MINUTES OF A PUBLIC HEARING HELD BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL, TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1993 AT 7:30 P.M.
Mayor Broun called the hearing to order. Council Members in attendance were Julie Andresen, Joyce Brown, Joe Capowski, Mark Chilton, Joe Herzenberg, Barbara Powell, Alan Rimer and Arthur Werner. Also in attendance were Assistant to the Mayor Lisa Price, Town Manager Cal Horton, Assistant Town Managers Sonna Loewenthal and Florentine Miller, Planning Director Roger Waldon and Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos.
Item 1 Request for Columbia Place Subdivision
Persons wishing to testify in the matter were sworn by the Town Clerk. Mr. Horton requested that materials pertaining to the application be entered into the record of the hearing. Planning Director Roger Waldon reviewed the proposal, noting that two key issues were proposed development on steep slopes and the provision of rolled curbs rather than vertical curbs. Mr. Waldon noted that the Planning Board recommended that the developer be required to provide a bus shelter and bench on Airport Road. He stated that the Manager's preliminary recommendation was adoption of Resolution A, approving the subdivision with conditions.
Joe Hakan, co-owner and developer of the proposed project, said he was very enthusiastic about his contract with the Orange Community Housing Corporation to provide twenty-five percent of the homes in the subdivision at a cost of $94,000 or less. He stated that the remainder of the homes would cost between $95,000 and $115,000 each. Mr. Hakan said the project would attempt to keep the scale and character of the adjoining Northside neighborhood in mind. He noted that parking platforms were proposed for some of the more steeply-sloped lots, eliminating the need for retaining walls. Mr. Hakan said houses on flatter lots would be constructed using slabs on grade, and foundation slabs would be used for medium and steeply-sloped lots. Mr. Hakan also expressed hope that rolled curbs would be permissible. He also stated that the cost for the proposed bus shelter should not be placed on the subdivision's residents. Mr. Hakan said although the development of seventy lots was permitted, only forty-six lots were proposed.
Donna Dyer, Executive Director of the Orange Community Housing Corporation, said the concept of an inclusionary community offered an interesting opportunity for first-time homebuyers with varying income levels. She said the developer was working hard to find the best builder and techniques to meet the objective of constructing homes for $94,000 or less each.
Mike Hammersley, project engineer, briefly reviewed stormwater management strategies for the site. He stated that plans called for creating a retention area in a natural draw on the site. Mr. Hammersley said this was the perfect place for a sediment trap, requiring the least amount of grading to install. Council Member Andresen asked how water would be collected with rolled curbs. Mr. Hammersley said a spread of water would be collected alongside the road. He noted that it was best not to install sanitary sewer facilities until phase two of the project.
Mayor Broun inquired whether board and commission representatives were in attendance. Mr. Waldon stated that the Planning and Transportation Boards were holding a joint meeting upstairs this evening. He noted that the board's recommendations were outlined in the memorandum before the Council. Mr. Horton said his preliminary recommendation was adoption of Resolution A.
Estelle Mabry said although she supported affordable housing, she was also concerned about the safety of children on the area's narrow streets.
Allan Snavely said the residents of the Northside neighborhood had done a lot of soul-searching about the proposal. He stated that the strategic report of the Comprehensive Plan noted that there could be conflicts between affordable housing and maintaining community character. Mr. Snavely distributed photographs of the Stratton Park and Breckenridge cluster subdivisions in Durham. He stated that the density and scale of these developments was inappropriate for the environmentally sensitive tract of land.
Tom Gunn, 722 North Columbia Street, showed photographs of roadway conditions in the Clark Road/North Columbia Street area. He noted that the traffic study for University Place had been proven to be flawed in terms of distribution assumptions. Mr. Gunn requested that four pages from the ITE trip generation manual be entered into the record of the hearing. He also requested that information pertaining to rare and specimen trees and transit impacts be entered into the hearing record.
R.D. Smith requested that the proposed project include sidewalks especially along the Clark Road area. He also expressed concerned about the developer's calculations concerning trip distribution. Mr. Smith said homes costing $94,000 were out of reach of many of the community's residents.
Horst Kessemeier said he was pleased by the prospect of affordable housing but was concerned about the character, density and relation to runoff and erosion of the proposed project. He urged the Council to provide assurances that runoff and erosion would not be problems for neighbors of the project. Mr. Kessemeier also suggested that the Council get confirmation of the developers plan to connect a sewer line to the Bolin Creek interceptor.
Janet Tice inquired why a thirty-foot swath was needed for the project's sewer line. She also noted that the Town had a good reputation around the nation. Ms. Tice emphasized the importance of retaining and enhancing the Town's character and natural beauty. Ms. Tice said she was not saying no to development, but said she hoped that better projects could be proposed.
David Sarr, a licensed professional engineer, expressed concern about runoff from the site, particularly the lots above Bolin Creek and Airport Road. He also stated that much larger flows going down hills might cause erosion affecting steep slopes.
Lightning Brown said the area west of North Columbia Street and east of Airport Road was a critical area, with a number of properties requiring special attention. Mr. Brown said although Mr. Hakan had done as well as he could in his proposal, he did not think that the project had been done well enough. He suggested that the Town investigate the possibility of expanding affordable housing possibilities, such as owner-occupied duplexes or modular housing, for the site. He urged the Council not to destabilize the Northside neighborhood.
Henry Whitfield noted that OWASA had collected utility availability fees of $2,400 per lot since 1979. He noted that this amounted to a loss of $120 in financing per year for each lot in the proposed subdivision. Mr. Whitfield expressed concern that persons building new houses were being penalized by the fee.
Council Member Capowski inquired whether the $94,000 figure included all costs. Ms. Dyer said this was the estimated sales price for homes, with an allowance for closing and related costs.
Council Member Capowski inquired which of the lots would be used for the $94,000 homes. Ms. Dyer said the lots would be non-sloping, requiring less expensive construction. Council Member Herzenberg inquired about landscape protection plans. Mr. Waldon
said the plan was to leave the majority of slopes undisturbed.
Council Member Rimer said he believed a construction limit of less than thirty feet could be used for construction of the OWASA sewer line. He also noted that rolled curbs were utilized in other communities with steep slope challenges. Mr. Waldon noted that the proposed roadway was located on top of a ridge, with the anticipated drainage flow arguing for rolled curbs or another alternate approach. Council Member Rimer said he recommended that the staff talk to the Transportation and Planning Boards and list out pro and con comments on proposed rolled curbs. Council Member Brown requested additional information on cost differences between vertical and rolled curbs.
Council Member Capowski inquired about examples of rolled curbs. Council Member Andresen said there were examples of rolled curb in the Durham area and areas to the west of Town. Council Member Werner noted that the use of rolled curbs was more closely tied to auto-pedestrian safety issues than it was to stormwater runoff.
Noting that there were no provisions in the special use permit concerning affordable housing, Council Member Werner inquired how such guarantees could be followed up on. Mr. Waldon said the Town had no authority to incorporate provisions about affordable housing if the developer did not want such provisions. He stated that the staff was approaching the physical subdivision proposal rather than concerning themselves with the costs of the proposed units.
Council Member Werner asked whether there was a binding contract between the developer and the Orange Community Housing Corporation. Ms. Dyer said no agreement had been executed yet. She said there was a letter of understanding between the parties outlining that twenty-five percent of the proposed units would cost $94,000 or less. Ms. Dyer added that the Orange Community Housing Corporation would be the exclusive marketer of the homes for a period of two years. Council Member Werner requested that Mr. Karpinos address the matter of housing affordability contractual agreements in the staff's follow-up report. Mr. Karpinos said he would do so.
Council Member Werner said the idea of requiring stormwater management plans upfront should be investigated. He inquired who was responsible for enforcing stormwater and erosion regulations. Mr. Waldon said Orange County handled these responsibilities during construction. He noted that additional information could be provided in the staff's follow-up report. Noting that 3.2 units per acre were proposed, Council Member Werner inquired about the permitted densities in R-2 and R-3 zoning districts. Mr. Waldon said up to four units per acre were permitted in R-2 districts and up to seven units per acre in R-3 zoning districts.
Council Member Andresen said she agreed with concerns outlined about retention basin maintenance. Noting that the regular maintenance of basins was necessary, Council Member Andresen emphasized the importance of addressing maintenance issues.
Mr. Waldon noted that in some subdivisions developers were required to maintain the basins, while homeowners associations were responsible for handling basin maintenance in other subdivisions.
Council Member Andresen said she was concerned about the safety of pedestrians in the area and about cut-through traffic. Mayor Broun emphasized the importance of addressing specific concerns about infrastructure-related matters. Council Member Andresen suggested that a letter be forwarded to OWASA requesting that fewer trees be cut down relative to installation of the proposed sewer line.
Council Member Brown said she also had concerns about pedestrian safety. She suggested that traffic calming techniques could possibly be used relative to the North Columbia/Longview Street area. Council Member Brown requested that staff address Mr. Kessemeier's concerns about run-off. She noted that neighborhood residents were concerned about what the development would look like. Mr. Waldon said there were no provisions in Town subdivision regulations to look at the type of structures to be constructed.
Council Member Herzenberg suggested that developers could show drawings of proposed houses. Mr. Karpinos noted that the staff's review of subdivisions involved solely the creation of lots and streets. Council Member Brown inquired whether the types of units that could be constructed was out of the Town's control. Mr. Waldon said this was correct.
Council Member Brown inquired whether it was possible to further address Mr. Whitfield's suggestions about OWASA availability fees.
Mr. Horton said a communication requesting re-evaluation of availability charges could be forwarded from the Council to OWASA.
Council Member Brown inquired why internal streets were twenty-seven feet wide. Mr. Hakan noted that the developer had elected a street width of twenty-seven feet although the staff was willing to reduce the requirement to twenty-four feet. Council Member Powell inquired about the status of the Clark Road realignment project. Mr. Hammersley said he had met with Engineering staff concerning the proposed realignment of the intersection to slow traffic down. Council Member Powell said she agreed with the need to find out more about OWASA availability charges.
Council Member Powell suggested that staff further investigate Mr. Brown's suggestions concerning experimental housing concepts. Mr. Hakan said he explored alternatives such as prefabricated housing and zero-lot line development. Mr. Hakan said he was willing to examine other innovative ideas which might help lower the price of housing. Ms. Dyer noted that a variety of experimental programs might be discussed at the Council's work session on February 1st.
Council Member Andresen said the developer had presented a creative proposal including the element of affordability. Council Member Capowski inquired whether the average lot was four thousand square feet. Mr. Hakan said this was correct. Council Member Capowski asked whether lots were below street level. Mr. Hakan said some of the lots were almost level with the road and twenty-five to thirty percent of the lots were below the roadway surface. Council Member Capowski asked whether houses were fifty feet center-to-center. Mr. Hakan said not necessarily, since there could be variations of lot lines and designs.
Council Member Chilton thanked the co-applicants for their proposal, noting that it was more in line with the property than other recent proposals. He expressed concurrence with Council Member Rimer in favoring rolled curbs. Council Member Chilton noted that on-street parking on Isley Street with no curbs appeared to work well.
He also expressed concern about the proposed thirty-foot swath for sewer line installation and the proposed realignment of Clark Road's intersection with Longview Street. Council Member Chilton also expressed concurrence about cut-through traffic. Council Member Chilton said he had voted against the latest zoning overlay for the property and continued to hold this opinion. He stated that the suggested use was still a little too intense for the area's topography. Mr. Hakan expressed his concurrence with the proposed conditions of approval and requested that rolled curbs be utilized in the subdivision design.
COUNCIL MEMBER HERZENBERG MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIMER, TO RECESS THE PUBLIC HEARING TO FEBRUARY 22ND AND REFER COMMENTS TO THE MANAGER AND ATTORNEY. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY
(9-0).
Noting that housing affordability continued to be a problem in Orange County, R.D. Smith suggested that the Greene tract be used to construct affordable housing.
Item 2 Rocky Hill Special Use Permit Modification
Persons wishing to testify in the matter were sworn by the Town Clerk. Mr. Horton requested that materials pertaining to the request be entered into the record of the hearing. Noting that the previous special use permit had expired on January 8, 1993, Mr. Horton said the requested modification would extend the deadline for a period of two years. Mr. Waldon presented an overview of the site, surrounding area and street connections. He noted that the Rocky Hill master plan had originally been approved in 1990. Mr. Waldon said that there had been no change to the original proposal. He stated that staff recommended approval of the requested time limit extension.
Eddie Bland, Vice President and Real Estate Manager for NationsBank, said Rocky Hill had been held in trust and was owned by NationsBank. Mr. Bland said he believed that the improving economy made development of the property more likely. He requested that the Council approve the request for a time extension.
Bob Wharton, owner of a home on Sweeten Creek Road, said a five-year development timetable would be involved if the request were granted. Mr. Wharton said his primary concern was the fact that a traffic study had been conducted while students were on break. Mr. Wharton stated that the area had changed significantly since receiving its original approval. He also requested that buffering requirements be maintained in the event that the approval were granted.
Council Member Andresen inquired whether a new traffic study would be required. Mr. Horton said Mr. Wharton was correct that there had been development in the area. He stated that staff could check whether or not anticipated additional traffic had been included in the applicant's traffic study. Mr. Karpinos said that if the developer did not present new data and there was data from another source, balancing of evidence would be needed. He stated that the decision of how to proceed in this matter lay in the applicant's hands. Council Member Andresen said the possibility of a connector road through Chandler's Green subdivision were a major concern of area residents. Council Member Capowski asked whether five years was the maximum allowable period for the development proposal. Mr. Horton said this was correct.
Council Member Capowski requested that Mr. Karpinos prepare a one-page memorandum outlining the differences between a special use permit which stood alone and one tied to a master plan. Council Member Andresen requested a clarification of differences between the Planning Board and Manager's recommendations. Mr. Horton said the Planning Board recommended a one-year time extension while the Manager recommended a two-year extension. Council Member Rimer said it would be very helpful to revisit the transportation impact analysis for the project.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDRESEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIMER, TO RECESS THE HEARING TO FEBRUARY 8TH AND REFER COMMENTS TO THE MANAGER AND ATTORNEY. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
Item 3 Birch Meadow Subdivision
Parties wishing to testify in the matter were sworn. Mr. Horton requested that materials pertaining to the application be entered into the record of the hearing.
Mr. Waldon said the subject property was zoned Residential-2. He showed an exhibit map depicting the proposed subdivision's location. Mr. Waldon stated that the applicant proposed to dedicate land for open space near the Springcrest subdivision. He noted that staff enthusiastically supported this idea. Mr. Waldon said staff did not recommend road stubouts. He added that the Transportation Board recommended that the applicant be required to provide bus pull-offs. Mr. Waldon stated that although no transit shelter was needed now, a payment-in-lieu for this type of facility was recommended by the Transportation Board and Manager. He said the Manager and Transportation Board recommended adoption of Resolution A while the Planning Board recommended Resolution B.
Phillip Post, representing Springcrest Partners, said the parcel contained a total of twelve acres and had some unique features. He stated that the basic theory of development was to preserve the existing home place on the property. Mr. Post briefly reviewed other features of the site including tree preservation strategies.
He stated that the applicant was willing to provide a payment-in-lieu for a bench and concrete pad for a future bus stop. Mr. Post said he accepted the proposed conditions of approval outlined in Resolution B.
Carolyn Smith said she had received a notice in May about possible development of the property adjoining a small house owned by her husband and herself. She noted that home provided her parents with a small monthly investment income. Ms. Smith requested that the Council give some consideration to altering the proposed roadway alignment so that the road would be less disruptive to the house's tenants.
Leonard Smith requested the opportunity to sell the house to the proposed subdivision's developer. He also requested that the proposed roadway into the subdivision be relocated away from his property. Mr. Smith said efforts to reach agreement on the sale of the property had been unsuccessful. Mayor Broun inquired whether there was anything the Council could do to assist in the matter. Mr. Horton said the situation appeared to be a purely private matter. Council Member Andresen said she hoped that the matter of the roadway alignment could be resolved reasonably and fairly. Mayor Broun said he shared this concern.
Council Member Brown inquired about possible flexibility relative to the subdivision's roadway plan. Mr. Post stated that he had first learned of the Smith's concerns on January 14th. He noted that some negotiations relative to landscape buffering, fencing and rent guarantees had taken place. Mr. Post stated that the only agreement acceptable to the Smith's was purchase of the property.
He added that the offer to purchase the property remained open.
Council Member Capowski inquired about the amount of the proposed payment-in-lieu for bus facilities. Mr. Post said it would cost $900 for a pad and bench. He added that a bus pull-off, pad and bench would cost $9,000 to $10,000. Council Member Capowski inquired about the status of Sage Road Extension. Mr. Horton said it was not likely that this would be built in the near future. Council Member Capowski asked whether a road to the property existed from Erwin Road. Mr. Post said that an easement to the benefit of Mrs. Crane and her heirs provided access to the property. Council Member Powell asked whether the access driveway was located on someone else's property. Mr. Post said yes. Council Member Capowski inquired about the logic for having a sixteen foot wide pedestrian path to adjoining property. Mr. Waldon said staff believed that the path might be useful in the future. Council Member Capowski asked whether narrow strips of land at the subdivision entranceway would be deeded to the homeowners association. Mr. Waldon said the strips would be deeded to the association for maintenance purposes.
Council Member Capowski inquired whether all property owners within five hundred feet had been notified of the proposal. Mr. Waldon said yes. Council Member Werner inquired who would maintain rights-of-way. Mr. Waldon said the Town would maintain them. Mr. Post said another option was to give the strip adjoining the Smith property to the Smiths. Mayor Broun said he understood that there were disputes which needed to be settled privately. Council Member Werner inquired where payment-in-lieu money for a bus stop could be used. Mr. Horton said the funds could be used for bus amenities on Weaver Dairy Road once service was established in the area.
Council Member Werner asked if the money could be used elsewhere. Mr. Horton said he did not recommend using the money elsewhere.
Council Member Werner inquired about the nature of the off-site open space. Mr. Waldon said the land was a corridor along a creek, with access attained from Springcrest subdivision. Council Member Werner inquired about the name of the creek. Mr. Post said it was an unnamed tributary. Council Member Andresen said posting notice signs at the site was a good idea. She expressed concern about sight distances in the area. Mr. Post said that Department of Transportation sight distance guidelines had been met. Council Member Andresen requested that the staff provide a follow-up report on whether proper notification of adjoining property owners had been made. She expressed concern about allowing residential development close to the site of the proposed Sage Road Extension. Council Member Andresen said that it was appropriate for developers to bear incrementally the cost of improvements. She stated that requiring solely a bus pad and bench may be inadequate.
Mayor Broun requested the applicant's statement concerning the proposed conditions of approval. Mr. Post said the applicant accepted the conditions in Resolution B, offering a compromise payment-in-lieu for a bus pad and bench. Mayor Broun inquired whether the applicant would accept a greater payment-in-lieu arrangement. Mr. Post said yes.
COUNCIL MEMBER WERNER MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HERZENBERG, TO RECESS THE HEARING TO FEBRUARY 8TH AND REFER COMMENTS TO THE MANAGER AND ATTORNEY. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
The hearings concluded at 10:32 p.m.