AGENDA #5f

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Response to University Request Regarding Operation of a Park and Ride Lot at Chapel Hill Bible Church Site

 

DATE:             March 25, 2002

 

The purpose of this report is to present for the Town Council’s consideration information regarding the University’s desire to enter into an agreement with the Chapel Hill Bible Church to develop a park and ride lot on the church site.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Vice Chancellor Nancy Suttenfield informed us in December 2001, of the University’s interest in a cooperative arrangement for expansion of the Chapel Hill Bible Church parking lot so that it could be used as a park-ride lot for the University.  Please see Attachment 1.  We replied to Ms. Suttenfield’s letter with information about the Special Use Permit that applies to the Bible Church property and offered our opinion that the Special Use Permit would have to be modified in order to allow a park-ride operation. Please see Attachment 2.

 

In February 2002, Vice Chancellor Suttenfield wrote us again regarding the University’s desire to enter into an agreement with the Bible Church to use a portion of the parking lot for a park and ride lot for the University. Please see Attachment 3.  Vice Chancellor Suttenfield put forward the opinion that it would be best for the University to enter into an agreement with the Bible Church, rather than the Town, for the following reasons, in summary: 

 

• The Bible Church needs to be assured that the number of people parking in the lot would be limited in order to meet its weekday parking requirements.

 

• The University needs to manage and control employee and student park-and-ride by this major transit corridor, and be assured that they can find parking spaces in assigned lots.

 

• The Bible Church desires to enter into a short-term agreement that can be cancelled with an adequate notice period.

 

• If the University enters into an agreement with the Bible Church and the park-and-ride lot usage is limited to University employees and students, then under the current fare free transit arrangement the University would be responsible for the cost of the transit service to and from the lot.

 

Vice Chancellor Suttenfield requested that the Town join the University in communicating to the Bible Church, if the Town concurs with the University. 

 

DISCUSSION

 

Town of Chapel Hill’s contact with the Bible Church regarding a possible park and ride lot for transit services.

 

In 1998, Town staff contacted the Bible Church leadership regarding the Town’s interest in a possible park and ride site for public transit services.  At that time, preliminary discussions focused on the possibility of the Town building an additional 300 parking spaces on the church site to be used for the park and ride lot.  No agreement was reached because of a lack of funding and other constraints.  

 

In recent months, the Town Manager and Transportation Director have approached representatives of the Bible Church to discuss the possibility of using a portion of the church’s parking lot for park and ride purposes.  The Bible Church representatives indicated that the Church would consider a proposal but had reservations about such an agreement.   

 

Need for public park and ride facility in the 15-501-Sage -Erwin Road Corridor.

 

The need for a public park and ride facility in the 15-501-Sage-Erwin Road corridor has been documented in transportation studies and the Comprehensive Plan.  A public park and ride facility would allow for the coordination of transportation services with other providers, including the Triangle Transit Authority (TTA).  

 

We have not been able to locate another suitable and affordable site in this area that would function as a successful public park and ride lot.  There now is no funding available to purchase a site or develop a parking lot, although funding may be available in future years.

 

Request by the University for the Town to Concur with the University’s sole use of the Bible Church lot and for the Town to provide transit services.   

 

The Town recognizes the need of the University to find options to address its parking demands in the short and long term.  The community would benefit from increased transit usage that such a park-ride lot would generate.

 

We continue to believe that the Council would have to authorize modification of the Special Use Permit that applies to the Bible Church before a park-ride lot could be operated on the site.  We believe that the Council would need to receive an application for a specific modification of the Special Use Permit and review it in the normal process, including an evidentiary hearing, before it could judge the merits of such a proposal.

 

Assuming that the Bible Church is interested in such a proposal, we see no reason for the Council to object to the University’s efforts to pursue development of a park-ride lot at the Bible Church.

 

CONCLUSION

 

Unless the Council provides other directions, we will communicate to the University and the Bible Church that the Council has no objection to the University pursuing development of a park-ride lot at the Bible Church property.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

1.      Letter to Cal Horton from Nancy Suttenfield, December 20, 2001 (p. 4).

2.      Letter to Nancy Suttenfield from Cal Horton, January 8, 2002 (p. 5).

3.      Letter to Cal Horton from Nancy Suttenfield, February 11, 2002 (p. 7).