SUMMARY OF A JOINT MEETING BETWEEN THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL

AND PLANNING BOARD, TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1997 AT 5:30 P.M.

Mayor Waldorf called the meeting to order. Council Members in attendance were Joyce Brown, Joe Capowski, Pat Evans, Lee Pavao and Edith Wiggins. Planning Board members in attendance were Board Chairperson Mary Reeb and Members Will Allen, Diane Bloom, Julie Coleman, June Dunnick, Scott Radway, Martin Rody, Bruce Runberg and John Hawkins. Also in attendance were Town Manager Cal Horton, Assistant Town Managers Sonna Loewenthal and Florentine Miller, Planning Director Roger Waldon and Development Coordinator Jennie Bob Culpepper.

Ms. Reeb presented the Board’s annual report to the Council, including the desirability of connecting neighborhoods and connecting bicycle paths and identifying who was responsible for public areas after individual projects were completed. She also stated that the Board was interested in sustainability, affordable housing and in exploring better ways to have public hearings.

Stating that many citizens chose to participate in the development process only at the Council level, Planning Board Member Scott Radway inquired whether or not the Council was satisfied with the current process which put many “crisis type” development situations before the Council. He suggested that some of the Council’s advisory boards could possibly hone policy issues such as payments-in-lieu for recreation.

Council Member Andresen said it would be worthwhile for the Planning Board to weigh in on the matter of payments in lieu for recreation facilities. She stated that the Comprehensive Plan spoke to at least two sides relative to the interconnectivity of roads. Noting that citizens had a very important role in the development review process, Council Member Andresen said it was up to the Planning Board to make recommendations to the Council on this matter. Noting that an interpretative process was involved, Ms. Reeb stated that the protection of neighborhoods might be unrelated to roadway connectivity. Ms. Dunnick expressed concern that roadways were often cut through natural habitats without due consideration being given to preservation of these areas.

Stating that the Council had never had a philosophical debate about the interconnection of roads between neighborhoods, Council Member Capowski said he did not think that the Council had given the Planning Board sufficient direction or guidelines on this matter.

Council Member Wiggins suggested that the Council compose a document outlining the Council’s planning related goals and visions in order to provide guidance to the Planning Board. Noting that she shared the Planning Boards’ concerns about citizen participation in the process, Council Member Wiggins inquired about the Board’s policy relative to such participation. Ms. Reeb said the Board did not receive comments in a public hearing format. Council Member Wiggins inquired whether or not this was problematic. Ms. Reeb stated that provisions of the Comprehensive Ordinance sometimes meant that the Board could not take actions sought by citizens. Council Member Wiggins noted that a citizen had recently stated that they had not been able to speak at a Planning Board meeting. Mr. Radway stated that the citizen in question had spoken at the Planning Board on one or two occasions about the matter of her concerns. Ms. Dunnick said citizens sometimes felt that they were not being heard by the Planning Board.

Council Member Andresen said it was very important for advisory boards to provide adequate time for public comments and to make citizens feel welcome at board and commission meetings.

Council Member Evans said that sometimes citizens who had said they had not been listened to or received a courteous reception were oftentimes dissatisfied with the outcome of the matter they were addressing the board or commission about. Noting that she had never seen any citizens treated in a discourteous manner by the Planning Board, Council Member Evans noted that concerned citizens could forward letters of concern to the Planning Board and other Town boards.

Stating that the Board was divided between those members who had planning-related professional backgrounds and those who did not, Ms. Coleman stated that developers often times got the last word on matters and were not limited to three minutes presentation at Council meetings. Ms. Coleman said that the Planning Board needed to make a greater effort to listen to citizen concerns and comments. Ms. Bloom said she agreed about the importance of the Planning Board treating citizens well. She also said that the Board needed to be more open about what citizens were saying. Mayor Waldorf said the Council would trust the Planning Board would be sensitive in receiving citizen comments and concerns.

Referencing the Board’s Comprehensive Plan related concerns, Mr. Radway inquired whether or not it was correct that the Town was undertaking a parks master plan. Mr. Horton said no such effort was underway or requested by the Council. Mr. Radway said he wanted to see sustainability principles taken into account in more of the Board’s project reviews.

Noting that several years ago the Town Council had developed plans for pedestrian and bicycle connections and a traffic calming plan, Council Member Brown said it would be a good idea to revive these plans and develop an overall plan, during the current budget year, if possible. Noting that the report of Sustainability Committee III would be presented to the Council on March 24^th, Council Member Brown said she hoped that the Council would be receptive to this report.

Council Member Capowski said he strongly favored having bicycle paths which would interconnect different parts of the Town. Mayor Waldorf asked whether or not the Planning Board was proposing that the downtown small area plan be a part of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan. Stating that the Towns’ Comprehensive Plan was at least ten years old, Mr. Radway said it was correct that the Board was proposing that the downtown small area plan become part of the Comprehensive Plan.

Council Member Brown said it was important that traffic calming and related strategies be placed on the Council’s priority project list. Council Member Andresen said she was interested in the Council taking this on as a priority. Noting that she often parked her car in one area and enjoyed walking between shopping and errand destinations whenever possible, Council Member Andresen said she hoped that the Planning Board would attempt to plan commercial areas which encouraged pedestrian, rather than vehicular, activity. Ms. Reeb said that the Planning Board attempted to do this and would continue to do so.

Board member John Hawkins said although he was a new member of the Board and had enjoyed receiving feedback from the Council on how the Board could serve the Council better.

Mr. Hawkins also said that he was slightly taken aback by the Council’s decision not to undertake a revision of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan. He suggested that the Council overhaul the Comprehensive Plan sometime in the near future.

Board Member Will Allen said that much of the data in the Town’s Comprehensive Plan was based on data from the middle 1980’s and earlier. He suggested that sustainability indicators could be dovetailed into the Shaping Orange County’s Future and the Town’s Comprehensive Plan documents.

Board Member Bruce Runberg said that the vast majority of the Planning Board felt that it was appropriate to revise the Town’s Comprehensive Plan as soon as possible, using minimal support from Town staff.

Noting that it would take about one or two years to gather base data for the Comprehensive Plan, Board Member Martin Rody urged the Council to work jointly with Orange County in gathering this information. He said it could possibly take up to six years to fully complete the Shaping Orange County’s Future effort. Board Member Diane Bloom also noted that there was a minority of the Planning Board, including herself, which wanted to wait until the Shaping Orange County’s Future report was completed before work began on the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.

Distributing copies of the Shaping Orange County Future Task Force report timeline to the Council and Planning Board, Council Member Brown stated that the Task Force’s report would be completed by next spring, rather than six years from now. She stated that each individual community would begin to look at their comprehensive plans at that time. Council Member Brown also stated that Task Force’s efforts were as inclusive as possible. Council Member Andresen asked whether or not it was correct that the Planning Board could have an active role in development of materials relative to the Task Force’s report. Council Member Brown said this was correct. Mayor Waldorf noted that the Planning Board would not undertake this without approval from the Council. Noting that none of the Planning Board members saw this as a “them and us” conflict, Ms. Reeb said the Boards’ efforts were focused on showing the Council some problems which were not currently being addressed. Noting that she had been in the Council minority of looking at the Towns’ Comprehensive Plan now, rather than in the future, Mayor Waldorf said the Council often had concerns about various development projects which met current Town ordinance standards.

Stating that he liked the idea of having updated baseline demographic information, Council Member Capowski said he would love to be able to get a map of the Town showing information such as retail sales by street blocks.

Council Member Evans said that the Council needed to examine whether or not the Town’s Strategic Plan element of the Comprehensive Plan was being fulfilled. Noting the importance of viewing the Comprehensive Plan in its totality, Council Member Evans said that revision of the Plan and related gathering of statistics and other information should focus on bringing community residents together, rather than dividing them.

Stating that she agreed about the need for a “big picture” examination of demographics and other information, Council Member Andresen said the Shaping Orange County Future process had been an incredibly participation-driven process. Noting that the revision of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan during the middle 1980’s had been a very long process, Council Member Andresen said an update to the Plan was needed. Stating that such an update needed to take into account the views of a wide array of the Town’s residents, Council Member Andresen said the question was when the plan’s update would take place. Council Member Andresen said she believed that this effort should get off the ground by next year.

Stating that Orange County had invited the Town to participate in the Shaping Orange County Future effort, Mr. Radway said he found it ironic that Orange County had not been given the

opportunity to participate in the downtown Chapel Hill small area plan process. Mayor Waldorf encouraged the Planning Board to take the downtown area process before the Shaping Orange County Future group. Ms. Reeb said she thought that this was a really good idea. Council Member Brown said the emphasis should be on how to put all of the pieces together, rather than viewing items as separate pieces.

Mayor Waldorf expressed appreciation to the Planning Board for all of their hard work.

Noting that the Council received recommendations from a number of different advisory boards on various development items, Council Member Capowski urged the Planning Board not to be concerned if it appeared that the Council was ignoring the Board’s recommendations. He expressed appreciation to the Board for their analysis of various projects and policies. Ms. Reeb stated that the Town’s Planning Board was one of the weakest in the State, since much of its recommendation authority had been taken away over the years. Mayor Waldorf inquired whether or not there were any other approvals that the Board could capably assume. Ms. Reeb suggested that the Town staff could possibly best answer this question. Council Member Andresen inquired how many site plans of less than 20,000 square feet were reviewed annually by the Planning Board. Ms. Reeb estimated that there were four or five such projects each year.

The meeting concluded at 6:55 p.m.