AGENDA #9
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Disposition of the Greene Tract
DATE: October 21, 2002
The attached resolution would approve a concept plan and other points of agreement for the future use of the portion of the Greene Tract that remains in joint public ownership.
BACKGROUND
The 169 acre Greene Tract was purchased by the Town of Chapel Hill, the Town of Carrboro, and Orange County jointly in 1984 for use as a potential future landfill. For several years, discussions ensued concerning the appropriate location for a future landfill in Orange County. In 1999, the parties agreed to convey 60 acres of the Greene Tract to Orange County, with the disposition of the remaining 109 acres to be mutually determined in the future.
The solid waste management Interlocal Agreement signed by Orange County and the Town of Chapel Hill and the Town of Carrboro in September 1999 and amended in March 2000 provides guidelines under which the Greene Tract owners will resolve the disposition of the 109 acres of the parcel that remain in joint ownership. The Agreement anticipated that the owners would reach agreement during a negotiating period that ended on April 17, 2002, the two year anniversary of the effective date upon which Orange County assumed overall responsibility for solid waste management.
The Town Council adopted a process for considering the disposition of the Greene Tract on August 27, 2001 (please see Attachment 1), and outlined its goals for the negotiation on September 10, 2001 (please see Attachment 2). A Greene Tract Work Group with representatives of all the parties to the Interlocal Agreement began meeting in October 2001 concerning the disposition of the Greene Tract, and met seven times. Chapel Hill representatives were Mayor Kevin Foy and Council Member Bill Strom. The Council received an interim report on May 13, 2002. The Work Group has now concluded its discussions and is requesting that the local governing boards approve guidelines for the disposition of the property.
The process adopted by the Council on September 10, 2001, called for referral of the options to the Planning Board prior to Council consideration. The Planning Board considered this item at it meeting of August 20, 2002, and completed its evaluation on October 15, 2002, when the wording of the draft resolution was available.
DISCUSSION
The Work Group began meeting in October 2001, and held a public forum in November 2001 on three proposed basic uses of affordable housing, open space, and recreation. The three governments subsequently adopted resolutions supporting these basic uses in concept, with some variations in emphasis.
Concept Plan
The Work Group then continued meeting and developed a concept plan for the site (please see Attachment 3). The map shows a concept plan with the potential locations of the land uses proposed by the Work Group, as of its last meeting of June 26, 2002:
· Affordable Housing, 18.1 acres on the northwest portion of the site adjacent to the Purefoy Road neighborhood (pink-shaded area on map); and
· Open Space, 85.9 acres of the remainder of the site (green-shaded area on map), including the area marked as “utility easement.”
(Note: These acreages add up to 104 acres. At the time of conveying the 60 acres to Orange County, a survey of the Greene Tract indicated that the site was actually 164 acres, not 169 acres. Therefore, the remainder in joint ownership is 104 acres.)
Also shown is the area owned by Orange County (orange-shaded area on map). The Board of Orange County Commissioner’s position on the status of this land is stated in a March 24, 2000 letter to the Town that “it is the intent of the current Board of Commissioners that this sixty acres remain undisturbed.”
The concept plan was developed taking into account a detailed environmental analysis of the site done by Orange County, as well as how public utilities might be extended to the housing site. Generally, the housing site is located on the more environmentally suitable land for development. In addition, the Work Group determined after review of options for extending sewer to the site that it preferred an option which extends sewer up to Purefoy Road, and then eastward into the Greene Tract. This option was viewed as preferable because sewer would not need to be extended up Bolin Creek across the open space to be protected on the Greene Tract.
The Work Group also felt that the concept plan and sewer plan called for careful planning with the surrounding neighborhood; therefore, the Group is recommending that Chapel Hill undertake a small area plan for the Rogers Road/Purefoy Road area. In 1993-94, Chapel Hill undertook a Northwest Small Area Plan for a larger northwest area of Chapel Hill. In 1998, the Town Council voted not to adopt this plan.
The Work Group discussed showing the acreage for the affordable housing site versus specifying a density or number of units. The draft resolution discussed below is based on the approach of designating an acreage.
Greene Tract Work Group Resolution
The potential agreement includes the following points (please see Greene Tract Work Group resolution of June 26, 2002 in Attachment 4):
· The elected boards would accept the concept plan showing affordable housing and open space as shown on the map in Attachment 3.
· The area shown as open space should be protected by a conservation easement executed among the parties, with the easement transferred first between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2005. The conservation easement would protect the land in perpetuity.
· The affordable housing acreage would go into the Land Trust.
· The Managers would investigate options for paying back the Landfill Fund for the use of portions of the site for affordable housing and open space (please see Attachment 5 for an estimate of the costs of reimbursement).
· The Board of County Commissioners should consider protecting its 60 acre portion of the Greene Tract with a conservation easement as well.
· The Chapel Hill Town Council should consider initiating a small area planning process to examine desirable land uses for the Purefoy Road area.
· The property should be renamed in a manner that recognizes the significance of the area as the headwaters for Bolin Creek, Booker Creek, and Old Field Creek.
· The governing boards should take note of the public investment already made in the general vicinity of the Greene Tract as cataloged in the accompanying table (please see Attachment 6).
Relationship to Comprehensive Plan
On May 8, 2000, the Town Council adopted a new Comprehensive Plan for Chapel Hill that included a Land Use Plan identifying the Greene Tract as suitable for Housing/Open Space. The concept plan developed by the Work Group is consistent with this designation.
An agreement on the future disposition of the Greene Tract is linked to the consideration of pending Joint Planning item concerning the Town’s Comprehensive Plan. On April 11, 2001, a joint public hearing was held to receive public comment on a proposal to amend the Joint Planning Land Use Plan and Map to incorporate the Town’s Comprehensive Plan in the northwest area Joint Planning Transition Area.
On May 7, 2001, the Chapel Hill Town Council adopted a resolution to amend the Joint Planning Land Use Plan and Map and designate the Greene Tract as Housing/Open Space. The Carrboro Board of Aldermen took action on the amendments in June 200l; its motion included a recommendation that the Greene Tract be designated for Public Use. The Orange County Board of Commissioners has not acted on the resolution to amend the Joint Planning Land Use Plan and Map. At an April 29, 2002 Assembly of Governments meeting, the governing boards discussed the status of the proposed amendments, and decided to consider the Comprehensive Plan amendments in the context of resolving the issues relating to the disposition of the Greene Tract.
NEXT STEPS
Tonight, the Chapel Hill Town Council receives and considers action on the Greene Tract Work Group recommendations. The Orange County Board of Commissioners received a report on the Greene Tract Work Group on October 15, 2002, and the Orange County Manager will be reporting on questions raised that night at a future meeting. The Carrboro Board of Aldermen will also be receiving the report and considering action.
RECOMMENDATION
Manager’s Recommendation: We recommend the Council adopt the attached resolution approving a concept plan and other points of agreement for the remaining portion of the Greene Tract in public ownership.
Planning Board Recommendation: The Planning Board recommends approval of the concepts listed in the Greene Tract Work Group’s resolution of June 26, 2002, with additional comments (please see Attachment 7, Summary of Planning Board Action).
ATTACHMENTS
7. Summary of Planning Board Action (p. 14).
A RESOLUTION APPROVING A CONCEPT PLAN FOR THE PORTION OF THE GREENE TRACT IN JOINT OWNERSHIP (2002-10-21/R-5)
WHEREAS, Orange County and the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill acquired the 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 the provisions of the 1999 Interlocal Agreement for Solid Waste Management; and
WHEREAS Orange County, Carrboro and Chapel Hill agreed on a process to be pursued jointly to resolve the disposition of the remaining acres of the Green Tract, including appointment of the Green Tract Work Group; and
WHEREAS, the Greene Tract Work Group has adopted a resolution on June 26, 2002 reporting the recommended concept plan for the Greene Tract and other points of agreement as contained in Attachment 4 of the Manager’s Memorandum to Council of October 21, 2002;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council accepts the accompanying map as shown in Attachment 3 of the Manager’s Memorandum to Council of October 21, 2002, as the concept plan for that portion of the Greene Tract not deeded exclusively to Orange County, with the acreage to be set aside for open space protected by conservation easements approximating 85.9 acres and the acreage for affordable housing approximating 18.1 acres.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council agrees that the acreage for affordable housing be placed in the Land Trust.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council requests that the Town Manager investigate options with the Managers of Orange County and Carrboro for reimbursement of the Solid Waste/Landfill Enterprise Fund for the portions of the site designated for affordable housing and open space.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council recommends that the triggering mechanism for reimbursement to the Solid Waste/Landfill Enterprise Fund should be formal action taken by all three boards to approve conservation easements protecting the designated open space, with such approvals taking effect no sooner than July 1, 2003, and no later than July 1, 2005.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council recommends that the following additional steps be taken:
· The area shown on the concept plan as open space be protected by executing a conservation easement among appropriate parties;
· The Board of County Commissioners consider protecting its 60 acre portion of the Greene Tract by executing a conservation easement with an appropriate party;
· The Chapel Hill Town Council consider initiating a small area planning process to examine desirable land uses for the Purefoy Road area;
· The property be renamed in a manner that recognizes the significance of this area as the headwaters for three important streams (Bolin Creek, Old Field Creek, and Booker Creek); and
· The governing boards take note of the public investment already made in the general vicinity of the Greene Tract, as catalogued in Attachment 6 to the Manager’s Memorandum to Council of October 21, 2002.
This the 21st day of October, 2002.