AGENDA #4d
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Request for Expedited Processing of Major Subdivision Application for Rusch Road Habitat for Humanity Subdivision
DATE: April 8, 2002
On March 25, the Town Council received the attached petition from Habitat for Humanity, and referred it to the Town Manager for review and recommendation. The petition requests expedited processing of a Major Subdivision application for the Rusch Road Subdivision. We recommend adoption of the attached resolution, which would authorize expedited processing of this application.
Expedited processing grants priority status for review at every step of the process, and grants priority status in being scheduled on agendas of advisory boards and the Town Council. A Major Subdivision application would normally take nine months to a year to be reviewed by all the required boards and commissions and to be heard at a Public Hearing.
Following approval, an application normally takes three to four months to obtain approval of detailed construction drawings and final plans, prior to obtaining a Building Permit. The review process is often long because of the breadth and depth of review and analysis, and because many projects are usually being reviewed at any given time.
1. Recommend expedited processing only in cases where there is a public interest or public objective involved.
2. Recommend expedited processing only when a project that involves public interest would be harmed by following normal rules of procedure.
3. Avoid expedited processing in situations where other applications that do not carry this special status would be delayed.
The applicant’s request for expedited processing of the Rusch Road Subdivision indicated that the subdivision will provide 15 affordable housing units. Twelve of the units will be affordable for households earning at or below 50% of area median income and the remaining 3 will be affordable for special needs populations for households earning at or below 30% of the area median income.
The Council’s target for affordable housing is housing that is within reach of a family of four, earning 80% of the area median income ($54,400). See Table 1 for more detailed information about affordable income thresholds. Therefore the proposed housing in the Rusch Road Subdivision meets Council’s affordable housing goals.
Table 1: 2002 Affordable Housing Income Thresholds in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area
|
# in Household |
100% of Median |
80% of Median |
|
1 |
$49,900 |
$38,100 |
|
2 |
$57,040 |
$43,500 |
|
3 |
$64,150 |
$48,950 |
|
4 |
$71,300 |
$54,400 |
|
5 |
$77,000 |
$58,750 |
|
6 |
$82,700 |
$63,100 |
|
7 |
$88,400 |
$67,450 |
|
8 |
$94,100 |
$71,800 |
Several development applications are currently working toward being placed on the Council’s public hearing schedule. The impact of granting expedited processing for the Rusch Road Subdivision application is that one less space would be available on the Council’s schedule for which other applications are competing.
Although the formal subdivision application has not been submitted, we note that a Concept Plan application for the proposed subdivision was submitted on April 1, 2002 and is expected to be reviewed at the Community Design Commission meeting on April 17, 2002.
In this instance, the Rusch Road Subdivision, we believe that all three criteria for expedited processing can be met. We believe that expedited review is justified, because the development proposal would promote objectives in the adopted Comprehensive Plan and the Council’s policy for the provision of affordable housing.
Projects that have been granted expedited processing in the past are identified in Attachment 1.
Manager’s Recommendation: We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution directing the Town Manager to expedite processing of the Rusch Road Major Subdivision application.
ATTACHMENTS
1. List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing (p. 5).
2. Letter from Ms. Susan Levy, Requesting Expedited Processing (p.7).
A RESOLUTION DIRECTING EXPEDITED PROCESSING IN THE REVIEW OF A MAJOR SUBDIVISION APPLICATION FOR RUSCH ROAD SUBDIVISION (2002-04-08/R-4)
WHEREAS, the Town Council has received a petition from Ms. Susan Levy, for expedited processing of a Major Subdivision application seeking approval of the Rusch Road Subdivision; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council finds that there is a significant public interest associated with development of the major subdivision;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Town Manager is directed to expedite processing of the Major Subdivision application for the Rusch Road Subdivision in a manner that will speed review without sacrificing breadth or depth of analysis.
This the 8th day of April, 2002.
ATTACHMENT 1
List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing
March 26, 2002
After receiving staff recommendations based on these criteria, since 1993 the Council has approved expedited processing for:
Ø Intimate Bookshop,
Ø Erwin Village Subdivision,
Ø Ruth Faison Shaw Museum,
Ø Chapel Hill Public Library,
Ø Chapel Hill Public Housing,
Ø Culbreth Park Subdivision,
Ø East Chapel Hill High School,
Ø Orange County Southern Human Services Center,
Ø Hargraves Gymnasium addition,
Ø Transitional Housing on Clark Road,
Ø Chapel Hill Day Care at Southern Village,
Ø Bolin Creek Greenway Phase II,
Ø Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Transportation Center,
Ø WUNC Tower request,
Ø Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center,
Ø Pavilion,
Ø Southern Village Elementary School,
Ø Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity,
Ø Neville Tract,
Ø McDade House relocation,
Ø Freedom House,
Ø Orange Community Housing Corporation Scarlette Housing,
Ø Kenan Stadium Expansion,
Ø UNC Co-generation Facility Boiler Replacement,
Ø Chapel Hill Internal Medicine,
Ø Midway Business Center,
Ø Carol Woods Retirement Community (for Village Charter School use),
Ø University Mall Redevelopment,
Ø Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity House,
Ø Greene Tract rezoning,
Ø Manley Estates Housing,
Ø University Fraternity and Sorority applications (sprinkler projects),
Ø Carol Woods Retirement Center (for day care addition, dining hall expansion and new units),
Ø Church of the Holy Family Expansion,
Ø Eastwood Lake Project,
Ø Chapel Hill Pediatrics,
Ø UNC Airport Drive Office Building,
Ø Rams Plaza Renovations,
Ø Meadowmont School/Park,
Ø Meadowmont Wachovia Bank,
Ø Orange County Landfill,
Ø Rosemary Street Mixed Use Development, and
Ø Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center.
Requests for this special application processing by East Franklin Car Care, Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, an application for parking and refuse facilities at 317 W. Rosemary Street, The Franklin Hotel, Eastowne 501 Office Building, and Avalon Park Subdivision were not approved by the Town Council.