONCERNING APPROPRIATIONS AND THE RAISING OF REVENUE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2001” (2001-11-26/O-3)

 

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Budget Ordinance entitled “An Ordinance Concerning Appropriations and the Raising of Revenue for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2001” as duly adopted on June 25, 2001, be and the same is hereby amended as follows:

 

ARTICLE I

 

                                           Current                                                                       Revised                       

APPROPRIATIONS                  Budget                Increase           Decrease                  Budget

 

GENERAL FUND

 

            Library                       1,895,639                   7,262                                       1,902,901

 

ARTICLE II

 

                                                  Current                                                                       Revised

REVENUES                               Budget                Increase           Decrease                  Budget

 

GENERAL FUND

           

            Grants                           658,817                    7,262                                         666,079

           

 This the 26th day of November, 2001.

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 14 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO STANDARDIZE AND CLARIFY TIME PERIODS UNDER THE TOWN’S PERSONNEL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES (2001-11-26/O-4) 

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill as follows:

 

Section 1:  Section 14-110 of the Town Code is hereby revised to read as follows:

 

Sec. 14-110     Employee Appeal.

 

Any employee who is disciplined may appeal the disciplinary action in accordance with the grievance procedure.  An employee who is suspended, demoted, or terminated for cause as a disciplinary action, or terminate shall have fifteen (15)  fourteen (14)  days from written notice of said disciplinary action to file the initial appeal.  A decision to rescind a demotion or termination must be approved by the Town Manager before becoming effective.”

 

Section 2:  A new Section 14-112.1 is hereby established to read as follows:

 

“ Sec. 14-112.1   Time.

 

In computing any period of time prescribed by Section 14-110 , 14-130  or under this Article, Grievance and Conflict Resolution Procedure, the day of the act or event after which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included.  The last day of the period so computed is to be included unless it is a Saturday,  Sunday or official Town holiday (as established by or under the authority of Sec. 14-68 of the Town Code),  in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday,  Sunday or official Town holiday. Days shall be considered calendar days except that any intermediate official Town holidays (as established by or under the authority of Sec. 14-68 of the Town Code), shall be excluded in the computation.”

 

Section 3.  Section 14-114 of the Town Code is hereby revised to read as follows:

 

“Sec. 14‑114   Procedure.

 

The following steps shall be followed in all employee grievances. All grievances must be in writing, either in letter or memo or using a Town of Chapel Hill grievance form; all documents used in the procedure must be dated and signed by the respondent and the recipient. Time limits at every step may be extended by mutual consent.

 

Previous to the first formal step of the grievance and conflict resolution procedure, it is required that employee and supervisor meet to discuss the problem and seek to resolve it informally. This meeting should be scheduled by the employee considering filing a grievance with his or her supervisor, within five working  seven days of the incident or action giving rise to the problem. (Ongoing conditions are not subject to this deadline.)

 

1.         Step 1.  If the informal meeting does not resolve the problem, the employee may file a written grievance within five working  seven (7)  days of the meeting. Ordinarily, the supervisor will respond, in writing, within five days of receipt of the written grievance. In some cases, the supervisor may feel that a second meeting would be constructive. If so, the supervisor will schedule a meeting with the employee within five working days of receiving the written grievance, will thoroughly investigate the matter, and will render a written decision on the grievance within five days of the meeting.

 

2.         Step 2.  If the employee is not satisfied with the Step 1 decision, the employee may file an appeal with the department head within five days following receipt of the Step 1 decision. The department head shall, within 5 seven (7)   days, set a date for a meeting which shall be held within a reasonable period of time. The meeting is for the purpose of discussing the grievance fully. The department head will render a written decision on the grievance within five seven (7) days of the meeting.

 

3.         Step 3.  If the Town Manager hears a grievance under Step 3, the Manager will notify the employee if the decision of the Manager may be appealed.  Items for which the Manager's decision under Step 3 would be final include:

 

(a)        appeals of adopted Town or departmental policies themselves (allegedly inconsistent or unfair application of a policy could be appealed);

 

(b)        grievances alleging improper position classification or pay ranges; and

 

(c)        grievances from contract employees and from full-time and part-time employees serving their initial probationary period.

 

4.         Step 4. If the Town Manager elects not to refer the grievance to the Personnel Appeals Committee at Step 3, and if the grievance may be further appealed, the aggrieved employee may appeal to the Committee within five working  seven (7) days of receipt of the Step 3 decision, by filing a Notice of Appeal with the Town Clerk. The procedure set forth in Article XIII shall then be followed.”

 

 

Section 4.  Section 14-130 of the Town Code is hereby revised to read as follows:

 

“ Sec. 14‑130  Procedure and Authority.

 

The Personnel Appeals Committee shall, within 10  fourteen (14)  days after the action has been referred to it, schedule a hearing and shall have all powers necessary to complete investigation of the action taken, including the power to call and examine witnesses and papers. The Personnel Director or the Committee may provide that a grievance hearing, or portion thereof, be conducted in executive session to the minimum extent necessary to protect the confidentiality of personnel records and consistent with the N.C. Personnel Records Privacy Act (N.C.G.S. 160A‑168). Except as authorized above, such hearings shall be held in public sessions. The Committee may conduct its deliberations in executive session, and shall do so if necessary to comply with laws. Within ten (10)  fourteen (14) days after the conclusion of the hearing, the committee shall inform the employee(s) and the Manager in writing of its findings and recommendations.

 

After receiving the recommendation of the hearing panel of the Personnel Appeals Committee, the Town Manager shall investigate the case, consider the recommendation of the Committee and within ten (10) fourteen (14)  days transmit in writing to the employee(s) and to the Mayor and members of the Council the recommendation of the Committee, and the Manager's decision, which shall be final. In the event the recommendation of the Personnel Appeals Committee is not followed, the Manager shall state in writing the reasons why the recommendation was not followed.”

 

Section 5. This ordinance shall become effective upon adoption.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 14 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO CHANGE THE WORD “PERSONNEL” TO THE WORDS “HUMAN RESOURCES” (2001-11-26/O-5)

 

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill, as follows: 

 

Section 1.   Chapter 14 of the Code of Ordinances, “Personnel Rules and Regulations,” shall hereinafter be entitled “Human Resources.”

 

Section 2.    References in Chapter 14 of the Chapel Hill Code of Ordinances to  “Personnel” in reference to a function or a position, such as Personnel Department, Personnel Officer or Personnel Director, are hereby changed to “Human Resources”. 

 

Section 3.   Other references to personnel in Chapter 14 such as “personnel records” or “Personnel Appeals Committee” shall not be changed.

 

Section 4.  This ordinance is effective upon adoption.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE TOWN MANAGER TO IMPLEMENT TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES ON MASON FARM ROAD IN CHAPEL HILL (2001-11-26/R-10)

 

WHEREAS, the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill is concerned about vehicular and non-vehicular safety and mobility on Town streets; and

 

WHEREAS, the Council has received a report from Town staff and comments from residents about proposed traffic calming measures on Mason Farm Road.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council endorses the following traffic calming measures on Mason Farm Road:

 

1)      Multi-way stop signs at the following locations:

·        Mason Farm Road and Purefoy Road

·        Mason Farm Road and Oteys Road

 

2)      Two Speed Humps

 

3)      Traffic Control Sign Improvements

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council directs the Manager to implement the above traffic calming measures within the next four months, and authorizes use Council’s Contingency Fund to complete the work estimated to cost approximately $6,000.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 21 OF THE TOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES REGARDING STOP REGULATIONS (2001-11-26/0-6a)

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill as follows:

Section 1.         Section 21-13(a) of the Town Code of Ordinances, “Right-of-way and stop regulations.” is hereby amended by deleting the following:

“Through Streets                                Stop Streets

Mason Farm Road                               Purefoy Road

 

            Mason Farm Road                               Oteys Road

 

Section 2.  Section 21-13(c) of the Town Code of Ordinances, “Right-of-way and stop regulations.” is hereby amended by inserting the following, in appropriate alphabetical order:

“Intersection(s)

            Mason Farm Road and Purefoy Road

 

            Mason Farm Road and Oteys Road

 

Section 3.  This ordinance shall become effective December 17, 2001.

This the 26th day of November, 2001.


AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND “THE ORDINANCE CONCERNING APPROPRIATIONS AND THE RAISING OF REVENUE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2001” (2001-11-26/0-6b)

 

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Budget Ordinance entitled “An Ordinance Concerning Appropriations and the Raising of Revenue for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2001” as duly adopted on June 25, 2001, be and the same is hereby amended as follows:

ARTICLE I

 

                                                Current                                                 Revised

APPROPRIATIONS               Budget             Increase           Decrease          Budget

 

GENERAL FUND

            Non-Departmental

                        Contingency       30,565                                   6,000                 24,565

 

            Engineering                   969,148           6,000                                       975,148

 

This is the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

A RESOLUTION DECLARING 2 ITEMS OF PERSONAL PROPERTY TO BE SURPLUS PROPERTY, AND AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE DISPOSAL OF SAID PROPERTY IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS (2001-11-26/R-11)

 

WHEREAS, Article 23 of N. C. General Statutes and Section 4.16 of the Charter of the Town of Chapel Hill authorizes the Town to dispose of surplus property; and

 WHEREAS, the Town desires to dispose of certain items of personal property;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the following items of personal property are hereby declared surplus:

 

VEHICLES – PUBLIC WORKS FLEET

 

YEAR                          MAKE AND MODEL                                                VIN #

 

1992                            International Rear Loader Garbage Truck                     440932

1993                            International Rear Loader Garbage Truck                     546099                                               

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Purchasing Agent of the “Town of Chapel Hill shall be and is hereby authorized to dispose of this surplus personal property in accordance with statutory requirements.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Purchasing Agent is authorized to dispose of any of personal property by sale, lease, exchange, sealed bid, or transfer to other government unit in conformity with N. C. General Statute 160A-274.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the terms of the sale shall be to the highest bidder for cash, or other forms of cash equivalents acceptable to the Purchasing Agent.  All sales shall be designated final on the day of the auction.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all items shall be sold on an “as is” and “where is” basis and the Town makes no guarantee or assumes no responsibility for any of the items.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it shall be a condition of sale that all items purchased shall be picked up and removed from the premises of the Municipal Operation Facility by 3:00 p.m. on the day of the sale.  Successful bidders shall bear sole risk for loss of any items remaining on said premises past the designated time.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

A RESOLUTION SCHEDULING A PUBLIC HEARING ON SCHOOLS ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ORDINANCE DRAFT PROPOSALS (2001-11-26/R-12)

 

WHEREAS the Chapel Hill Town Council has indicated its intent to work with other elected boards in Orange County to develop a Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance; and

 

WHEREAS a draft Memorandum of Understanding and a model ordinance have been developed for consideration by each elected board.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council schedules a Public Hearing for February 18, 2001, at 7:00 pm at Chapel Hill Town Hall, for the purpose of considering these two documents.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

A RESOLUTION IDENTIFYING THE AREAS DESCRIBED WITHIN AS BEING UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR ANNEXATION (2001-11-26/R-13)

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill:

 

SECTION 1

 

That pursuant to G.S. 160A-49(i), the following described areas are identified as being under consideration for annexation by the Town of Chapel Hill, under provisions of Part 3, Article 4A of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes of North Carolina:

 

Generally, the unincorporated areas between Chapel Hill’s existing corporate limits and the Town’s Urban Services Boundary as identified on the 2000 Land Use Plan that was adopted by the Council on May 8, 2000.

 

The above-referenced areas are specifically shaded on the attached map (“Areas Under Consideration for Future Annexation – November 26, 2001”), which shall be incorporated into this resolution by reference, in accordance with N.C. General Statute 160A-49(i).

 

SECTION 2

 

That pursuant to G.S. 160A-49(i), persons subject to annexation by this Resolution of Consideration are hereby notified of their rights under North Carolina General Statute Subsections 160A-49(f1) and 160A-49(f2).

 

Subsections 160A-49(f1) and (f2) provide as follows:

 

(f1)  Property Subject to Present-Use Value Appraisal. – If an area described in an annexation ordinance includes agricultural land, horticultural land, or forestland that on the effective date of annexation is:

 

(1)            Land that is being taxed at present-use value pursuant to G.S. 105-277.4; or

 

(2)            Land that:

 

a.          Was on the date of the resolution of intent for annexation being used for actual production and is eligible for present-use value taxation under G.S. 105-277.4, but the land has not been in use for actual production for the required time under G.S. 105-277.3; and

 

b.         The assessor for the county where the land subject to annexation is located has certified to the city that the land meets the requirements of this subdivision

 

        the annexation becomes effective as to that property pursuant to subsection (f2) of this section.

 

(f2)  Effective Date of Annexation for Certain Property. – Annexation of property subject to annexation under subsection (f1) of this section shall become effective:

 

(1)            Upon the effective sate of the annexation ordinance, the property is considered part of the city only (i) for the purpose of establishing city boundaries for additional annexations pursuant to the Article and (ii) for the exercise of city authority pursuant to Article 19 of this Chapter.

 

(2)            For all other purposes, the annexation becomes effective as to each tract of such property or part thereof on the last day of the month in which that tract or part thereof becomes ineligible for classification pursuant to G.S. 105-227.4 or no longer meets the requirements of subdivision (f1)(2) of this section. Until annexation of a tract or a part of a tract becomes effective pursuant to this subdivision, the tract or part of a tract is not subject to taxation by the city under Article 12 of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes nor is the tract or part of a tract entitled to services provided by the city.

 

SECTION 3

 

That a copy of this resolution shall be filed with the Town Clerk.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

Item 5 – Information Items

 

Council Member Bateman, referring to Item 5a, Report on Costs of Halloween Event, said she was assuming that the public forum being held on the event by the Police Department had been duly announced, and that she hoped that a way around the roadblock could be arranged for residents in the downtown area.  Police Chief Gregg Jarvies said the meeting was scheduled at the downtown post office, on Wednesday, November 28, at 6:00 p.m., and it had been announced through the Clerk’s office and through the media prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.

 

Mayor Waldorf said the effort to control the Halloween event had been successful and she was sure that the inconveniences could be worked out, adding she was pleased that a forum was planned.

 

Item 6 – Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and Auditor’s Letter

 

Finance Director Jim Baker introduced Victor Blackburn of the Town’s auditors, McGladrey and Pullen, L.L.P., who presented the Auditor’s Report.  Mr. Blackburn said that the Town had received an unqualified opinion on a Financial Statement audit, which was the “cleanest” opinion any audit could receive.  He also pointed out that during a single audit for the past year the Town received unqualified opinions and no findings or questions related to the federal and State programs.

 

Mr. Blackburn pointed out that the governmental revenues, those being the General Fund, the Special Revenue Funds, the Debt Service Fund, and the Capital Projects Funds, increased approximately $2 million over the past year, with the major increase being in the property taxes and some miscellaneous revenues in the contributing Capital Projects Funds. He said property taxes increased approximately $1.2 million, due to a small rate increase during the past year and the addition of an increase in assessed values due to the growth of the Town.

 

Mr. Blackburn said some fund increases were due to contributions for some parks that the Town was building, and some revenues from land sold for parks.  He said that governmental expenditures over the past year increased $5.3 million and the major increases and expenditures were related to capital outlays of $2.1 million, primarily financed by the $4.7 million bond referendum passed last year.

Mr. Blackburn commented that the other significant increases in the expenditures were in the environmental/public safety areas, with an increase of $1.2 million, which were for increases in salaries and the hiring of new employees.  He thanked the Town Finance Department for its assistance in the audit.

 

Council Member Foy asked about sections IX and XIII, investment revenues, and asked if those were separate figures or the same.  Mr. Blackburn said on page 9 under Investment Revenues, these were the total revenues received by the Town from all the various funds, and on page 13 were the governmental funds—General Funds, Special Revenue Funds, Capital Projects and Debt Service Fund.  He said the total was the total on page 9.

 

Item 7 – Report of the Stormwater Utility Development and

Implementation Study Committee

 

James Mergner, Chair of the Study Committee, presented the final report on behalf of the members of the Committee.  He thanked the other members of the committee, and staff members Fred Royal and George Small for their work.

 

History

·        Stormwater Committee Report – 1994

·        Stormwater Utility Technical Review Committee Report – 1999

·        2000 Comprehensive Plan

·        Stormwater Utility Development and Implementation Study Committee – 2000

·        Progress Report February 12, 2001

 

Problems of Watershed Health

·        Flooding

·        Stream bank erosion

·        Sedimentation

·        Degraded water quality

·        Biological impairment

·        Inadequate stormwater infrastructure

 

Broad Based Participation

·        Chapel Hill

·        Carrboro

·        Orange County

·        OWASA

·        University

·        Citizens

 

2000 Comprehensive Plan

·        Strategy 9F-1: Improve existing stormwater practices

·        Strategy 9F-2: Develop and implement an effective water quality performance review process

·        Strategy 8A-3: Preserve open space in residential development

Stormwater Goals

·        Reduce non-point source pollutants

·        Reduce Flood damages

·        Reduce negative impacts to economy and services

·        Protect and restore water resources

·        Educate the public

·        Promote inter-jurisdictional cooperation

·        Ensure regulatory compliance

 

NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Storm Water Phase II Rule

·        Federal Clean Water Act mandate that applies to

·        Orange County

·        Chapel Hill

·         Carrboro

·        University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

·        Implementation over a five year period

·        March 2003 permit to NCDWQ required

 

Conclusions

·        The community desires a level of service beyond that required to meet NPDES Phase II

·        There are many potential areas of inter-governmental cooperation in stormwater and floodplain management

·        Moderate increases in cost will be needed to meet the NPDES Phase II mandates

·        There are additional local needs that will require a stable revenue stream

·        A detailed analysis of the program level of service and how to proceed is needed

 

Mr. Mergner continued, adding that the Committee believed that it really needed the assistance of an outside consultant to take the idea and put it in place.

 

Mr. Mergner noted the Committee recommendations:

 

·        To support and sustain a comprehensive stormwater and floodplain management program:

·        Encourage and formalize inter-jurisdictional cooperation

·        Create a Chapel Hill stormwater utility

 

Stormwater Management Work Group

·        Monitoring, enforcement and elimination of illegal discharges

·        Public education

·        Digital flood mapping and database management

·        Sedimentation and erosion control

 

Chapel Hill Stormwater Program

·        Right-of-way and conveyance maintenance

·        Capital Improvements

·        Permitting

·        Isolated drainage problems

·        Other existing programs

 

Chapel Hill Stormwater Utility

·        Develop a dedicated funding mechanism

·        Replace or supplement general fund or bond fund revenues

·        Enhance existing programs

·        Develop new programs

·        Stormwater Advisory Committee

·        Public awareness and participation

·        Seeking support for program enhancements

 

Action Plan

·        November 2001

·        Committee report recommending an approach to stormwater management

·        January 2001

·        Obtain the services of a professional consultant

·        Establish the Chapel Hill Stormwater Advisory Committee

·        Summer 2002

·        Execute an agreement on inter-jurisdictional cooperation

·        In cooperation with Carrboro, Orange County and the University, create the Stormwater Management Work Group

·        March 3, 2003

·        Submit the NPDES Storm Water Phase II Permit application from Chapel Hill

 

Council Member Strom said that he had the opportunity to attend some of the Committee meetings and a good deal of information was discussed, adding the Committee had done a terrific job in assimilating it and coming to some very clear recommendations.

 

Linda Convissor, representing the University, said that the University had just received the report this afternoon, and it would have to go for wider University review and they would forward comments to the Manager and looked forward to working with the Town.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER STROM MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WARD TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 14.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).

 

 

A RESOLUTION THANKING THE STORMWATER UTILITY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION STUDY COMMITTEE FOR ITS WORK, AND RECEIVING AND REFERRING THE COMMITTEE REPORT TO THE MANAGER AND ATTORNEY FOR RECOMMENDATIONS (2001-11-26/R-14)

 

WHEREAS, the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill established a committee to study development and implementation of a local stormwater utility to serve the Chapel Hill community and possibly adjoining areas; and

 

WHEREAS, the Council further charged the committee to investigate cooperative opportunities for inter-jurisdictional stormwater management; and

 

WHEREAS, the committee has completed its work and has prepared a final report and recommendations for the Council’s consideration.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council thanks the following members of the Stormwater Utility Development and Implementation Committee for their work and service in preparing the report and recommendations regarding important stormwater management issues facing Chapel Hill and adjoining areas:

 

Phil Berke

Paula Gee Davis, P.E.

Ren Ivans

Ed Holland

Mike Hammersley, P.E.

Julie McClintock

James T. Mergner, P.E. (Chair)

Sharon Myers

Judith K. Weseman, P.E.

Roy Williford

Robin Vincent

Al Lindsay

Mia Burroughs

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council hereby receives and refers the Stormwater Utility Development and Implementation study Committee Final Report to the Manager and Attorney for recommendations regarding further Council action(s).

 

This the 26th day of  November, 2001.

 

 

Item 8 – Follow-Up on Petition to Eliminate Bus Service Within

Residential Area of Southern Village

 

Transportation Director Mary Lou Kuschatka said the memorandum was written as a follow-up to the petition, submitted at the October 22, 2001 Town Council meeting, asking the Council to eliminate the V Route Transit Service in Southern Village in the residential area.  She said the Southern Village Master Plan was approved on July 6, 1993, the Special Use Permits for the Northeast Tract was approved on July 6, 1993, the Special Use Permits for the West Tract was approved in November 1996.  She added that the circulation plan was included and approved as part of the Special Use Permits for the Northeast, Southeast, and West tracts as mass transit preliminary routes.

 

Ms. Kuschatka said Southern Village was an example of a transit-oriented development with moderate and high-density housing mixed-use land development with retail, daycare center, elementary school, services and entertainment included.  She said that the Town annexed Southern Village on July 1, 2001, and the proposed service plan that included the transportation service was made available to the public prior to the annexation.  Ms. Kuschatka continued that as part of the annexation, the Town must provide major municipal services to the annexation area in the same, or similar, manner to which services are provided within the rest of the municipality.  She said the Town’s service standard is a bus-stop available within Ľ mile of 90% of Chapel Hill households.  Ms. Kuschatka said in late June 2001 a transit bus schedule and flyer was delivered by Fire Department staff to each residence of Southern Village for transit service between Southern Village and Meadowmont, beginning August 20, which was when the V Route began.  She said the ridership was growing at a steady rate, and in October a one-day sampling of the V Route was taken and 206 passengers boarded the bus, of which 46 occurred in Southern Village.

 

Ms. Kuschatka said that one of the resolutions before the Council for possible adoption would leave the route as it is.  She said that Option 1 would be to reconfigure the route with service primarily in the village center, and would eliminate the Ľ -mile inclusion of the bus service from the back area of the village.

 

Council Member Ward asked Ms. Kuschatka to identify the bus-stops on each of the plans, which she did.

 

Council Member Strom asked if the shaded area on Option 1 counted as Ľ-mile along Route 15-501 and were there any stops there.  Ms. Kuschatka said there were no stops until the community was entered.  Ms Kuschatka said that Option 2 would reconfigure the bus route taking into consideration some of the concerns of the petitioners.

 

Council Member Evans said, in Option 2, routing the bus on Copperline Drive was wise because that was where the higher density housing was and possibly where the largest number of people going to the University lived.  She asked why the bus was routed both down and up the hill on Brookgreen Drive, and whether the staff had thought about routing the bus over to Parkside Drive and down that road.  Ms. Kuschatka said what she was looking for was to give more coverage in the village center, and she thought the route chosen was the most convenient route.

 

Council Member Evans noted that if the bus route went only down Parkside and back up Brookgreen, it would be closer to the areas where the buses used to run.

 

Council Member Wiggins asked if the staff had talked at all about the mini-buses. Ms. Kuschatka said they did look at that; those buses seat 15 passengers, and currently there are at least 15 passengers at one time coming out of Southern Village, and upwards of 20 passengers going to Meadowmont, so they would be up to capacity on this route.

 

Council Member Foy asked what the frequency currently was.  Ms. Kuschatka said during peak periods the buses were running every 30 minutes, and every hour in midday, and until 9:00 p.m. they were running hourly.

 

John Wagner, resident of Southern Village, said he wanted the bus to be rerouted up to the commercial area, not the residential area.  He asked the Council to defer consideration until the new administration was in place, and he did not want the anti-residential bus route people to be considered anti-mass transit.  Mr. Wagner said the ridership in the residential area was very low, and a smaller bus would be better to loop through the residential area and deposit passengers at the Park and Ride Lot into the V Route.  He said the petition numbers were overwhelmingly against buses in the residential area.

 

Chris Rogers, of Southern Village, said that Option 1 understated the coverage area, and of 305 homeowners, a petition submitted in October represented 87% of the community to abolish the residential portion of the V Route.  He noted that on the counter-petition only 44 of the signatures were from residents of Southern Village and the rest were non-residents, so the petition should not be considered.  Mr. Rogers said a real compromise on the route would be 3 routes in the morning, at 7, 8, and 9 am, and 3 routes in the evening.  He pointed out that there was a legal issue according to the required walk area for school children.  Mr. Rogers suggested that some consideration be given to the size and the frequency of the buses.  He said the route to the Club House could be a safety issue for the many children in that area.

 

Pam Swanson-Boyd, resident of Southern Village, said the bus comes right by her house at least 25 times a day, and her house is a lay-over area, where the bus idles and shakes the glass in her house.  She said her concern was for the safety of children and herself, and that the buses run empty.

 

Tad VanDusen, resident of Southern Village, said there was a contrast between all of the children who had to walk to school and the people who do not want to walk, and those people should be encouraged to walk.  He said that Option 3 was a good compromise, and did not go through an area where people did not use the buses, and the routes should be concentrated in the areas where people used the buses.

 

Deb Templeton, resident of Southern Village, said she lived on the bus route and that Option 1 was a viable option, but her main concern was a safety issue because the street was 25 feet in width and there were cars parked on each side of the street, leaving only 11 feet for the buses to pass through.  She noted that sometimes the buses were in the lane of oncoming cars.  Ms. Templeton requested that the Town look again at the use of smaller buses.

 

Pam Moyers, resident of Southern Village, said she lived directly across from the Swim Club and across from a bus stop.  She said when she bought her home she knew of the emphasis on mass transit and that the village was being built to be pedestrian-friendly.  Ms. Moyers  said that in the residential areas the buses were running practically empty, and she was concerned about the safety of the buses.  She said she believed that a compromise could be reached.

 

Madeline Cains, resident of Southern Village, said everything she had planned to say had been said by others.  She added that her taxes had increased substantially since Southern Village had been annexed and she hated to see even a portion of her tax dollars spent on buses that run empty.

 

Geri Rogers, resident of Southern Village, said that the bus stops in Option 2 had very small ridership, and she asked the Council to support Option 1, which would respect the best interest of homeowners.

 

Maggie Mraz, resident of Southern Village said she was moving to an area in Southern Village that is on a bus route.  She said she enjoyed living there and supported the bus route in the commercial sector.  She said many families did not want their children to ride a bus to school.  Ms. Mraz asked that the Council move the bus route out of the residential sector and into the commercial sector.

 

Jill Moore, resident of Southern Village, said she lived in the single-family sector, worked at the University and takes the V Route bus to work.  She strongly favored the continuation of the bus service within the residential areas of the village.  Ms. Moore asked the Council to adopt Option 3, or Option 2, if necessary.  She added that the V Route had only been running for three months and should be given a chance to prove its usefulness.  Ms. Moore said several of her neighbors, who had signed the petitions, had since changed their minds, and some names were on opposing petitions.  She said the use of the V Route has doubled since it began and she urged the Council to continue the bus service as it was.

 

Michael Recny, resident of Southern Village, said he applauded the goal of bringing mass transit to Southern Village, but supported access to the buses with the reconfigured route solely to the commercial sector.  He said he had a safety issue, and pointed out the walking trail, adding that buses cross the walking trail back and forth twice.  Mr. Recny supported the option to reconfigure the bus route solely to the commercial sector.

 

Robert Koontz, resident of Southern Village, said he lived near the swimming pool and urged the retention of the V Route or some good substitute that offered some transportation to students, senior citizens, the disabled, and young teens in northern Southern Village.  He said that Southern Village was the best planned and most livable of the planned communities he had lived in previously.  Mr. Koontz stated that public transportation increased property values, rather than depressed them, removing cars from the transportation system enhanced safety, and the parking near bus stops was the result of people parking their cars in front of their properties, not by commuters parking at the bus stops.  He added that ridership was not zero, and will increase.  Mr. Koontz urged the proponents and the opponents of the buses to let the officials, who knew more about the issues, make the decision and accept that decision.

 

Roddy Cameron, resident of Southern Village, encouraged the Council to vote for Resolution B, Option 1, or defer to the next Council.

 

Loren Hintz, Chair of the Transportation Board, commented that the Board had not voted on the 3 Options before the Council, but had discussed the V Route and the other routes in general.  He said that Chapel Hill Transit had many buses going through many neighborhoods in the Town, and only a minority of the residents used the buses.  Mr. Hintz said the Board hoped that the Town would encourage more people to ride the bus.  He said that the concerns for increasing ridership was for more frequent service, longer service, and service to more places.  Mr. Hintz said the V Route made it easier for people to get around Town, and for parents without cars to reach Scroggs Elementary School, and for children and teens to visit other friends without depending on car transportation.  He urged the Council to support an option for a route that served the largest amount of potential riders.

 

Shelley Levine, resident of Northside Drive near Southern Village and a law student, said she drives to Southern Village to park and ride the bus.  She said her concern was for public policy for public transportation.  Ms. Levine said the bus system was a treasure for Chapel Hill, adding she did not think the Town should limit public transportation to just commercial areas.

 

Jack Snoeyink, resident of Southern Village and an employee of\t the University, said that he and his family had lived in many foreign countries which had dependable public transportation, and he had to walk uphill several minutes in Southern Village to get to a bus.  He said the high school students did not walk to school but were picked up by the school bus.  Mr. Snoeyink said that bus drivers were very safe drivers, and he would rather ride the bus than be on his bicycle on South Columbia Street with the cars.

 

Mel Jones, resident of Southern Village, said he could understand some of the concerns voiced about the buses, but he had lived in foreign countries where public transportation was a way of life, and it was never a problem.  He expressed his support for the current routes, or some option that maintained access to the residential areas.  Mr. Jones suggested that the numbers that had been discussed this evening should be done with a survey in Southern Village, and people should be urged to ride the buses.  He said several comments had been expressed to him that public transportation was an integral part of Southern Village, and the option of smaller buses would be a good option to explore.  Mr. Jones said it would raise the property values.

 

Eric McNeil, resident of Southern Village, said he strongly supported the V Route, or Option 2, which was Resolution A.  He said he rides the bus to Research Triangle Park every day, and he enjoyed his commute, but the V Route bus did not connect with the Triangle Transit Bus, but he rides the V Route bus whenever he can.  Mr. McNeil said he had tried to use some of the other Chapel Hill Transit buses to get to work.  He also said he had walked up the long hill to connect with the V bus, but not often, and if the Town wanted to minimize use of the V bus it should make people walk up that hill.  Mr. McNeil said that he felt that there were ulterior motives in the petition, such as property values and the stigma of having a bus stop near their home, and if the streets were too narrow for the buses then they must be too narrow for fire trucks.

 

D.R. Bryan, developer of Southern Village, said in the plans for Southern Village, the planners wanted to create a sense of community, and to create a neighborhood that would help to reduce traffic congestion.  He said the way to do that was to create a greenway, connect sidewalks for people to walk to their destination, and to have a neighborhood available for the Chapel Hill bus system.  Mr. Bryan asked the Council to postpone a decision so that people of Southern Village could have a chance to be involved in the public process, through the Homeowners’ Association or in neighborhood meetings, so that everyone could have a chance to voice his/her opinion.

 

Mayor Waldorf congratulated the participants in the discussion for their civility.

 

Council Member Brown asked how the Council could bring the neighborhoods of Southern Village together, and it would be worth thinking about and create an opportunity for more information.

 

Council Member Foy said he would like more information.

 

Council Member Ward said a number of questions that had been brought up deserved some answers so he could make a more informed decision.  He said he would like to know if the width of the roads were the same, and what the ability was to add a bus stop on Highway 15-501 near the intersection of Arlen Park and the Bypass to serve that end of Southern Village.  Council Member Ward commented that he would like to have the Town staff look into a loop that did not cross the greenway to see how that would serve the Northwest portion of the village.

 

Mr. Horton said he felt the staff could do a better job of answering the question with a little more time to study them.

 

Council Member Foy asked what the options would be for smaller buses, and would there be an option of decreasing the frequency of routes into the Northwest section, but keeping the frequency into the commercial section.  He asked if there was a plan to run a bus into Culbreth Road.  Mr. Horton said there may be some point when that connection might be made, but the reason has not yet been identified.

 

Council Member Foy said he felt the Town should make sure that residents in Southern Village understood that that might be a potential future decision.

 

Council Member Bateman asked what kind of promotion had been done to let the residents of Southern Village know about the upcoming fare-free rides, and to do more promotion about the buses in Town.  She said the goal was to get the maximum number of people exposed and have access to a mass-transit system in a pedestrian-oriented community.  Council Member Bateman added that she did not support having the buses going only to the commercial area.

 

Council Member Strom said there was information that would be helpful to citizens and the Council, such as what the staff knew about safety issues regionally, nationally, and specifically in Town, and information on the operating expenses in the smaller buses.

 

Council Member Brown said she would like to have the staff address the Brookgreen Drive issue and bus size, specifically was there a different size bus that might accommodate the needs.

 

Council Member Evans asked what the increased costs would be of servicing other areas, if the service was reduced in the area in Southern Village.

 

Council Member Wiggins asked Ms. Kuschatka if there was anything special about where layovers take place.  Ms. Kuschatka said the layovers in Southern Village were not designed for drivers to take a break, but to build in a few minutes in case the driver should run into traffic or undue problems.  She said she recommended that it be relocated to the Park and Ride area.  Mr. Horton added that the staff could look into the layover spots so they would not be as bothersome to residents.

 

Council Member Wiggins asked if there was any way to reconfigure the V Route to use the big buses to the pick up where most of the people were boarding.  Mr. Horton said the staff would take a look at that possibility.

 

Council Member Wiggins said she supported having the transit system as accommodating as possible.

 

Council Member Evans said the transit system could include more service to the Park and Ride area in the loop.

 

Council Member Foy said this was not just a decision for Southern Village, but it was a Town-wide decision, and he encouraged some kind of participation for the community to work together.

 

Council Member Wiggins said she was concerned that one of the citizens said that the survey was not taken under the most objective circumstances, and she would feel more comfortable that the information was collected in a less biased way.

 

Mayor Waldorf commented that this was a representative government and the Town was not at a point where it had to “count noses” on an issue, and she felt it was important to get people involved and informed and to try to work toward something that would serve the community better.

 

Council Member Evans said one thing that had concerned her was that the Town had not included the Transportation Board in these issues, and an option would be to encourage the Transportation Board to meet with the citizens to see if they could come forward with a joint recommendation.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER WIGGINS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS, TO REFER THE ISSUE BACK TO THE STAFF, TRANSPORTATION BOARD, AND THE SOUTHERN VILLAGE HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).

 

Item 9 – Meadowmont Elementary School Application

for Special Use Permit Modification

 

Principal Planner Rob Wilson stated that this was a continuation of a Public Hearing from November 19, 2001, and no key issues had been raised as part of the Public Hearing thus far.  He said the staff continued to recommend the adoption of Resolution A.

 

Nick Didow, Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board chair and speaking as the applicant, expressed on behalf of his Board their appreciation and best wishes to Mayor Waldorf, Council Member Pavăo and Council Member Brown, for their outstanding service on the Town Council and as Mayor.  He said that one of the comforting things about being on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board was that his colleagues on the Chapel Hill Town Council were always mindful of the interests of the young people and the families in the schools and the community.

 

Mr. Didow called attention to some items under consideration this evening: a schedule in the information packet that provided a reimbursement schedule for the Town’s portion of the community gym worked out to provide the maximum flexibility; there is a chance of opening the school in the summer of 2003; and, it becomes more complicated because there are things that other participants in this project need in a timely manner in order to stay on schedule.  He pledged, if the Special Use Permit (SUP) was approved this evening, continued good work and timely efforts to keep the project on track.

 

Loren Hintz, Chair of the Transportation Board, said he hoped when the Council conducted its final voting, it would combine some of the points of the various Boards.  He said the Transportation Board had some concern with the number of parking spots at the Elementary School, but the majority did vote for them.  Mr. Hintz said they were very pleased that there were no parking spots at the park, and wanted a minimum amount of parking spots at the Wachovia Bank.  He said there was a tie-in between the school and the park that would utilize the bike racks for both, and the Transportation Board felt it would be a good idea to have some fixed bike racks within the park itself.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WARD, TO ADJOURN THE PUBLIC HEARING.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).

 

Mr. Horton said he felt there would be some value in continuing the Public Hearing on the park in order to get all of the issues on the table before a vote was taken on either one of the issues.

 

Item 10 – Meadowmont Town Park:  Application for

Special Use Permit Modification

 

Principal Planner Rob Wilson said this was a continuation of a Public Hearing on November 19, 2001, and a Special Use Permit (SUP) modification was considered to construct a Town park at Meadowmont.  He said it would also shrink the boundary to unencumber the land for the school site.

 

Mr. Wilson clarified the items in the packet for the park: 10a is an Owner’s Perspective memorandum with various attachments; and, 10b is the Regulator’s Memo which includes the November 19 Public Hearing item and addresses questions addressed on November 19.  He said the staff believed that the key issue raised had been pedestrian trail access for Landcaster Drive. Mr. Wilson said the staff recommended approval of Resolution A.  He pointed out that if the Council adopted a resolution that approved a pedestrian connection to Landcaster Drive, Resolution F would direct the Manager to prepare a report on traffic conditions in the future three to six months after such a trail connection was completed.

 

Assistant Town Manager Sonna Loewenthal said she was speaking as the applicant, and said she would like to respond to the questions raised at the November 19 Public Hearing.,  She said she also wanted to raise some issues related specifically to the three-way partnership among the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System, the Town of Chapel Hill, and the developer of Meadowmont.

 

Questions raised:

·        A comparison between the developer’s responsibilities based on the 1997 SUP and the present proposal. They are similar with exceptions:

·        The restrooms that were to have been in the park will be part of the community gym and the developer will replace those with $90,000 in cash to go toward the community gym.

·        The softball field from the 1997 SUP will be replaced with $110,000 in cash for the community gym.

·        The 149 parking spaces in 2 compact lots will be replaced by 120 spaces on the school site in several elongated lots that go along car and bus drop-off lanes.

·        The bicycle trail from 1997 SUP wasn’t specified, but it was assumed that it would have been paved, and that will be replaced in most, but not all parks with natural surface trails.

·        The compost yard waste site proposed in 1997 will be eliminated completely.

·        Consider the cost of the items that were to have been and will be supplied by the developer, but there are no cost estimates from the developer, but cost estimates by a consulting engineer for the Town, and, later, by the consulting engineer for the school system for public body parks, which normally pay more than a developer. The costs are included in Attachment 3.

·        The comparison on site and with costs:

·           Because the school site will be so compactly developed, it would be impossible to have two contractors working for separate parties at the same time, so the developer or the Schools will contract for all the work on the school site. The other party would then pay for the elements for which it is responsible. The developer will pay to the School board $1,024,000

·           The developer’s cost to build the amenities for which he is responsible and the $200,000 payment in lieu of the field and restrooms - $870,000

·           The developer’s cost to build amenities which no longer are required by the proposed 2001 Modification of the 1997 permit (primarily the compost/yard waste site and the change from pavement to natural surface for most of the greenway) - $104,000

·           An additional negotiated amount- $50,000

 

Ms. Loewenthal stated that the Town currently holds a bond with the East West Partners for construction of all the elements of the park required by the 1997 SUP.  She said the staff proposal would be that once the developer made his payment to the school system, to release that portion of the bond for the elements to be put on the school site and keep the bond that refers to the items to be constructed on the park,.  Also, she said, to accept a letter of commitment from the School Board that they will build all the items required by the developer, as well as those that would be required by them for the school.  She said the staff believed that was a way to maintain security for all the three parties involved and the fair way. Ms. Loewenthal pointed out that there was a schedule for the Town to make its payment for the incremental costs of the community gym:

 

·        Waiver of the development fees for the school, with the understanding that the funds would be allocated toward the gym - $36, 000.

·        Payment made by East West Partners in lieu of building a restroom facility in the park and in lieu of a softball field - $200,000.

·        The remainder will need to come from the operating budgets of 20002/3, 2003/4m and 20004/5 -$514,000.

 

Council Member Strom pointed out, on the bottom of page 3 of the memorandum, he felt that the $104,000 to be paid by the developer for amenities no longer required was the Town’s because the Town was not receiving that and it should be applied to the $750,000 payment to support the gym.  Ms. Loewenthal said what it came down to was the difference in cost between what the developer believed he could build the site elements for and the cost that the Town thinks it could build the site elements for.  She said the School System believed that the $104,000 was necessary to be able to complete the site plan, based on the concept plan approved by the Council in June.

 

Council Member Strom said that the part of the elements that the agreement was walking away from should be a part of the credit that the Town could use toward the gym.  Mr. Horton said a case could certainly be made along that line.  He said that what the Town ended up in the discussion with the school staff, was that it would take a certain amount of money to build all of the amenities desired and talked about, and this was the only deal that the Town could reach with them.  Mr. Horton said the Council might want to address the question of whether or not the School Board would count the $104,000 as a credit against the $750,000.

 

Council Member Foy asked where the $50,000 came from.  Mr. Horton said it came from talking with Roger Perry, saying that the Town did not have enough money to make it work, and he agreed to put in $50,000 more.  He said the Town agreed that the $104,000 be put in to make the project go forward.

 

Council Member Foy said he did not understand why the Town could not negotiate something more equitable than $150,000 being totally credited.  Mr. Horton said the staff was working against a deadline to bring something to the Council to move this issue forward, and that was the best that they could do to meet the deadline.  He said the School System was concerned about meeting a particular schedule and believed that a decision by the Council was important to meet the schedule.

 

Mayor Waldorf suggested addressing Council Member Strom’s question to the School Board.

 

Superintendent of Schools Neil Petersen said that basically the School System was being asked to pick up the responsibility for construction amenities that were the developer’s responsibilities, and the estimate for what it would cost to build those amenities.  He said the costs were very different than what they were in 1997, about $200,000 more than the developer’s estimate.  Mr. Pederson said the School System did not feel it was responsible nor did it have the funding to pick up that additional $200,000, so when this was discovered, the proposal was made to the Town to provide the $104,000 that would be saved through not constructing the compost area.  He said the developer brought in another $50,000, with the School System bringing in another $50,000 to make the $200,000.  Mr. Petersen said since all would be beneficial, it seemed to be a reasonable agreement to strike.

 

Mayor Waldorf said as she read the memorandum, it was her understanding that it would cost the Town or the School System more than the developer to develop the amenities, and she also understood that the developer was putting in more money than he was technically required to do.  Mr. Horton said that was the developer’s opinion, and there was no way to verify the numbers he put forth.  Mr. Horton said the developer had said that he would build all the amenities he had originally agreed to build, but now the other entities do not want him to build those amenities, but to build something different.

 

Mr. Petersen said the developer had told him that he would build these amenities any way the entities would like, but this current way was the way he preferred.

 

Council Member Strom said it was his understanding, from the Town’s point of view, that the Town was receiving fewer amenities for the community and paying an extra $104, 000 at this point, because of the timing, and the gym was costing the Town $900,00 as opposed to $750,000.  Mr. Horton said that view was one that could be made, and was complicated by the fact that the developer was not now being asked to build what he originally was pledged to build.  He said the money could be counted in many different ways.

 

Council Member Foy asked if it was the developer’s position that he did not have to build what the entities now wanted built.  Mr. Horton said the only thing the developer was bound to build was what he pledged to build at the Council’s original direction.  He said once the Council, should it decide to do so, asks the developer to build something else it would then become a negotiated process with a negotiated result.  Mr. Horton said the developer believed he could build the amenities at a lower price than the School System could.

 

Mayor Waldorf suggested that the practical thing to do would be for one contractor to do the whole job.  Mr. Horton agreed.

 

Dorothy Verkerk, Chair of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, said the Board understood the concerns of the citizens about the safety of the trail connection to Lancaster Drive, but did support the connection.  She said the Board was concerned about damage to wetlands and the trail would be under water a great deal of the year.

 

Greenways Commission Chair Joe Herzenberg said the Commission had hopes that the Council would approve Resolution A, which includes the connection with Lancaster Drive, but in the long run they hoped that the neighbors who lived on Lancaster Drive did not feel that their reservations about this are realized.  He cited other greenways connections as examples of people having doubts, and now approve.

 

Carolyn Costello, speaking on the connection to Lancaster Drive, said the special proposal did not meet any of the Council’s standard, and the safety and well-being of the residents would be put in jeopardy as well as greatly decrease the property values.  She said the proposal could cause crime, flooding, and injury.  Ms. Costello said notice of the proposal was not received until November 1, 2001, but they did not want to delay voting on the school itself.  She added that they were asking for a postponement of the SUP of the walkway access to Lancaster Drive only, in order that a meeting of the neighborhood of the entire Oaks can be called to discuss the repercussions the connection will have.  Ms. Costello said she would hope that the Town Council would show that it was concerned about the entire area, and that it cared about the taxpayer.  She said when the Council makes the decision, that the citizens being impacted be informed so they can have a voice and input. She added that the Council should live up to its stated criteria in making its decision.

 

Jack Costello read a letter from Allen Craybill saying he did not receive any notice of the connector to Lancaster Drive, but felt, as President of the Oaks Homeowners’ Association, he should make a statement about protests for the connector and how it would unfavorably impact the neighborhood.  He stated that there might be legal ramifications for building the connector.  Mr. Costello asked why not ask the developer to put the money to be used for the connector into the “jackpot” and test the pathway within the park for a year to see if it would be feasible.

 

Woody Claris said his property backed up to the park site, and he was a builder who built some houses on Lancaster Drive.  He said one of the questions asked by people interested in buying homes there was on what side of the road was the house being built, and if it is on the right hand side where the Corps of Engineers had jurisdiction, that was where they wanted to live.  Mr. Claris said that was built-in property value.  He said the area where he lived was under water much of the year, and the park would be under water most of the year, and it was not a good idea to have a park there.  Mr. Claris said there were lots of wooded areas where people could hide and much swamp also, which had been a run-off for the golf course in the Oaks.

 

John Bane, Lancaster Drive resident, said he had only learned about the connector a few days before last Monday’s meeting, and the proposal for a connector had been discussed when nobody knew it would be discussed.  He said the trail literally invited trail walkers to his back yard, and at night the trail will be unlit and an unpoliced walkway secluded by trees.  Mr. Bane suggested that another connection be looked at, which he displayed on a map, where it would not be near to a house and there would be a better place to park.

 

Susan Shefte, Lancaster Drive resident, said the connector suggested was dangerous and most of the neighborhood was opposed to it.  She said that it would be an even more unsafe place to walk or bike ride.

 

Bill Sax said he agreed with the various statements on safety, and added that if the walkway was to be available 90% of the year, a walkway would have to be built 30 inches off the ground with rails, and it would have to be wide to accommodate two bicycles passing each other, and that would cost a lot of money to build.  He said the water would be dangerous for children.

 

Mayor Waldorf asked if the suggestion made by Mr. Bane to relocate the connector had been looked at and if it was feasible.  Mr. Wilson said there was a stipulation in Resolution A that would allow flexibility for the location of the access to Lancaster Drive prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.  He said there were other possible locations as well.

 

Council Member Brown said the final Master Plan for Meadowmont specifically said that  “a 20-foot strip of land adjacent to Lancaster Drive will be deeded to the Oaks Community Association. Access to the Oaks will not be permitted.” She asked for an explanation. Mr. Wilson said the land was deeded to the Town in 2000 and as part of the plat the 20-foot easement was recorded along Lancaster Drive. He said it was not given to the Oaks Homeowners’ Association and the actual adopted Land Use Plan reflected different language. He said the Homeowners’ Association said that they could not receive it and the alternative was to record an easement. Mr. Wilson said there was a 20-foot non-buildable access easement running along Lancaster Drive.

 

Mr. Wilson said the language was designed to prevent vehicular access from Lancaster Drive into the park and the non-build aspect the staff interprets to mean non-surface of concrete or paved surface would be created that could provide vehicular access, but it could be used for pedestrian use.

 

Council Member Brown said she was concerned by the many statements that this area could be under water much of the time. She asked how much of the trail would be under water, what sort of a structure the staff was proposed, and what sort of natural path the trail would be. Mr. Wilson responded that a fairly significant portion of the site is very wet, located in wetlands, and a large portion of the site is in the Army Corp of Engineers flowage easement. He said the proposed trail on the site plan is shown on some high elevation plans, where wetlands do not exist. He said he had been told that the primary bridge crossing Little Creek exists and would be refurbished as part of developing the trail.  Mr. Wilson added that the boardwalk, at the Manager’s discretion, could be utilized as part of the final plan review, and was not a tall structure involving rails. He said there were other trails which had boardwalks in the damp areas.

 

Mayor Waldorf asked at what point and through what process the precise determination of where the trail would go would be, where it would terminate, and what kind of materials would be needed to achieve its construction.  Ms. Loewenthal said the original 1997 SUP specified that the nature trail would be a boardwalk as necessary and as approved by the Town Manager.  She said the idea was to locate the park much more carefully when the final drawings were being done.  She added that would include locating it on the very small areas outside the wetlands and where necessary there would be some boardwalk, but the final design had not yet been done.  Ms. Loewenthal said it would be done during the period when the SUP requires the construction to be started and completed.

 

Council Member Brown said that since this seemed to be a point unknown, was there any way to go through with the school part and the park without going forward with the connector until more specifics were available.  Mr. Horton said the Council could approve the park without a connection or approve the park with a connection subject to approval of the final plan for it by the Town Council.  He said then the design work could be done addressing all of the issues raised by the speakers and by going through the process. He said a proposal could be brought to the Council for their consideration, and they could then approve it as proposed, or approve options, or determine that they did not wish to have the trail.  Mr. Horton said that the Council could determine that the Town Manager could approve the deletion of the trail as a minor modification of the permit.

 

Council Member Strom asked if there was a way not to hinder the compressed time process that the school project was on, but to continue the conversation about the financial arrangements for the Town’s portion of the gym. Mr. Horton said the critical thing was that the School System was seeking approval of a permit that would allow them to move ahead.  He said he believed that they would want to have an understanding of the Town’s financial commitment to the gymnasium.  Mr. Horton said he believed that question would have to be asked of the School System as to whether they would be comfortable about moving ahead if the Council had not made a final decision on the arrangement of the funding.

 

Mr. Didow said he thought that would put the School System in a precarious position with the County Commissioners. He said in answer to Council Member Strom’s questions of the $200,000, that those were above and beyond the amenities that would be built at an elementary school site.  He said it could be argued that the School System’s contribution of $50,000 toward those amenities is a contribution of School Board funds to additional park site and fields requested by the Town.  He said they remained dedicated to being flexible to the Town’s needs and schedule, keeping in mind that they are trying to make this work with an opening of 2003.

 

Mayor Waldorf stated that she believed the whole package was advantageous to everybody involved, and the bottom line the Town was looking at for the gym was always that the Town had anticipated what it would be and the Town’s cost had not gotten any larger.

 

Council Member Ward said he understood what Council Member Strom’s concerns were, but the overriding point was to make the cooperative agreement work.  He said it was not perfect, but he would like to see the Council move forward with the funding package as it was this evening, understanding that it continued to be debatable by reasonable people coming to different conclusions.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS MOVED, SECONDED BY MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO, TO ADJOURN THE PUBLIC HEARING.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY  (9-0).

 

Mr. Wilson said the staff believed that the most appropriate approach would be to modify the existing school park SUP to shrink the boundaries to those of the new park site from 92 plus acres to 70.4 acres, thereby unencumbering the 22 acres involved with the elementary school application.  He said that order would subsequently be appropriate once the park SUP had been shrunk, to then consider the elementary school application for the 22 acres.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WARD, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 17a.

 

Council Member Brown asked Mr. Horton if he had some language for the stipulation he had suggested would be appropriate  Mr.Karpinos said the language would be for 17a: page 9 Stipulation #8—the heading would remain the same, “That the design and location of the pedestrian hiking nature trail connection to Lancaster Drive, as shown on the plans dated November 14, 2001, shall be established by the Town Council following a public process and the Council may direct that elimination of that connection be considered a moderate modification of the Special Use Permit.”  Mr. Karpinos said that language would replace the language following the underlined language in stipulation #8.

 

Mayor Waldorf read a letter from Barbara Chaiken saying that she supported the connection of the trail to Lancaster Drive and all connections through neighborhoods in Chapel Hill.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS REITERATED HER MOTION, AGAIN SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WARD, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 17A WITHOUT THE STIPULATION IN THE CHANGE IN WORDING.

 

Council Member Evans said she felt the Town needed to make this greenway connection because in the Town’s Comprehensive Plan it had been discussed time after time to have greenway connections throughout the community.  She said that the Council was in a position to allow flexibility for the connection by having it a field adjustment, but the connection needed to be made.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER STROM, TO AMEND THE MOTION BY ADDING THE AMENDED STIPULATION #8 AS WORDED BY THE ATTORNEY. “THAT THE DESIGN AND LOCATION OF THE PEDESTRIAN HIKING NATURE TRAIL CONNECTION TO LANCASTER DRIVE, AS SHOWN ON THE PLANS DATED NOVEMER 14, 2001, SHALL BE ESTABLISHED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL FOLLOWING A PUBLIC PROCESS AND THE COUNCIL MAY DIRECT THAT ELIMINATION OF THAT CONNECTION BE CONSIDERED A MODERATE MODIFICATION OF THE SPECIAL USE PERMIT.  THE MOTION FAILED WITH A VOTE OF 4-5, WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS BROWN, FOY, STROM, AND WIGGINS VOTING AYE, AND MAYOR WALDORF, MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO, COUNCIL MEMBERS BATEMAN, EVANS, AND WARD VOTING NAY.

 

THE MAIN MOTION WAS ADOPTED BY A VOTE OF 8-1, WITH MAYOR WALDORF, MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO, COUNCIL MEMBERS BATEMAN, EVANS, FOY, STROM, WIGGINS AND WARD VOTING AYE, AND COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN VOTING NAY.

 

 

A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN APPLICATION FOR A SPECIAL USE PERMIT MODIFICATION FOR THE MEADOWMONT TOWN PARK (2001-11-26/R-17a)

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that it finds that the Special Use Permit Modification application proposed by the John R. McAdams Company, Inc., on property identified as Chapel Hill Township Tax Map 52, Lots 33 and 34, if developed according to the site plan dated November 14, 2001, and conditions listed below, would:

 

1.         Be located, designed, and proposed to be operated so as to maintain or promote the public health, safety, and general welfare;

 

2.         Comply with all required regulations and standards of the Development Ordinance, including all applicable provisions of Articles 12, 13, and 14, and with all other applicable regulations;

 

3.         Be located, designed, and proposed to be operated so as to maintain or enhance the value of contiguous property;

  

4.                  Conform with the general plans for the physical development of the Town as embodied in the Development Ordinance and in the Comprehensive Plan; and

 

5.                  Be consistent with the Meadowmont Master Land Use Plan that was approved on October 23, 1995.  

 

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town Council hereby approves the application for a Special Use Permit Modification for the Meadowmont Town Park in accordance with the plans listed above and with the conditions listed below:

Stipulations Specific to the Development

 

1.                  That construction begin by November 26, 2003, and be completed by November 26, 2005. 

 

2.                  Land Use Intensity: This Special Use Permit Modification authorizes the following construction of a picnic shelter, an 8-foot wide natural surface greenway trail, and a 4-foot wide natural surface pedestrian/hiking trail (with 3 pedestrian bridges and associated boardwalk sections).

 

3.                  Joint Use Agreement:  That a Joint Use Agreement shall be established between the Town Park and the School regarding shared vehicular parking, shared bicycle parking, and a shared restroom facility for Park patrons.  The Joint Use Agreement shall be approved by the Town Manager, and recorded with the Orange County Register of Deeds, prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

Stipulations Related to Required Improvements

 

4.                  Impervious Surface:  That a maximum of 10,142 square feet (0.23 acres) of this site shall be covered by impervious surface.  The developer shall also submit an updated Meadowmont Impervious Surface Monitoring Form reflecting the amount of impervious surface to be constructed on this site, prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit, demonstrating compliance with the Low Density Option.

 

 

5.                  Construction of Meadowmont Lane: That detailed construction plans for the construction of Meadowmont Lane, including sidewalk on both sides of the street, from the existing terminus to the easternmost property corner of the School site’s street frontage shall be approved by the Town Manager, prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.  In addition, Meadowmont Lane, from its existing terminus to the easternmost property corner of the school site, shall be completed and open to the public prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for the park.

 

6.                  Town Standards: That all streets, parking lots, drive aisles and sidewalks associated with this development shall be constructed to Town standards.

 

7.                  Bollards on Greenway Trail:  That bollards be installed at the entrance of the greenway trail (at least one shall be lockable) in order to prevent vehicular access.

 

8.                  Location of Pedestrian/Hiking Nature Trail Connection to Lancaster Drive:  That the proposed point of connection between the Nature Trail and Lancaster Drive, as shown on the plans dated November 14, 2001, may be field-adjusted to another point along the Park’s Lancaster Drive frontage, prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

9.                  Pedestrian/Hiking Trail Boardwalk Sections:  That the developer provide boardwalk sections for the nature trail, as determined necessary by the Town Manager.

Stipulations Related to the Resource Conservation District and Wetlands

 

10.              Boundaries:  That the boundaries of the Resource Conservation District be indicated on final plans.  A note shall be added to all final plats and plans, indicating that “Development shall be restricted within the Resource Conservation District in accordance with the Chapel Hill Development Ordinance.”

 

11.              Variances:  That all variances necessary for development within the Resource Conservation District be obtained before application for final plan approval for the subject phase(s) of development.

 

12.              Construction Standards:  That for encroachment(s) into the Resource Conservation District, the requirements and standards of subsections 5.6 and 5.8 of the Development Ordinance must be adhered to, unless the application is granted administrative exemptions from sub-section 5.8.  Permitted encroachments include, but are not limited to:

 

                        -  Street crossings;

                        -  Pedestrian/bicycle paths along and over the streams;

                        -  Compost/yard waste sites;

                        -  Wet detention basin/stormwater management facilities;

                        -  Utility lines; and

                        -  Surface Parking.

 

13.       Wetlands:  That any proposed disturbance of wetlands shall demonstrate compliance with applicable State and Federal regulations.

Stipulations Related to State and Federal Approvals

 

14.       State or Federal Approvals:  That any required State or federal permits or encroachment agreements be approved by the appropriate agencies and copies of the approved permits and agreements be submitted to the Town Manager prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit for the development.

Stipulations Related to Landscape Elements

 

15.       Landscape Protection Plan: That a detailed Landscape Protection Plan be prepared, clearly indicating which rare and specimen trees will be removed and preserved and including Town standard landscaping protection notes. The plan shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

Stipulations Related to Stormwater Management & Erosion Control

 

16.              Stormwater Management Plan: That a Stormwater Management Plan shall be approved prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit, if deemed necessary by the Town Manager.

 

17.              Erosion Control:  That a soil erosion and sedimentation control plan, including provisions for maintenance of facilities and modification of the plan if necessary, be approved by the Orange County Erosion Control Officer and the Durham County Erosion Control Officer, and that a copy of the approval be provided to the Town Manager prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

Stipulations Related to Fire Protection/Fire Safety

 

18.       Fire Flow: That a fire flow report, for the fire hydrant located on the adjacent School site near the gym, shall be prepared by a registered professional engineer.  The fire flow report shall show that flows meet the minimum requirements of the Design Manual, and shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

Solid Waste & Recycling Stipulations

 

19.       Solid Waste Management Plan: That a Solid Waste Management Plan, including provisions for recycling and for the management and minimizing of construction debris, shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

Greenway, Maintenance & Access Easement Stipulations

 

20.              Greenway Corridor Easement:  That when the specific location of the greenway trail has been determined by the master developer and approved by the Town Manager, the park developer will allow the greenway trail to be constructed on the park site. 

 

21.              Recorded Plat:  That a plat shall be recorded indicating all easements on this site, prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

Miscellaneous Stipulations

 

22.       Certificates of Occupancy: That no Certificates of Occupancy shall be issued until all required public improvements are complete, and that a note to this effect shall be placed on the final plat.

 

            That if the Town Manager approves a phasing plan, no Certificates of Occupancy shall be issued for a phase until all required public improvements for that phase are complete; no Building Permits for any phase shall be issued until all public improvements required in previous phases are completed to a point adjacent to the new phase, and that a note to this effect shall be placed on the final plat.

23.       Detailed Plans: That the final detailed site plan, grading plan, utility/lighting plans, stormwater management plan (with hydraulic calculations), and landscape plans shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit, and that such plans shall conform to the plans approved by this application and demonstrate compliance with all applicable conditions and design standards of the Development Ordinance and Design Manual.

 

24.       Open Burning: That no open burning shall be permitted during the construction of this development.

 

25.       Silt Control: That the applicant shall take appropriate measures to prevent and remove the deposit of wet or dry silt on adjacent paved roadways.

 

26.       Construction Sign Required: That the applicant shall post a construction sign that lists the property owner’s representative, with a telephone number; the contractor’s representative, with a telephone number; and a telephone number for regulatory information at the time of issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit. The construction sign may have a maximum of 32 square feet of display area and may not exceed 8 feet in height. The sign shall be non-illuminated, and shall consist of light letters on a dark background.

 

27.       Continued Validity: That continued validity and effectiveness of this approval is expressly conditioned on the continued compliance with the plans and conditions listed above.

 

 

28.       Non-severability: That if any of the above conditions is held to be invalid, approval in its entirety shall be void.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby approves the application for a Special Use Permit Modification for the Meadowmont Town Park.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 17F. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).

 

 

A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE TOWN MANAGER TO REPORT TO THE COUNCIL REGARDING TRAFFIC CONDITIONS FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF PEDESTRIAN TRAIL CONNECTION TO LANCASTER DRIVE (2001-11-26/R-17f)

WHEREAS, a pedestrian connection from the Meadowmont Town Park is likely to increase pedestrian traffic along Lancaster Drive; and

 

WHEREAS, existing residents of homes on and near Lancaster Drive have expressed concern about negative impacts that might accompany such a pedestrian connection from the Park to Lancaster Drive;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Chapel Hill Town Council directs the Town Manager to prepare a report to the Council within 3-6 months following the completion of the Park’s pedestrian connection to Lancaster Drive, to provide a report on traffic conditions (vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian) along Lancaster Drive.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council directs the Manager to mail notice of such report to all property owners within 1,000 feet of the intersection of the pedestrian trail and Lancaster Drive.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 16A. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).

 

 

A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN APPLICATION FOR A SPECIAL USE PERMIT MODIFICATION FOR THE MEADOWMONT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (2001-11-26/R- 16a)

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that it finds that the Special Use Permit Modification application proposed by Corley Redfoot Zack, Inc., on property identified as Chapel Hill Township Tax Map 52, Lot 15A, if developed according to the site plan dated August 24, 2001, and revised on November 14, 2001, and conditions listed below, would:

 

1.         Comply with all required regulations and standards of the Development Ordinance, including all applicable provisions of Articles 12, 13, and 14, and with all other applicable regulations; and

2.         Be consistent with the Meadowmont Master Land Use Plan that was approved on October 23, 1995.  

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town Council hereby approves the application for a Special Use Permit Modification for the Meadowmont Elementary School in accordance with the plans listed above and with the conditions listed below:

Stipulations Specific to the Development

1.                  That construction begin by November 26, 2003, and be completed by November 26, 2016.

 

2.                   Land Use Intensity: This Special Use Permit Modification authorizes construction of an elementary school, specified as follows:

 

            Maximum Floor Area Total:                                          107,000 s.f.  (see stipulation below)

      Minimum Outdoor Space:                                             880,155 s.f.

      Minimum Livability Space:                                            805,955 s.f.

Maximum Amount of Impervious Surface:                     255,000 s.f.

Maximum # of Off-Street Parking Spaces:                    120 spaces

Minimum # of External Bicycle Parking Spaces: 100 spaces

Minimum # of Bicycle Lockers:                           9 lockers

Minimum # of Athletic Fields/Play Fields:                              4

Stipulations Related to Required Improvements

 

3.                  Maximum Floor Area: That a total of 93,517 square feet of floor area shall be allowed on this site, unless additional floor area is provided through any combination of the following approaches, prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit:

 

A.     Additional floor area is transferred from the adjacent Town Park site;

B.     Approval of a Modification of the Meadowmont Master Land Use Plan that would increase the total allowable floor area by up to 13,483 square feet, which would only be permitted for use on the Meadowmont Elementary School site.

 

      These approaches may be used to increase the allowed floor area on this site to a maximum of 107,000 square feet. 

 

4.                  Adjustment to the Master Land Use Plan: That an application to adjust the Meadowmont Master Land Use Plan to increase the allowable floor area by up to 13,483 square feet, with the additional floor area only being permitted for use on the Meadowmont Elementary School site, shall be viewed as a non-substantial, minor change that would be administratively approved by the Town Manager.

 

5.                  Impervious Surface Monitoring Form: That the developer shall submit an updated Meadowmont Impervious Surface Monitoring Form in conformance with the Low Density Option, reflecting the amount of impervious surface to be constructed on this site as part of the overall development, prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

6.                  Construction of Meadowmont Lane: That detailed construction plans for the construction of Meadowmont Lane, including sidewalk on both sides of the street, from the existing terminus to the easternmost property corner of the School site’s street frontage shall be approved by the Town Manager, prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.  In addition, Meadowmont Lane, from its existing terminus to the easternmost property corner of the school site, shall be completed and open to the public prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for the Elementary School.

 

7.                  Town Standards: That all streets, parking lots, drive aisles and sidewalks associated with this development shall be constructed to Town standards.

 

8.                  Bicycle Parking: That the applicant shall provide a total of 9 bicycle lockers (Class I standards) and a total of 100 external secured, covered and illuminated bicycle parking spaces (Class II standards).

 

9.                  American Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility:  That all sidewalks, pedestrian paths, and access paths constructed on this site shall be designed to be ADA Accessible.

 

10.              Internal Crosswalks:  That all four (4) internal crosswalks shall be raised in order to slow vehicle speed.   

Stipulations Related to Landscape Elements and Architectural Issues

 

11.              Landscape Plan Approval: That a detailed Landscape Plan and Landscape Maintenance Plan shall be prepared for the site and approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.  In particular, the Landscape Plans shall include the following buffer areas:

 

A.        A 15-foot Type ‘A’ buffer along the western boundary of this site (which is part of the perimeter of the overall Meadowmont development); and

 

B.         A 15-foot Type ‘A’ buffer along the site’s Meadowmont Lane frontage.

 

12.              Parking Lot Landscaping Requirements:  That parking lot screening and parking lot shading shall be provided in accordance with the Town’s parking landscaping requirements (Development Ordinance, Section 14.6.6), and shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

13.              Landscape Protection Plan: That a detailed Landscape Protection Plan be prepared, clearly indicating which rare and specimen trees will be removed and preserved and including Town standard landscaping protection notes. The plan shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

14.              Building Elevations: That the Community Design Commission shall approve the building elevations for the site, prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

15.              Lighting Plan: That the Community Design Commission shall approve a Lighting Plan for the site, prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.  The Landscape Plan shall include all parking lot lighting, any building and landscape up-lighting, and any athletic field or playground illumination.

Stipulations Related to Stormwater Management & Erosion Control

 

16.              Stormwater Management Plan: That a Stormwater Management Plan shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit. The facility design shall be based on the 1-year and 50-year frequency, 24-hour duration storms, where the post-development stormwater run-off rate shall not exceed the pre-development rate. The engineered stormwater facility shall also be designed to remove 85% total suspended solids and treat the first inch of precipitation.

 

17.              Stormwater Operations and Management Plan: That the applicant shall provide a Stormwater Operations and Maintenance Plan for all engineered stormwater facilities. That the plan shall include the owner's financial responsibility and maintenance schedule of the facilities to ensure that it continues to function as originally intended and shall be approved by the Town Manager.

 

18.              Stormwater Drainageway Easement: That all on-site stormwater facilities shall be located within a stormwater drainageway easement as required by the Town Manager.

 

19.              Erosion Control: That a soil erosion and sedimentation control plan, including provisions for maintenance of facilities and modification of the plan if necessary, shall be approved by the State of North Carolina, prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.  In addition, a copy of the State-approved plan shall be submitted to the Orange County Erosion Control Department, prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.  Orange County Erosion Control shall be permitted to visit the site during construction, and shall have the opportunity to report any findings and suggestions to the State of North Carolina.

 


Stipulations Related to Utilities

 

20.              Utility Plan Approval: That the final utility/lighting plan be approved by Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), Duke Power Company, BellSouth (or designated telephone service provider), Public Service Company, and the Town Manager, prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

21.              Utility Lines: That all utility lines, other than 3-phase electric power distribution lines, shall be underground and shall be indicated on final plans.

Stipulations Related to Fire Protection/Fire Safety

 

22.              Emergency Access Path:  That the emergency access path which encircles the school, shall be constructed to support the weight and turning radii of fire apparatus, subject to Town Manager approval.

 

23.              Fire Flow: That a fire flow report shall be prepared by a registered professional engineer, showing that flows meet the minimum requirements of the Design Manual, shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

24.              Sprinkler System: That the buildings shall have a sprinkler system in accordance with Town Code, which shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to the issuance of a Building Permit.

 

25.              Fire Department Connections: That fire department connections shall be no more than 50 feet from the hydrants, and shall be located in visible, accessible locations, subject to Town Fire Marshall approval.

Solid Waste & Recycling Stipulations

 

26.              Solid Waste Management Plan: That a Solid Waste Management Plan, including provisions for recycling and for the management and minimizing of construction debris, shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

27.              Heavy-Duty Pavement:  That all drive aisles and parking areas that will be utilized for collection vehicle access to the dumpster/recycling area, shall be constructed with all-weather, heavy-duty pavement.

Greenway, Maintenance & Access Easement Stipulations

 

28.              Greenway Corridor Easement:  That when the specific location of the greenway trail has been determined by the master developer and approved by the Town Manager, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools will allow the greenway trail to be constructed on the School site.  In addition, once the detailed location of the greenway trail has been determined, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools will dedicate a permanent access easement for the entire 100-foot wide greenway trail corridor.  This dedicated easement shall allow the Town to maintain the greenway trail, while also providing access for pedestrians, non-motorized vehicles, and persons confined to wheelchairs.

 

29.              Maintenance Access to Athletic Fields:  That an access easement shall be provided from the neighboring residential street that is located south/southwest of the School site, for the purpose of allowing maintenance vehicles to access the athletic fields located west of the perennial stream that divides the School site.  Details regarding this access easement (location of curb cut, amount of grading, location of utilities, etc.) shall be submitted and approved by the Town Manager, prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

30.              Access Easements:  That a permanent access easement shall be dedicated for (1) the area on the School site located west of the perennial stream that divides the site, and (2) the lot located south of the western two athletic fields, which will serve to provide maintenance access from the public street in the adjoining single-family neighborhood.  The dedicated access easement shall allow the Town to maintain these areas, and provide access for pedestrians, non-motorized vehicles, and persons confined to motorized wheelchairs. 

 

31.              Entrance Drive Easement:  That a permanent access easement which provides access for vehicular traffic and pedestrians, shall be dedicated for the access road off of Meadowmont Lane that serves as the primary entrance drive to the Meadowmont Elementary School site (and also serves as the primary entrance drive for the Meadowmont Town Park).

 

32.              Utility Easements:  That permanent utility easements shall be provided for utilities that provide services to the two western athletic fields, for maintenance purposes.

 

33.              Recorded Plat:  That a plat shall be recorded indicating all easements on this site, prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

Miscellaneous Stipulations

 

34.              Certificates of Occupancy: That no Certificates of Occupancy shall be issued until all required public improvements are complete, and that a note to this effect shall be placed on the final plat.

 

That if the Town Manager approves a phasing plan, no Certificates of Occupancy shall be issued for a phase until all required public improvements for that phase are complete; no Building Permits for any phase shall be issued until all public improvements required in previous phases are completed to a point adjacent to the new phase, and that a note to this effect shall be placed on the final plat.

35.              Detailed Plans: That the final detailed site plan, grading plan, utility/lighting plans, stormwater management plan (with hydraulic calculations), and landscape plans shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit, and that such plans shall conform to the plans approved by this application and demonstrate compliance with all applicable conditions and design standards of the Development Ordinance and Design Manual.

 

36.              Open Burning: That no open burning shall be permitted during the construction of this development.

 

37.              Silt Control: That the applicant shall take appropriate measures to prevent and remove the deposit of wet or dry silt on adjacent paved roadways.

 

38.              Plant Rescue:  That the applicant is encouraged to conduct a “plant rescue” for this site, after the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit and prior to the start of construction.

 

39.              Construction Sign Required: That the applicant shall post a construction sign that lists the property owner’s representative, with a telephone number; the contractor’s representative, with a telephone number; and a telephone number for regulatory information at the time of issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit. The construction sign may have a maximum of 32 square feet of display area and may not exceed 8 feet in height. The sign shall be non-illuminated, and shall consist of light letters on a dark background.

 

40.              Continued Validity: That continued validity and effectiveness of this approval is expressly conditioned on the continued compliance with the plans and conditions listed above.

 

41.              Non-severability: That if any of the above conditions is held to be invalid, approval in its entirety shall be void.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby approves the application for a Special Use Permit Modification for the Meadowmont Elementary School.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS MOVED, SECONDED BY MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 17.1. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).


A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO ACCEPT A LETTER OF COMMITMENT FROM THE CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO CITY SCHOOL BOARD THAT IT WILL PROVIDE CERTAIN OF THE PARK AMENITIES AS ELEMENTS OF THE SITE PLAN FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #9 AND RELEASE THE BOND FOR PARK IMPROVEMENTS (2001-11-26/R-17.1)

 

WHEREAS, the 1995 Meadowmont Master Land Use Plan included a 92-acre school/park site; and,

 

WHEREAS, the 1997 Special Use Permit for the school/park site required the developer to provide certain park amenities; and

 

WHEREAS the Council has modified that 1997 Special Use Permit by dividing the School and Park site and creating separate special use permits and site plans for the school and the park, with modified sets of amenities on each site; and,

 

WHEREAS, according to the revised and separated 2001 Special Use Permits and site plans virtually all of the park amenities are located on the school site, making for a tightly developed site; and,

 

WHEREAS, it would not be in the public interest to have contractors from both the developer and the School Board trying to work on this very compact school site at one time; and

 

WHEREAS, the developer has offered to pay the School Board $1,024,000 which exceeds his costs of providing the park amenities or which he is responsible under the 1997 Special Use Permit; and

 

WHEREAS, the School Board has agreed to be responsible for the construction of these park amenities during the development of Elementary School # 9; and,

 

WHEREAS, the Town currently holds a bond which guarantees that the developer will provide these park amenities,

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Town Manager is authorized to accept a letter of commitment from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools stating that the School Board will provide all of the park amenities that are to be located on the site of Elementary School #9 under the 2001 Special Use Permit.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Manager is authorized, upon payment by the developer to the School Board of  $1,024,000, to release the bond the developer has provided to the Town for the park amenities.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS MOVED, SECONDED BY MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 17.2.

 

Council Member Strom restated his opinion that he would vote against the Resolution, but in favor of the park.  He said he thought that the $104,000 was Town money and it was a lot easier to adjust a $12 million or $14 million school budget to cover some grading than for the Town to just give away another $104,000 plus $50,000.

 

THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED BY A VOTE OF 8-1, WITH MAYOR WALDORF, MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO, COUNCIL MEMBERS BATEMAN, BROWN, EVANS, FOY, WARD, AND WIGGINS VOTING AYE, AND COUNCIL MEMBER STROM VOTING NAY.

 

 

A RESOLUTION COMMITTING TO PAY $750,000 TO THE CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO CITY SCHOOLS FOR THE INCREMENTAL COST OF A COMMUNITY GYM AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AT MEADOWMONT (2001-11-26/R-17.2)

 

WHEREAS, the Town Council has indicated its desire for a community gymnasium to be included instead of a multi-purpose room in the new elementary school to be built in Meadowmont; and

 

WHEREAS, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education has agreed to plan for such a facility if the Town will commit to pay the incremental cost of $750,000 by the end of 2004/2005; and

 

WHEREAS, the Town Council resolved on June 11, 2001, to waive the $36,000 of development fees for the school on the condition that the sum be considered part of the Town’s contribution to the incremental cost of the community gym; and

 

WHEREAS, the developer of Meadowmont has agreed to pay $200,000 to the School Board as part of the Town’s share of $750,000 for the community gym;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that payments totaling $750,000 will be made to the School Board by 2004/5 to ensure that a community gymnasium be included in the elementary school at Meadowmont.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the $750,000 shall include:

 

-$36,000 of waived development fees which the School Board already has;

-$200,000 from the developer of Meadowmont in lieu of it building a softball field and a free-standing restroom facility; and

-$510,000 from allocations to be included in some or all of the next three operating budgets.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.


Item 11 – Wachovia Bank at Meadowmont: Application for

Special Use Permit Modification

 

Development Coordinator J.B. Culpepper said there had not been any changes to the Manager's recommendation at the November 19, 2001 Public Hearing.  She said the staff continued to recommend approval with Resolution A, which calls for 14 parking spaces.  Ms. Culpepper said the Council had the flexibility to determine how many spaces to include in the Resolution they adopted this evening.

 

Josh Gurlitz, speaking for the applicant, said there was no further information to put into the public record, except to encourage the Council to consider Resolution B or C.

 

Steve Dobbins, representing the Transportation Board, said he was in favor of most of the proposal approval, but he did dissent because he felt that the request for 24 parking spaces instead of 14 spaces was reasonable, since the request for 24 parking spaces was only one less than the original proposal, which was for a larger building.

 

Council Member Strom said the Council was applying logic that he did not agree with, which was that if someone could build a larger building but was not going to build it, that they could be entitled to the parking maximum given in the Master Plan or the agreed upon square footage.  He asked if the Council was opening itself up to people in other locations wanting more parking with smaller buildings.  Council Member Strom asked if this logic gives the Council some liability in that area.  Mr. Karpinos said each case would have to be evaluated on the specific facts.

 

Council Member Strom asked if there was any discussion on how the $25,000 contribution to Orange Community Housing and Land Trust was arrived at, and was there a conversation trying to relate the amount of the money being discussed to what it would actually cost to subsidize specific units at Meadowmont.  Mr. Horton said it was offered by the applicant and it was written as a stipulation because the applicant volunteered it.  He said there was no particular discussion or rationale.

 

Council Member Foy asked if it were possible for the square footage not being used at this site to be used in any other part of the Meadowmont site.  Mr. Horton said his recollection was that it was not.  Ms. Culpepper said she believed the Manager was correct.  Mr. Horton added it was allocated at that particular site by a stipulation, and in addition to the square footage being determined, there was a specific amount of auto trips determined.

 

MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS, TO ADJOURN THE PUBLIC HEARING.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).

 

MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 18b.

 

Council Member Foy said he would not support the motion because it did not make sense to increase parking at Meadowmont.  He said that by decreasing the amount of parking spaces, the amount of traffic is decreased, and that was one of the benefits that the Council was trying to get from Meadowmont.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER WARD SUGGESTED THAT THE RAISED INTERNAL CROSSWALK WHICH WAS PART OF RESOLUTION 18D AND REPORTED BY THE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE ADVISORY BOARD, BE SUBSTITUTED FOR THE PLANNING BOARD’S RECOMMENDATION IN RESOLUTION 18B. THIS WAS ACCEPTED AS A “FRIENDLY” AMENDMENT BY THE MOVER AND SECONDER. 

 

Council Member Bateman said she would support the motion, but she agreed with Council Member Strom because she thought it was fair and not because it would set a precedent.  She said each proposal had and will be weighed separately.

 

Council Member Strom said he would not support the motion because this was a suburban application in an area that the Council was specifically trying to avoid suburban applications.  He said it was clear that the location of the bank was to attract people from all over the area, and he was concerned that other bank branches in the Town would be closed.  Council Member Strom said he felt that allowing the parking spaces, in spite of the lesser square footage, would be opening up a “Pandora’s Box.”

 

Council Member Ward said he planned to support the motion because it was realistic, based on the location of the parcel.  He said it would have the opportunity of serving more than just the citizens of Meadowmont, and 14 spaces would not fill the bank’s needs, but 24 was a reasonable amount of parking spaces.

 

Mayor Waldorf said she would support the motion, but advised the Council to look at the number requirements for parking spaces in developing the Development Ordinance.  She said she felt the numbers were not consistent, and it was a continuing problem for the Council.

 

Council Member Ward added that he had asked the Planning Staff where the numbers for parking spaces came from, and the Council had said under 10% was going to be the minimum and maximum.  He said the numbers were arbitrary numbers and the bank parking numbers were 110% of an arbitrary number. Council Member Ward said he would support the numbers, but this would be a real opportunity to look closely at the parking numbers and be sure that they came from real sound reasoning, which would give the Council a standard.

 

THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED BY A VOTE OF 6-3, WITH MAYOR WALDORF, MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO, COUNCIL MEMBERS BATEMAN, EVANS, WARD, AND WIGGINS VOTING AYE, AND COUNCIL MEMBERS BROWN, FOY, AND STROM VOTING NAY.


A RESOLUTION APPROVING A SPECIAL USE PERMIT MODIFICATION APPLICATION FOR THE WACHOVIA BANK AT MEADOWMONT (2001-11-26/R-18b)

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that it finds that the Special Use Permit Modification application proposed by the Wachovia Bank, on property identified as Durham Township Tax Map 479-1-1B, if developed according to the plans dated July 27, 2000 (revised May 31, 2001), the Meadowmont Master Land Use Plan, and the conditions listed below, would:

 

1.      Comply with all required regulations and standards of the Development Ordinance, including all applicable provisions of Articles 12, 13, and 14, and with all other applicable regulations, with the modifications listed below; and

2.      Be consistent with the Meadowmont Master Land Use Plan that was approved on October 23, 1995.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these findings are conditioned on the following:

                                                Stipulations Specific to the Development

1.      That construction begin by November 26, 2003  (two years from the date of Council approval) and be completed by November 26, 2004 (three years from the date of Council approval).

2.      Land Use Intensity:  This Special Use Permit authorizes the following:

·                    1 building, with a maximum of 4,150 square feet of floor area; and 

·                    A maximum of 24 parking spaces.

3.      Land Use:  That the use of this development be restricted to a bank with a drive-through facility.

4.      Land Use Intensity and Impervious Surface Calculations:  That the applicant provide calculations confirming Meadowmont’s overall compliance with Land Use Intensity Ratios and Impervious Surface Limits.                      

5.      Eastern Boundary of the Meadowmont Development:  That buildings and parking shall be at least 40 feet from the eastern property line.  A 40-foot wide Type C landscape buffer shall be provided along the eastern property line. 

 

6.      Heavy Duty Pavement:  That a heavy-duty pavement with a 10-inch base course be installed along the refuse/recycling service vehicle routes.


 

7.      Stop Sign and Pedestrian Crossing Signs:  That a stop sign shall be installed at the end of the drive-through lane.  Pedestrian crossing signs shall be installed at both internal crosswalks.

 

8.      No Parking Signs:  That signage shall be installed informing bank customers that parking in The Cedars Retirement Community is prohibited while conducting bank business. 

 

9.      Change to Parking Lot Layout at Northern Property Line:  That the two parking bays consisting of seven compact spaces be combined into a single bay of six spaces and be shifted to the east, such that the westernmost space does not back into the drive aisle that accesses the bank’s front entrance for a total of 24 parking spaces.

 

10.  Internal Crosswalk:  That the internal crosswalk which crosses the drive-through lane shall be raised to slow vehicle traffic.

 

11.  Bike Racks:  That the bicycle parking area for this development shall comply with the Town’s Design Manual. 

 

12.  Parking:

 

A.       That no more that 24 parking spaces be provided.

 

B.        Parking Area Screening:  That all parking areas be screened from public road view, and that screening plans shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

C.       Parking Lot Design and Construction:  That all parking lots shall be designed and constructed to meet Town standards unless an alternate design is approved by the Town Manager.

 

13.  East Barbee Chapel Road Bus Stops: That a segment of the eight foot wide tree lawn between the sidewalk and the street curb, adjacent to the two future East Barbee Chapel Road bus stops, be paved.  Final design and dimensions shall be reviewed and approved by the Town Manager.

 

14.  Permanent Retention Basin Installation: 

 

A.       That the required off-site stormwater retention pond serving this site be in place prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.

 

B.        Compliance with the Town Watershed Protection District regulations shall be demonstrated with the provision of permanent pond.  Permanent stormwater retention shall be required in accordance with the requirements of the Development Ordinance.

 

C.       The size, accessibility, location, and design of said pond shall be approved by the Town Manager.

 

D.       The off-site wet retention pond shall meet or exceed the North Carolina Division of Environmental Management requirements and shall be designed so as to be approved by the Division of Environmental Management, the North Carolina Division of Water Quality, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Town Manager.

 

E.        A performance bond or other surety instrument satisfactory to the Town, shall be posted in an amount approved by the Town Manager, to assure maintenance, repair, or reconstruction necessary for adequate performance of the engineered stormwater controls.

 

F.        The Owners’ or Homeowners’ Association shall be responsible for arranging for annual inspections of said pond by an appropriately certified engineer, to determine whether the pond and associated structures are operating acceptably according to design requirements, and to report findings of said inspections to the Town manger, with such recommendations for maintenance or repair as may be warranted.  Any needed repairs shall be completed within 120 days unless otherwise approved by the Town Manager.  Restrictive covenants shall be recorded which shall identify these responsibilities of the Owners’ or Homeowners’ Association, including pond maintenance.

 

G.       Maintenance of the pond shall be the responsibility of the applicant or a property/homeowners’ association.  A maintenance plan shall be provided for each of the retention ponds, to be approved by the Town Manager.  The plans shall address inspection, maintenance intervals, type of equipment required, access to each pond, and related matters.

 

H.       As part of the application for Final Plan Approval, the applicant shall provide an up-to-date cumulative total of impervious surfaces within the sub-basin.

 

I.          The minimum permanent pool depth of the off-site retention pond shall be at least three (3) feet in addition to enough volume to store the accumulated sediment between clean out periods.

 

J.          All sediment deposited in the pond during construction activity on contributing sites must be removed before “normal” pond operation begins.

 

K.       Emergency drains shall be installed in the off-site pond to allow access for repairs and sediment removal as necessary.

 

L.        Anti-seepage collars shall be used on any structures penetrating dams or water retaining embankments.

 

 

M.      Public storm drainage systems, or other utilities, shall not be located within a pond or dam structure.

 

N.       No ponds shall be created within the perimeter landscape buffer required for Meadowmont development.

 

O.       That the off-site pond be located and designed such that damage to existing large trees can be minimized.

 

P.        That the off-site retention pond and outlets be contained within stormwater drainage easements and that maintenance access with easements be provided prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.

 

15.  Ownership and Responsibilities of Common Areas: 

A.       That an owners’ association be created for the maintenance and regulation of the private (residential, office, park, landscape, and commercial) areas including privately maintained streets and alleys.  All property owners owning land within the area of the Master Land Use Plan approval, excluding governmental bodies, shall be represented in the owners’ association.  This owners’ association shall have maintenance responsibilities for commonly owner development elements, which affect the entire development including the stormwater management facilities.

B.        In addition, a separate  owners association shall be created for the maintenance and regulation of the residential, office, and commercial areas.  The documents creating these entities shall be reviewed for approval by the Town manager, and shall be recorded in the Orange County Register of Deeds Office prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

C.       The responsibilities of these entities shall include the ownership and maintenance of the private alleys, private green spaces, private parks and recreation space, private retention and detention basins, and the landscape buffers.

D.       These entities shall also be responsible for an “add-on fees” charged by Duke Power for special street lighting.

E.        These entities shall have the ability to place a lien on property for nonpayment of dues or fees.

Stipulations Related to Landscape Elements

16.  Landscape Buffers:  The following buffers shall be provided; if any existing vegetation is to be used to satisfy the buffer requirements, the vegetation will be protected by fencing from adjacent construction:

 

A.       Type “C” landscape buffer (20 feet minimum width) along the northern property line.

 

B.        Type “C” landscape buffer (40 feet minimum width) along the eastern property line.  Existing vegetation shall be supplemented with evergreen shrubs and trees as necessary to fulfill landscape buffer planting requirements.

 

C.     Type “D” landscape buffer (50 feet minimum width) along the Highway NC 54 frontage.  That planting be provided, and existing vegetation preserved along the Highway frontage in general compliance with the Town’s Master Landscape Plan for Entranceway Corridors along Highway 54.  A streetscape plan, demonstrating compliance with the Master Landscape Plan for Entranceway Corridors, shall be submitted for Town Manager review and approval.  That the applicant provide additional information as part of the final plan review process including detailed elevations from Highway 54 for consideration by the Community Design Commission.

 

D.       The landscape buffer plan shall be reviewed for approval by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

17.  Landscape Protection Plan: 

A.       That the removal of the 15-inch oak and 15-inch hickory trees, between East Barbee Chapel Road and the proposed building, shall be reviewed and approved by the Town’s Urban Forester.  The Town Manager shall determine if additional grading techniques and or minor site design modifications are necessary if order to preserve one or both trees.

B.        That a complete and accurate tree survey of all trees within 100 feet of any proposed off-site grading and be provided with the first submittal of Final Plans.  That an accurate tree and vegetation survey of the NC 54 Entrance Corridor be provided with the first submittal of Final Plans

C.       That a Landscape Protection Plan be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.  This plan shall include areas of vegetation to be preserved; the anticipated clearing limit lines; proposed grading; proposed utility lines a detail of protective fencing; and construction parking and materials storage/staging areas. The plan shall show the use of tree protection fencing, unless alternate protection measures are approved by the Town Manager, between construction and existing vegetation.

D.       That the plan indicates the critical root area (1 foot radius for every inch caliper dbh) for the large trees adjacent to construction areas.

 

E.        No erosion control devices shall be allowed within the designated tree preservation or landscape buffers areas.

18.  Landscape Plan:  That a detailed landscape plan and landscape maintenance plan be approved by the Town Manager prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.  Detailed final plans shall include demonstration that parking lot shading and screening requirements will be met.

Stipulations Related to Building Elevations

19.  Building Elevations/Site Lighting:  That the detailed building elevations and lighting plan be approved by the Community Design Commission prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

Stipulations Related to Water, Sewer, and Other Utilities

 

20.  Utility/Lighting Plan Approval: That the final utility/lighting plan be approved by Duke Power Company, Orange Water and Sewer Authority, BellSouth or GTE, Public Service Company, Time Warner Cable, and the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

21.  Placement of Utility Lines Underground:  That the final plans indicate that all utility lines shall be placed underground.

 

22.  Fire Flow:  That a fire flow report, prepared by a registered professional engineer, and showing that flows meet the minimum requirements of the Design Manual, be approved prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

23.  Fire Hydrant Locations:  That the fire hydrant connections be installed on the street side of buildings in easily visible and accessible locations to be approved by the Town Manager.

Miscellaneous Stipulations

24.  A contribution of $25,000 to the Orange Community Housing and Land Trust shall be made prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

25.  Stormwater Management Plan:  That a Stormwater Management Plan be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.  Based on a 25-year storm, the post-development stormwater run-off rate should not exceed the pre-development rate.  The plan must show how stormwater detention for this site will be achieved.  Design and construction of any stormwater management facility shall be approved by the Town Manager.

26.  Stormwater Management Plan Review for The Cedars Retirement Community:  That the stormwater management between this development and The Cedars Retirement Community be coordinated during final plan review for the Cedar’s and this development.

27.  Off-Site Construction Easements: That all required off-site construction easements shall be reviewed and approved by the Town Manager prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit. 

28.  Bio-Retention: The proposed bio-retention area shall be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit

A Planting Plan shall be submitted for the bio-retention area and approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

29.  Transportation Management Plan:  That a Transportation Management Plan be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.  This plan shall be updated and approved annually by the Town Manager.  The required components of the Transportation Management Plan shall include:

 

A.       Provision for designation of a Transportation Coordinator;

 

B.        Provisions for an annual Transportation Survey and Annual Report to the Town Manager;

 

C.       Quantifiable traffic reduction goals and objectives;

 

D.       Ridesharing incentives; and

 

E.        Public transit incentives.

 

30.  Solid Waste Management Plan:  That a detailed solid waste management plan, including a recycling plan and a plan for managing and minimizing construction debris, be approved by the Town Manager prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit. 

 

31.  Refuse and Recycling Collection:  That the refuse and recycling collection services be private.

 

32.  Detailed Plans:  That final detailed site plans, grading plans, utility/lighting plans, stormwater management plans (with hydrologic calculations), and landscape plans and landscape maintenance plans be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit, and that such plans conform to the plans approved by this application and demonstrate compliance with all applicable conditions and the design standards of the Development Ordinance and the Design Manual.

 

33.  Plant Rescue:  That the developer consider conducting plant rescue activities on the site prior to initiation of development activity.

34.  Certificates of Occupancy:  That no Certificates of Occupancy be issued until all required public improvements are completed; and that a note to this effect shall be placed on the final plat.

If the Town Manager approves a phasing plan, no Certificates of Occupancy shall be issued for a phase until all required public improvements for that phase are complete; no Building Permits for any phase shall be issued until all public improvements required in previous phases are completed to a point adjacent to the new phase, and that a note to this effect shall be placed on the final plat.

 

35.  Erosion Control:  That a detailed soil erosion and sedimentation control plan, including provision for maintenance of facilities and modifications of the plan if necessary, be approved by the Orange County Erosion Control Officer and the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

36.  Erosion Control Performance Bond: That a performance guarantee be provided in accordance with Section 5-97.1 Bonds of the Town Code of Ordinances prior to issuance of any permit to begin land-disturbing activity.

37.  Silt Control:  That the applicant take appropriate measures to prevent and remove the deposit of wet or dry silt on adjacent paved roadways.

38.  Construction Sign Required:  That the applicant post a construction sign that lists the property owner’s representative, with a telephone number, the contractor’s representative, with a phone number; and a telephone number for regulatory information at the time of issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

39.  Continued Validity:  That continued validity and effectiveness of this approval is expressly conditioned on the continued compliance with the plans and conditions listed above

40.  Non-severability:  That if any of the above conditions is held to be invalid, approval in its entirety shall be void. 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby approves the Special Use Permit Modification application for the Wachovia Bank at Meadowmont.

 

This the 26th  day of November, 2001.

 

 

Item 12 – Staff Recommendations for Traffic Management in Glen Lennox,

Little Creek, and the Oaks I Neighborhoods

 

 Traffic Engineer Kumar Neppalli reviewed the history and said the project was started in August 1998 with a small petition for stop signs on Oakwood and Rogerson Drives, and in 1999 several diverters were established.  He said the staff came to the Council with a follow-up report in 1999, and the Council decided to establish a committee of representatives from three neighborhoods to come back and report to the Council with a comprehensive traffic management plan for these three neighborhoods.  Mr. Neppalli said the plan was presented to the Council in June 2001, adding that the recommendations will make the neighborhoods safer for vehicular and non-vehicular traffic, and will enhance the neighborhood quality of life.  He said the traffic calming plan will give the Council a plan for Glen Lennox, Little Creek, and The Oaks I neighborhoods.

 

Mr. Neppalli pointed out on a map where the traffic diverters were located.  He said the total cost for the traffic plan would be approximately $25,000 which was available in the Capital Improvements Program (CIP ) funds.

 

Council Member Bateman asked if the speed bumps were the classic mall/parking lot speed bumps.  Mr. Neppalli said the Town does not install speed bumps, it installs speed humps, 12 feet wide, a gentle slope with parabolic shape.  Council Member Bateman added that the speed humps at the Glenwood Square area at the Harris Teeter were very good.

 

Peter Liao, Oakwood Drive, said there were some people in Oakwood who did not support the semi-diverters.  He said there would be more accidents because of cars parking on both sides of the street and buses traveling through Glen Lennox.  Mr. Liao said he was in favor of speed humps to slow the traffic down, and having to go through Glen Lennox would negatively affect the property values.  He presented remarks from Rebecca Johnson of Oakwood Drive, who had counted many residents, other vehicles, and delivery trucks continuing to turn at the semi-diverters, and often turned around in her driveway.  Mr. Liao asked the Council to consider options that did not include the semi-diverters.

 

Dorothy Verkerk said the conversation about the safety of the streets involved had gone on for a long time, four years.  She said the studies did show that there is a real problem.  Ms. Verkerk said that Oakwood had had a 150% increase in traffic since the installation of the semi-diverters, and there had been an 87% response from a recent survey.  She said the package before the Council was a reasonable one, reflecting the needs of vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists, and an effective way of achieving the ends.

 

Bob Foley commented on two items on page 3 of the memorandum:

 

·        Traffic Circle at the Intersection of Burning Tree Drive and Canterbury Lane. He has lived on that corner for 20 years, and the four-way stops were put in before Burning Tree Drive connected to Pinehurst Drive.  He said that of the 1,800 cars going through the intersection a day, not more than 200 cars stop, less than 5% of the count of traffic counted was at or below the speed limit, and the speeding cars don’t stop at the four-way stop at his corner.  Mr. Foley said he felt the only solution was putting in speed humps.

·        Permanent Semi-diverters on Rogerson Drive and Oakwood Drive at Raleigh Road. 90% of the people were opposed to this, believing that no neighborhood should have their street set up as one-way in order to cut down the traffic, traffic is cutting through the diverters, and the neighbors do not like to have to go around the streets to get to their homes.

 

Madeline Jefferson, representing the Oaks I Homeowners’ Association, said that these were public streets and citizens should have access to public streets.  She said surveys were done in all three neighborhoods, and the response was good, except in the Glen Lennox neighborhood, which she said showed little interest in the traffic problems.  Ms. Jefferson said part of the streets were narrow and that in itself was a traffic calmer, and there already were many traffic calmers—three-way stops and speed humps—and she thought the diverters were too much to add.  She asked the Council to keep in mind that the cost could be used for other things.

 

Jeff Russul said he had recently moved onto Oakwood Drive, on the corner where the diverter blocked traffic, and if it were removed they could be victims of accidents from drivers turning onto Oakwood Drive.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER FOY MOVED, SECONDED BY MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 19.

 

Council Member Evans said the Council in 1998 had asked, and at subsequent deliberations of the problem asked, for a traffic counts on Hamilton Drive, and the Council still does not have the counts.  She said Hamilton Road was not an area where additional traffic should be diverted to, and there still is no idea how much additional traffic has been put there.  Council Member Evans said when looking at the traffic counts with and without the barricades on Rogerson Road, the difference is 105 cars, about 6 cars per hour, and she cited the increased traffic on the other roads.  She said the difference between having diverters and not having diverters is 3 cars per hour, looking at the number of lots on the roads and the estimated trips per day.  Council Member Evans said, when the Comprehensive Plan is in place for the entire community, there will be more and more communities who would like to reduce traffic on their own streets, and once this was done in this situation, other communities will be asking for the same thing.  She said this would be counter to what the Town had asked for in its Comprehensive Plan regarding connectivity. She said the numbers didn’t show that this was a problem.

 

Council Member Ward said he was in support of connectivity and resisted closing off access throughout the community.  He said one of his concerns was that this would be opened up to other communities to request semi-diverters. Council Member Ward said that this particular community was vulnerable to the extent that it is impacted.  He said he was going to support this Resolution, and he did not think it would open the Council up for more requests for diverters than it would get anyway.

 

Council Member Ward asked how well the speed humps accommodated bike use.  He encouraged the staff to move the speed hump to the south side of the intersection of Brandon Road and Hamilton Road to make it less attractive as a way, which would make the hump closer to Highway 15-501.  Mr. Neppalli said he had not heard of problems with the bicycles on the speed hump.  He said the location of the speed hump on Hamilton Road was that on the other portion of the road there was on-street parking on both sides, and during school times the traffic is backed up so as to slow traffic.  Mr. Neppalli added they had not received requests from the residents of the apartments in Glen Lennox concerning traffic problems.  He said there was on-street parking between Flemington Road and Hamilton Road.  Mr. Neppalli said the additional speed hump would cost an extra $2,500.

 

Council Member Wiggins said the distance between Douglas Road and Cleland Drive seemed a lot longer, and asked if that was why the speed bumps were there instead of near Highway 54. Mr. Neppalli said that was correct.  He said the Committee had recommended two speed humps, but the staff felt that the stop signs between the two intersections were adequate, that there was not a significant traffic speeding problem, and the speed humps between Douglas Road and Cleland Drive were for observed speeding problems.

 

Council Member Wiggins asked why there could not be speed humps between Highway 54 and Berkley Road as a deterrent.  She said Mr. Neppalli said they did not want to move the traffic from Burning Tree Drive onto these other two roads, and would that have the same effect on Hamilton Road.  Council Member Wiggins wondered why the traffic on Hamilton was not being counted.  Mr. Neppalli said there were traffic counts for Hamilton Road without diverters which were included in the packet on page 54.

 

Council Member Wiggins said she had gone to the website about semi-diverters, which said they were used when all other methods of controlling traffic failed, and she wondered if the diverters were being put in prematurely.  Mr. Neppalli said when the staff came before the Council in 1999 for semi-diverters, the staff found the effectiveness of them in before and after studies.

 

Council Member Wiggins asked if speed humps would be effective there instead.  She said she was opposed to having access to public streets and any citizen who wanted to go down those streets should be able to go down those streets in either direction if they followed the speed regulations for that street.  Council Member Wiggins said what should be looked at was how to control the speed.  She said she did not agree with the diverters, and people should not try to make a public street a semi -private street.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WIGGINS, TO AMEND RESOLUTION 19, AND REMOVE UNDER “NOW THEREFORE” NUMBER 2, THE TWO SEMI-DIVERTERS, AND PUT IN TWO SPEED HUMPS, ONE ON EACH STREET, AND PUT IN ALL THE REST OF THE TRAFFIC CALMERS, AND SEE, AFTER THAT IS DONE BY LOOKING AT  THE NUMBERS WHAT EFFECT THAT HAS.”  THE MOTION FAILED WITH A VOTE OF 3-6, WITH MAYOR WALDORF, COUNCIL MEMBERS BATEMAN, BROWN, FOY, STROM, AND WARD VOTING NAY, AND MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO, COUNCIL MEMBERS EVANS AND WIGGINS VOTING AYE.

 

THE MAIN MOTION WAS ADOPTED BY A VOTE OF 6-3 WITH MAYOR WALDORF, COUNCIL MEMBERS BATEMAN, BROWN, FOY, STROM, AND WARD VOTING AYE, AND MAYOR PRO TEM PAVĂO, COUNCIL MEMBERS EVANS AND WIGGINS VOTING NAY.

 

A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE TOWN MANAGER TO IMPLEMENT TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT MEASURES IN GLEN LENNOX, LITTLE CREEK, AND THE OAKS I NEIGHBORHOODS IN CHAPEL HILL (2001-11-26/R-19)

 

WHEREAS, the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill is concerned about vehicular and nonvehicular safety and mobility in Town neighborhoods; and

 

WHEREAS, the Council has received recommendations from a Committee assigned to study traffic management opportunities in Glen Lennox, Little Creek, and The Oaks I neighborhoods and to propose measures to mitigate area residents’ concerns about vehicular and nonvehicular safety and mobility; and

 

WHEREAS, the Council has received a report including Town staff comments about the Committee recommendations;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council endorses the following traffic calming measures in Glen Lennox, Little Creek, and The Oaks I neighborhoods:

 

1)      Six Speed Humps (One on Rogerson Drive, One on Oakwood Drive, One on Hamilton

      Road, two on Burning Tree Drive, and one on Cleland Road)

2)      Two Semi-diverters (one on Rogerson Drive and one on Oakwood Drive)

3)       One Raised Crosswalk (speed table) on Cleland Drive at Hamilton Road

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council directs the Manager to implement the above traffic calming measures within the next six months, and authorizes use of Capital Improvements Program funds to complete the work estimated to cost approximately $25,000.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

Item 13 – Options for Scheduling Renovations at Hargraves Center

and A.D. Clark Pool

 

Parks and Recreation Director Kathryn Spatz said the earliest they could start construction on the project was March or April 2002, and therefore no assurance that the facility would be open for the summer season could be made. She said the three options before the Council would be:

 

·        Delay the construction of the entire project until late August 2002,

·        Keep the pool open and shut down the Center starting in early April 2002,

·        To shut down the entire facility in early April 2002 and go ahead with the project.

 

Edwin Caldwell reminded the Council that when the citizens were discussing the gym, which was the end of the agenda that evening, they had requested that the Hargraves Center would not again be put at the end of the agenda.  He said he has worked to keep that Center upgraded, and that it was a community center, not a black center.  He said it was a shame that it always gets put to the end of the agenda.  Mr. Caldwell said he hoped the Council believed that the Hargraves Center had just as much priority as any other facility in the community.  He said he hoped the Council would give some strong consideration to doing something there as soon as possible because the place was a disgrace.  Mr. Caldwell said he hoped that the Council would do something about the acoustics there.

 

Council Member Bateman said she was frustrated by this issue, along with Mr. Caldwell, and she recalled that the Council had voted that this should be an expedited project.  She asked if the delay was on the project that the Town did not put out to bid, in order to have the project expedited.  Council Member Bateman said she thought the options were “lousy” options, and were asking the community to pay the price, which she didn’t think was right.

 

Council Member Evans said she totally agreed with Council Member Bateman, adding she thought it was wrong and asked the Manager if this was a money issue, making the budget by moving the project into next year.  Mr. Horton said that was not the case, that the negotiation with the architect took longer than expected and the work was taking longer than expected.

 

Council Member Wiggins pointed out that financing was authorized in January 2000, but the initial meeting did not take place until March 1.  She asked what was happening in those nine months on this project.  Mr. Horton said the staff was attending to projects assigned by the Council.  Ms. Spatz said the Public Works Department and the Parks and Recreation Department had been meeting bi-weekly since the beginning of July, and since then the initial condition assessment was good from an engineering prospective but did not address the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  She said there were a lot of accessibility issues that needed researching and did not address daycare licensure requirements, and the State Health Department regulations for operating the pool and pool pump room.  Ms. Spatz said the other thing that was not addressed in the initial assessment was trying to make a balance between the things that needed fixing in the pump room versus simple cost-efficient improvements that could enhance the quality of patrons use of the facility.

 

Council Member Brown said she agreed with the other Council members, and asked, since there was frustration on the Council and with the citizens, how the project could go forward more quickly.  Mr. Horton said he did not have a proposal that would move the project more quickly unless the architect could finish the work more quickly.

 

Gary, Giles, the architect, said he believed this could be done in a couple of months if ready for bidding.  He said the real issue was shutting down the Center for efficient renovation, which would mean shutting down the pool and the main building, when direly needed programs were there.  Mr. Giles said it would take a month to bid, another one-half a month to gear up for a contractor to get started, and the construction would still go through the summer.

 

Council Member Bateman asked if when he took on the job did he know that it was an expedited project.  Mr. Giles said that he did and the program that was laid out at the starting point, the engineer’s study of the facilities and what was wrong with them, and none of it addressed the points made by Ms. Spatz.  He said the scope of the work had become a much more complex problem, and he still did not know yet how much could be accomplished with the budget, and there was much more to be done there than the budget will facilitate.

 

Council Member Strom said he had raised the question of hiring an architect outside of the bidding process, and the Council had been assured that this was the road to address this community need rapidly.  He asked Mr. Horton if a construction engineer was hired would he be able to move construction along.  Mr. Horton said he did not think it would make any difference at this point, but a year ago it might have made a difference, because Bill Terry, the Internal Services Supervisor in Public Works, might have been able to give more attention to this project and move it along faster.

 

Council Member Ward said he did not like any of the options, but Resolution A seemed to be the least disruptive with the programs that are vital to the community.  He said he would like to explore some of the immediate concerns brought up by Mr. Caldwell, and needed to be addressed quickly.  Mr. Horton said, if the staff attempted to start piecemeal, the Town would end up spending more money and not ending up with the kind of project the Council would want to have.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER WARD MOVED RESOLUTION 20A. THERE WAS NO SECOND.

 

Council Member Wiggins pointed out that that would be a whole year from the past August, and the citizens expected when they left the pool in August that they would come back to a renovated Center, and now they would come back to a pool just like they left it.  She wondered how the Council could look like it cared the most.  Council Member Wiggins asked if the pool should be opened as it was or that people see construction in the spring and the summer.  Mr. Caldwell said it would be better to start in April, and people needed to see things going on just like other things were being built in the community.

 

Council Member Wiggins said that some meetings needed to occur between the citizens, the staff, and the Parks and Recreation Board so the neighborhood could buy into having to wait another season but have some assurance that it would start.

 

Council Member Foy asked if Resolution B would accomplish what Council Member Wiggins suggested.  He said then the pool could stay open and other localities could be sought for the Center programs.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WIGGINS, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 20B.

 

Mr. Giles said this would be a good way to do it, if the contractor could have that sort of spread out schedule, but it would be more expensive and there would be less built for the budget.  He said the Town would get the best for its money by doing all the work at once, or by waiting until the fall, when prices might rise.

 

Council Member Bateman said she would like the Council to say to the community that the Town was going to start something as soon as it can.  She said the staff and the architect should be asked to meet with neighborhood representatives and/or as many people as possible and outline it as clearly as it is to the Council and get the neighborhood input on the options.

 

Council Member Wiggins said she thought the Council should find the money to do the project as it had always wanted to because it was the Town’s fault that it was taking all this time and the price kept going up.  She said the facility should not have to suffer, but the Council would find a way to do the Center the way it should be done.

 

THE MOTION, AMENDED TO INCLUDE INPUT FROM THE NEIGHBORS, WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).


A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MANAGER TO IMPLEMENT A SCHEDULE FOR RENOVATION OF THE HARGRAVES CENTER AND A.D. CLARK POOL THAT WOULD RESULT IN AN APRIL 2002 CONSTRUCTION START FOR THE CENTER BUILDING AND AN AUGUST START FOR THE POOL (2001-11-26/R-20b)

 

WHEREAS, the Council has adopted a Capital Improvements Program budget that includes renovations for the Hargraves Center and the A.D. Clark Pool; and

 

WHEREAS, an April start of construction would allow for an earlier completion of work on the Center building; and

 

WHEREAS, the late August start would allow the pool to remain open during the 2002 season;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council authorizes the Manager to follow a schedule that would result in an April construction start for the Center building and a late August start of construction for the pool.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council authorizes the Manager to submit an application to the Local Government Commission for installment financing of this project and to schedule a Public Hearing.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council requests that the neighbors of the Hargraves Center and A.D. Clark Pool be included in the dialog regarding the planned renovations.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

Item 14 – Resolution on Potential Uses of the Greene Tract

 

COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WARD, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 21, WITH HER AMENDMENTS ADDED, WHICH WERE PRESENTED AT TONIGHT’S MEETING.

 

Council Member Evans said she believed that if the Council put in this Resolution that the Council is only going to address affordable housing and not moderately-priced housing, the Town would step back 25 years to where the Town isolated special housing districts in outlying areas, instead of incorporating them into the community.  She said she would support the amended Resolution if Council Member Brown would allow in #7 that moderately priced housing be included.

 

Council Member Brown said she would be glad to, in fact that was in the Resolution passed on October 9, and she would put this back into the Resolution.  This modification to the motion was accepted by the seconder.

 

THE AMENDED RESOLUTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY. (9-0).

 

A RESOLUTION REGARDING USES OF THE 109 ACRES OF THE GREENE TRACT THAT REMAIN IN JOINT OWNERSHIP (2001-11-26/R-21)

 

WHEREAS, Orange County and the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill acquired the 169 acre property known as the Greene Tract in 1984 as an asset of the joint solid waste management system; and

 

WHEREAS, title to 60 acres of this property was deeded exclusively to Orange County in 2000 under provisions of the 1999 interlocal “Agreement for Solid Waste Management”; and

 

WHEREAS, under the same interlocal agreement the County and Towns agreed to bargain in good faith during the two year period following the effective date of the agreement to determine the ultimate use or disposition of the remaining 109 acres of the Greene Tract; and

 

WHEREAS, the end date of the “bargaining period” as defined in the agreement is April 17, 2002, the second anniversary of the date upon which the County assumed overall responsibility for solid waste management in Orange County; and

 

WHEREAS, the governing boards of all three jurisdictions indicated preferences for the uses for the Greene Tract with Chapel Hill adopting a resolution calling for keeping a large part of the 109 acres in a natural state, with selected areas used for a mixture of low and moderate income housing; and

 

WHEREAS, the Greene Tract Work Group, comprised of two elected representatives of each governing board met twice in October 2001 and conducted a facilitated public forum on November 15, 2001 to hear a dialogue among interested citizens regarding proposed basic uses of the Greene Tract; and

 

WHEREAS, many people who spoke at the public forum indicated preferences for leaving the whole tract in its natural state or using some of the tract for affordable and low and moderate-priced housing with some little support for use of the area as active recreation;

 

WHEREAS, the Greene Tract Work Group met on November 19, 2001, considered the public forum comments, and developed its recommendation to the three governing boards;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council reaffirms its resolution passed on October 9, 2001.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council recognizes the other government’s interest in affordable housing, moderate-priced housing, recreation areas and natural areas.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council requests that the work group consider expanding the area under consideration to include all publicly owned tracts of land in the Eubanks/Homestead/Old 86 area to accommodate all three uses without compromising any of them.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council in reaffirming its own resolution and affirming the needs of the three basic uses under consideration, charges the Work Group with developing a more detailed written and graphic concept plan for the use of this enlarged area.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001.

 

 

Item 15 – Proposed Ordinance on Requiring Notice Prior to Towing from Private Lots

 

This item was deferred until January 2002.

 

Item 16 – Appointments

 

Mayor Waldorf announced that Jerry Neville had been appointed to the Transportation Board.

 

Transportation Board

Council Members

   Applicants

Waldorf

Bateman

Brown

Evans

Foy

Pavăo

Strom

Ward

Wiggins

TOTAL

Marie Eldridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jerry Neville

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

9

 

 

 

 

Item 17 – Petitions

 

17a (1)  Mayor Waldorf regarding Consideration of Parks Bond Policy Proposed by Orange County.

 

Mayor Waldorf said that a few members of the Council had met and agreed to establish a short-term work group to include an elected official, the Managers, the Parks and Recreation Directors. She said the Commissioners and the Mayors were amenable to the petition and the need to come up with a simple policy that does not waste capital dollars on process and to have clear directives.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER WARD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 22.

 

Council Member Strom said that he and Council Member Foy were on the Intergovernmental Parks Task Force, and they had already started to discuss this policy so it seemed like a redundant process.

 

Council Member Foy suggested incorporating the possibility of deferring to that group on the petition.

 

Mayor Waldorf said she was worried about the second page of the draft policy, page 6, #3, with all the terminology of the word  “Joint.”

 

Council Member Strom said if the bonds were going to fund the projects that are being pushed,  then the hurdles of #1, 2, and 3 have been passed, and the biggest question was what the schedule of the sale of the bonds was going to be and the County Report on that was coming out in January or February, 2002. He said that another group did not have to be formed to deal with the issues.

 

Council Member Foy said all the people on the proposed committee were the same as on the Intergovernmental Parks Task Force.

 

Council Member Evans asked for an explanation of #7, b, and wondered if the County approval was meant for the Town facilities, and the money, although County money, was provided as well by the citizens of Chapel Hill.

 

Council Member Foy said he did not believe that anyone was endorsing the policy, that it was a draft from the County, and was circulated for comment.

 

Council Member Bateman suggested putting the petition on an early Council agenda next year to discuss it and what concerns the Council had.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN MOVED A SUBSTITUTE MOTION THAT THE COUNCIL DEFER THE ITEM UNTIL JANUARY 2002, AND ALSO THAT IT BE REFERRED TO THE GREENWAYS COMMISSIONS.  THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).

 

17a(2)  Council Member Strom regarding a Resolution Requesting Report on Resources Available to the State for Enforcement of Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Regulations on University Projects and Other State-Inspected Projects in Chapel Hill.

 

Council Member Strom said this was self-explanatory and what he was asking was for the Manager to come back with information as to what State resources were available to oversee soil and sedimentation regulations for University projects in the community.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER STROM MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 23.

 

Council Member Ward asked why Council Member Strom had not included private development.  Council Member Strom said the County inspectors supervised the soil and erosion control with their own staff, and the County had adequate staff and does a good job.  He said the County did not regulate the University projects, those are State inspectors.

 

THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).


A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MANAGER TO REPORT ON STATE RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR ENFORCEMENT OF SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION REGULATIONS ON UNIVERSITY AND OTHER STATE-INSPECTED PROJECTS IN CHAPEL HILL (2001-11-26/R-23)

 

WHEREAS, University construction and renovation work will have a direct impact on the Town’s soil erosion and sedimentation control efforts; and

 

WHEREAS, recent construction activity on the women’s softball complex on campus illustrates the need for a closer look at soil erosion and sedimentation control issues; and

 

WHEREAS, it appears that the State may have too few staff to cover all of the projects under construction on the University campus; and

 

WHEREAS, protection of the local and regional environment is a key Council concern;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill hereby authorizes the Town Manager to report on State resources available for enforcement of soil erosion and sedimentation regulations on University and other State-inspected projects in Chapel Hill.

 

This the 26th day of November, 2001. 

 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 12:03 a.m.