AGENDA #3
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Public Hearing: Designation of Kings Mill/Morgan Creek Neighborhood as a Residential Conservation Area
DATE: February 18, 2002
The purpose of tonight’s public hearing is for the Town Council to receive public comment and to consider amending the Town’s Land Use Plan to designate the Kings Mill/Morgan Creek area a Residential Conservation Area.
At the June 11, 2001 Town Council meeting, Ms. Sally Green, on behalf of the Kings Mill/Morgan Creek Neighborhood Association, asked the Council to help the neighborhood association in developing a small area plan and in creating a residential conservation overlay district (see Attachment 1). She noted that the neighborhood made this request because of the potential impacts of the University’s Master Plan on the neighborhood.
On November 12, 2001, the Town Council endorsed a schedule of action to amend the Town’s Land Use Plan to designate the Kings Mill/Morgan Creek area a Residential Conservation Area (see map, Attachment 2). The schedule included review by the Planning Board in January 2002, a public hearing before the Town Council on February 18, 2002, and final action by the Council on March 4, 2002.
On January 15, 2002, the Planning Board recommended the Council amend the Town’s Land Use Plan to designate the Kings Mill/Morgan Creek area a Residential Conservation Area (see Attachment 3).
The Kings Mill/Morgan Creek neighborhood is located immediately south of Fordham Boulevard, generally between Morgan Creek Road on the west and Manning Drive on the east (see Attachment 2). The University Botanical Garden and Hunt Arboretum are to the east and south of the area and the University campus is located to the north. The Chapel Hill Town Limits forms the southern boundary of the neighborhood.
Residential Conservation Areas
Strategy 3A of the Comprehensive Plan describes the establishment of Residential Conservation Areas to protect the character of neighborhoods that touch and circle the downtown and central campus. The Kings Mill/Morgan Creek neighborhood currently is not designated a Residential Conservation Area on the Land Use Plan. Designation as a Residential Conservation Area means that when policy choices that affect these areas are before the Town Council, the balance should tilt in favor of protection and preservation, and that when new neighborhood protection initiatives are being considered (small area plans, design guidelines, occupancy or parking restrictions), these are the areas that should be considered first.
Other
Comprehensive Plan Policy Basisies
In addition to
Strategy 3A establishing Residential Conservation Areas was
based on broader policies in the, the Comprehensive Plan contains
other policies
relatinged to
existing residential neighborhoods. One of the major themes of the
Comprehensive Plan is to “conserve and protect existing neighborhoods” (see
page 4, Comprehensive Plan). The Plan notes that “some residential
neighborhoods will face pressures for infill development and redevelopment.
This is especially true for neighborhoods immediately surrounding downtown and
the main campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). The
character of these neighborhoods needs to be conserved” (page 4).
Chapter 3 (Community Character) of the Comprehensive Plan notes that “maintaining Chapel Hill’s special community character in the face of growth and change represents a fundamental challenge for the future” (page 9). The forces of change include regional growth, the University and UNC Health Care System expansion, increased traffic, and Chapel Hill’s attractiveness as a place to live. The Comprehensive Plan notes that “certain areas of Chapel Hill are more susceptible to change than others because of particular growth pressures or the potential availability of land for development” (page 9). These areas are depicted on Figure 1 of Chapter 3. As a general group, “close-in residential neighborhoods” are listed being susceptible to change. The Plan notes that “the older, established neighborhoods surrounding the downtown and UNC campus are subject to influences such as the demand for off-campus student housing and institutional development at the edges of the campus” (page 10). The Kings Mill/Morgan Creek neighborhood is one of the areas depicted as “most susceptible to change” on Figure 1, and falls within the definition of a “close-in residential neighborhoods.”
The Comprehensive Plan contains a variety of strategies and actions to manage growth and change and to maintain Chapel Hill’s community character and quality of life, including Strategy 3A related to residential conservation areas. The Plan notes that “the strategies primarily focus on the areas shown on Figure 1 because the changes that occur in these areas are most likely to shape the future character of Chapel Hill” (page 11). These strategies could include the development of small area plans or design guidelines for these areas, in addition to other Town-wide policies.
We believe that it would be appropriate to designate this area a Residential Conservation Area on the Town’s Land Use Map. The northeastern portion of the neighborhood is adjacent to the central campus (separated by Fordham Boulevard) and has similar characteristics as other areas currently designated as Residential Conservation Areas.
Planning Board Recommendation: The Planning Board recommended by a 6-2 vote that the Council amend the Town’s Land Use Plan to designate the Kings Mill/Morgan Creek area a Residential Conservation Area (see Attachment 3).
Manager’s Preliminary Recommendation: We recommend the Town Council amend the Town’s Land Use Plan to designate the Kings Mill/Morgan Creek area a Residential Conservation Area.
1. Excerpt from June 11, 2001 minutes (p.4).
2. Location map (p. 6).
3. Planning Board Summary of Action (p. 7).