AGENDA #5g
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Request for Expedited Processing and Waiver of Fees Associated with Major Subdivision Application from Ms. Anne Perl de Pal
DATE: February 10, 2003
On January 13, the Council received a written request, submitted by Ms. Anne Perl de Pal for expedited processing and waiver of fees associated with a Preliminary Plat application to subdivide the Perl de Pal property (please see attached request). The Council has referred this request to the Town staff.
We recommend no action on this request.
Background
Expedited Processing: 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 Preliminary Plat 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 two to three months to obtain final approval of detailed construction drawings and final plans. The review process is comprehensive in the breadth and depth of review and analysis, to assure compliance with regulations.
Waiver of Fees: Development applications within the Town are subjects to fees associated with the type of application or permit requested. The Development Review Fees form (attached: see bottom of form) indicates certain permits associated with public housing and community development programs, and Town of Chapel Hill development applications, are exempted from these fees.
DISCUSSION
Process: The proposed division of this one existing lot into two lots would be a major subdivision under the terms of Chapel Hill’s Land Use Management Ordinance (as it would have been under the superceded Development Ordinance). This existing lot, the subject of this petition, is the result of previous subdivision activity of a former, larger parcel. Over time, the original large parcel was divided into 4 lots via the minor subdivision process. Chapel Hill’s ordinance prescribes that creation of 5 or more lots from a single parcel, whether done at once or over time, constitutes a major subdivision. Accordingly, creation of additional lots can only be accomplished via the major subdivision process.
Expedited Processing: We follow the Council-endorsed criteria listed below in making recommendations to the Council on requests for expedited review. These criteria are not included in the Land Use Management Ordinance, nor is the concept of expedited processing. This is a procedural tool available to the Council, and the Council has the discretion to make a determination based on what it believes is in the best interest of the community. Over the last several years we have offered these administrative criteria for the Council’s information each time a request for expedited processing has come to the Council:
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.
Several development applications are currently working toward being placed on the Council’s Public Hearing schedule. The impact of granting expedited processing for the 710 East Rosemary Street Preliminary Plat application would be to place this application ahead of others already in line for evaluation and for meeting agendas.
Projects that have been granted expedited processing are identified in Attachment 1.
Considering the criteria listed above, we do not believe there is justification to recommend approval of this request for expedited processing. We point out that these criteria are used as guidelines and are not binding. The Council may grant expedited processing if it considers that to be desirable and appropriate.
Waiver of Fees: The criteria for waiving fees are established in the Fee Schedule adopted as part of the Town budget (attached). The Fee Schedule states:
Special Use Permits, Special Use Modifications and Subdivisions proposed to be assisted through HUD conventional Public Housing, Section 8, 101, 235, CDBG funding, as well as through the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, and other recognized forms of subsidy, are exempted.
Fees are waived for Town of Chapel Hill development applications.
For applications involving residential development in which documentation is provided that at least 15% of the dwelling units will be affordable to low-moderate income families (80% of area median income for a family of four), the development application fee shall be waived.
For applications from religious organizations or private, tax-exempt, non-profit organizations, fees shall be 50% of standard fees.
We do not recommend that the Council waive fees for this application, for two reasons. First, this application does not meet any of the criteria for a fee waiver, as established by Council policy.
Second, we note that the Council’s approach to setting application fees is based on recovering, as much as possible, the Town’s direct and indirect costs in receiving, evaluating, and processing applications. Fees are determined on a sliding scale: the larger the proposed development, the larger the fee, based on estimates of the time involved in processing and evaluation. We note that a small project does not necessarily mean little or no time involved in processing. Ordinance provisions require specific evaluations and reports to be prepared, and for presentations to be made at a series of public meetings. Discussions with an applicant, nearby neighbors, and other citizens typically consumes considerable staff resources. We believe that this would be the case with this application as well.
RECOMMENDATION
We recommend that no action be taken on this item.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Petition (p. 4).
2. Fee Schedule (p. 5).
3. List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing (p. 7).