AGENDA #7
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Public Hearing: Review of Development Ordinance Discussions
DATE: June 10, 2002
This memorandum reviews the status of discussions regarding a draft new Development Ordinance for Chapel Hill. The attached resolution would offer direction for revisions to be made in preparing the next draft.
BACKGROUND
The Council held a Public Hearing on this Second Draft on June 3. Tonight the Council considers a resolution that would direct that changes be made to produce a Third Draft, which would be the subject of a Public Hearing on September 18, 2002.
Chapel Hill’s consultant working on this project, Mr. Mark White of Freilich, Leitner and Carlisle, will be in attendance tonight to discuss these issues with the Town Council.
DISCUSSION
For the June 3 Hearing, we prepared a summary of all the information in our notes and files that we have collected as discussions about the Second Draft have taken place over the past 9 months. This compilation took the form of a set of 13 Discussion Papers that were presented on June 3 (and attached again here), containing a total of 180 preliminary recommendations for the Council’s consideration. Twenty citizens spoke at the hearing, followed by Council questions and discussion.
Comments from June 3
We have prepared a 14th Discussion Paper, listing all the new ideas that were raised on June 3. This paper is drawn from written materials that citizens brought to the hearing, supplemented by our notes from the oral presentations to the Council. For each idea, we offer our recommendation regarding what direction to give to the consultant for preparation of the Third Draft.
Key Theme: Higher Standards for Single-family and Two-family Construction
A dominant theme reflected in comments and discussions on June 3 was the possibility of applying higher levels of regulation to the construction of single-family and two-family dwellings. Our preliminary recommendations included revising the draft to apply stormwater management, tree protection, impervious surface, and floor area ratio regulations to development that currently only requires a Building Permit. There was discussion about whether this new approach should apply to just new construction, or to all properties in Chapel Hill. There was also question about the need for increased staffing that would accompany expanded regulatory responsibilities.
An illustration of this is the proposal to remove the single-family/two-family exemption from the Tree Ordinance. There are several ways to adjust tree regulations to address this issue. Options include:
If the Council decides tonight to apply regulations such as Tree Protection to single-family/two-family dwellings, we would include in our fall report an estimate of the staffing needs and enforcement issues that would accompany any new regulatory and enforcement responsibilities.
Key Theme: Nonconforming Status of Properties
A key consideration, if the Council adopts a new Development Ordinance with significant new regulations, will be the approach to existing uses and properties that were lawfully established but do not meet the new regulations. This concept, referred to as nonconforming status, needs attention. Nonconforming status can, in some circumstances, result in difficulties for a property owner. Approval for modest expansions or changes to a property could prove to be difficult or impossible to obtain. Nonconforming status can become an issue when a property is sold or refinanced.
We believe it would be desirable to consider the range of possible remedies and approaches to nonconforming lots, uses, and features as we prepare the Third Draft. We intend to bring options to the Town Council for consideration at the time that we present the Third Draft.
NEXT STEPS
We suggest that the Discussion Papers in Attachment 1 (including the new 14th Paper reviewing June 3 ideas) become the base for the Council’s review of and comment on the Second Draft. We believe that these papers address the issues that have been raised and suggestions that have been made during this 9-month review period. We suggest that, after review of the recommendations in these Discussion Papers and in consideration of public comment from June 3, the Council identify which of the recommendations need attention, and then focus discussion on those items.
RECOMMENDATION
Manager’s Recommendation: We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution.
ATTACHMENTS
Article submitted by Margaret Heath
Letter from Elaine Chiosso and Richard Goldberg
Letter from Citizens for Livable Communities
A RESOLUTION GIVING GUIDANCE TO CONSULTANT AND STAFF REGARDING REVISIONS TO MAKE IN PREPARING A THIRD DRAFT OF A PROPOSED NEW DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE (2002-06-10/R-10)
WHEREAS, the Town Council is revising Chapel Hill’s Development Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, public discussion has been ongoing on a Second Draft of that proposed new ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council seeks to offer specific direction to staff and Consultant regarding preparation of the next draft of the document;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council offers the following guidance to the Town Manager and the Town’s Consultant working on a new Development Ordinance regarding revisions to make in preparing a Third Draft of the ordinance:
This the 10th day of June, 2002.