AGENDA #5e
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Suggested Areas of Review for Concept Plans
DATE: May 12, 2003
The Town Council has asked for suggestions on how it might structure its review of Concept Plans. A suggested outline is attached.
BACKGROUND
Chapel Hill’s development review process has incorporated a Concept Plan step for almost fifteen years. Since the late 1980’s, major development applications have been preceded by a required submittal and review of a concept plan. We believe that this step has served the community well, by allowing attention to be focused on “big picture” components of a proposed development early on in the design process.
During the 1990’s, Concept Plan review was conducted by the Design Review Board (later merged into the responsibilities of the Board’s successor body, the Community Design Commission). There is no staff evaluation that accompanies presentation of a Concept Plan by an applicant. Materials are submitted and distributed to Commission members, who conduct a discussion a week later. Comments are given to an applicant for use in further refining project designs.
With enactment of the Land Use Management Ordinance on January 27, 2003, the Town Council created a new category of major applications that would need to have a Concept Plan reviewed by the Town Council prior to submittal of the application. The Council has now conducted four such Concept Plan reviews.
Following is language from the Land Use Management Ordinance, describing the purpose of Concept Plan review:
Purpose Statement: It is the intent of the Site Analysis Data and Conceptual Development Plan process to provide an opportunity for the Town Council, Town Manager, the Community Design Commission and citizens to review and evaluate the impact of a major development proposal on the character of the area in which it is proposed to be located. This process is intended to take into consideration the general form of the land before and after development as well as the spatial relationships of the proposed structures, open spaces, landscaped areas, and general access and circulation patterns as they relate to the proposed development and the surrounding area.
DISCUSSION
We believe that it is beneficial to be able to offer early comments to a developer as plans for new development are being considered and drawn. We note that Concept Plans that have been submitted vary greatly in their levels of detail. We attach two Concept Plans here for comparison and illustration of this point.
We also attach a checklist of information that is required as part of a Concept Plan submission.
We believe that the process works best when discussions occur early, before designs become “set in stone.” Accordingly, we offer the attached “Suggested Areas for Review of Concept Plans” for the Council’s consideration.
SUMMARY
We believe that it would be useful for the Council to offer guidance to developers and staff regarding what areas the Council wishes to review in consideration of a Concept Plan. We offer a draft outline, and look forward to the Council’s discussion tonight.
ATTACHMENTS
