SUMMARY MINUTES OF A WORK SESSION OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WORK GROUP
ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1999, AT 5:45 P.M.
Mayor Rosemary Waldorf called the meeting to order at 5:38 p.m.
Council Members present were Flicka Bateman, Joyce Brown, Joe Capowski, Pat Evans, Kevin Foy, Julie McClintock, Lee Pavão, and Edith Wiggins. Staff members present were Town Manager Cal Horton, Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos, Assistant Town Managers Sonna Loewenthal and Florentine Miller, Assistant to the Manager Ruffin Hall, Long Range Planning Coordinator Chris Berndt, Long Range Planner Claudia Paine, Assistant to the Mayor Alice Joyce, Development Coordinator J.B. Culpepper, and Town Clerk Joyce Smith.
Members of the Comprehensive Planning Work Group introduced themselves: Madeline Jefferson, Linda Convissor, Ellen Ruina, Kit McGinnis, Jim Ward, June Dunnick, Patricia Stanford Love, Bruce Runberg, Louise Stone, and Art Werner.
Mr. John Hawkins, Chair of the Planning Board and the Comprehensive Plan Work Group, presented a review of the work to date on the Comprehensive Plan. He said the scope and timetable for the project was adopted by the Council in July 1998. Mr. Hawkins noted that the original group comprised the existing Planning Board and eleven citizens, an additional representative from the University and two representatives of the Shaping Orange County’s Future Task Force were added for a total of twenty-four members, with additional liaisons with other Town advisory boards. He said that the firm of Wallace, Roberts, and Todd was hired to provide professional leadership and guidance in the revision of the Comprehensive Plan and Mr. Randall Arendt was contracted to assist at various stages of the project. Mr. Hawkins said the Planning Department staff provided support for the Work Group. He noted that the Comprehensive Plan Work Group would consider future planning of the entire area, and in addition, would focus on four smaller areas of the Town: (1) Downtown; (2) Northside Neighborhood; (3) Cameron-McCauley Historic District; and, (4) Northwest Area.
Mr. Hawkins said there was a kick-off Symposium in November, 1998. He noted that a collection of data was released in January 1999 to describe the current state of Chapel Hill and identify trends. Mr. Hawkins said that the consultants interviewed the Council and Work Group in November 1998 and a community forum was conducted in January 1999 with approximately 120 citizens participating. He said Work Group members took photographs to document what they liked and did not like about Chapel Hill, which were mounted and on display in the Planning Department. Mr. Hawkins said the Work Group met with Shaping Orange County’s Future Task Force on January 19, 1999.
Mr. Hawkins said that some of the
key ideas emerging were impacts on growth, transportation, appearance and
aesthetics, Downtown, neighborhood preservation, University growth, and
diversity. He said the next steps for
the Work Group would be a newsletter series, a first technical report on issues
(expected February 23rd), a community forum on March 16th,
a second
technical report on goals and objectives, a community forum on strategies on
May 18th, a third technical report on strategies, and a June 16th
Town Council Public Hearing. Mr.
Hawkins said the Work Group’s goal was to have the first draft of a revised
Comprehensive Plan ready for review by September.
Mayor Waldorf invited the Work Group to a meeting on February 23rd, with a consultant to the University, who would discuss the University’s Master Plan.
Council Member McClintock asked the Work Group how they planned to get more input from the minority communities and to draw them into the project. She also stated that she hoped that the Work Group felt that it was in control of the leadership, and discussing ideas with each other rather than depending on the consultant or the staff. Council Member McClintock asked what the consultant’s Strategic Report was based on.
Chris Berndt responded that the Work Group was moving towards developing goals and objectives. She said the next stage would be in May when they would develop the draft strategies. Ms. Berndt said the consultant would provide Issues Papers at each step which would ultimately be transformed into a final document.
Council Member Brown asked what use the Work Group was making of the Strategic Report adopted in 1989, which she considered a very progressive document.
Patricia Hughes said they were updating and following-up the 1989 document into the 1999-2000 one.
Council Member Foy asked who would be receiving the newsletter, and how the Work Group would make use of the Internet. Alan Rimer said that the Work Group intended to create a web page as soon as possible. Mr. Horton said that the Town would soon be moving its web site off-site so that it would be on a private provider server, which would make it possible to create a web site for the Comprehensive Plan work. He noted that this should be accomplished fairly soon.
Ms. Berndt said that the mailing list had been comprised from several lists—budget, housing improvement, capital improvement, Town advisory boards, public meeting sign-up sheets and other projects.
Council Member Bateman asked about the decision-making process and how it would be finalized—as consensus or as a vote. Mr. Hawkins responded that they would discuss that matter at their next meeting, as to what their role would be in determining their goals and objectives, adding that they wanted to be proactive rather than reactive.
Council Member Wiggins said that she wanted to follow up on Council Member McClintock’s question regarding minorities represented in the Work Group. She noted that there were two members of the African-American community in the Work Group.
Kit McGinnis said that she had been told after their first meeting that membership had been closed, and she did not think that two minority representatives on a committee of twenty-plus was adequate.
June Dunnick suggested using one of the bulletin boards at the entrance of the Library to publicize the need for more representation.
Louise Stone said that the Spanish-speaking population was not represented.
Council Member Wiggins asked, referring to the section Diversity, under Issues, if the Work Group might add a reference as to how to create a sense of community among the different groups.
Art Werner suggested that the Work Group could go out to the various communities to discuss the issues and get the information to these neighborhoods first-hand, as well as to receive input.
Mayor Waldorf said that the Northside Community monthly meeting was the second Tuesday of the month and that the contact person was Mary Norwood Jones.
Jim Ward suggested the Work Group go to any neighborhood meeting in order to get people involved.
Art Werner thought that the Council appointed the members of the Committee and asked if the Council wanted the committee members to find members of a minority.
Council Member McClintock said that they would want any ideas for outreach and that she would not be opposed to opening up the membership again.
Council Member Evans said that there were some students working with the Northside Community and asked that they comment about their role and their direction. Audry Levinson, a student in the Master’s Program, responded that they were interviewing people in the neighborhoods in terms of the planning. She said they were also working on geo-coding and mapping of the data to update the past collected data regarding homeownership patterns, crime, building permits, and parking patterns. Ms. Levinson said they were also looking at the best practices or strategies which had been implemented in other places.
Council Member Foy stated that he hoped the Work Group had been discussing rural buffers and the transfer of development rights. Patricia Hughes said that the Planning Board had been working with the Work Group for only a short time, adding that they had a list but there had not yet been any detailed discussion. Richard Edens said that presently they were only in the information-gathering stage.
Council Member Brown asked for information on the Work Group’s meetings—how the agenda was set, how the list of ideas emerged and if it was a part of the discussions, and what form the meetings took. Mr. Hawkins said that many of the ideas came out of the first forum and they were presently taking their direction from the Planning Board and the staff. He said the goal was to involve everyone in the Work Group. Mr. Hawkins noted that they were moving toward a more definitive document. He also said that the students were not directly involved at the first forum because the Work Group was very large and it was not possible to devote time to the students.
Council Member Evans said that she had spoken to the students after the Forum and they indicated they had some comments to make and would be presenting them to the Work Group. She asked if the Work Group had received any written suggestions from the student groups, adding that she hoped that this would be encouraged. Council Member Evans also asked if the Work Group was planning to break up into smaller groups to study all the issues in more depth. She suggested that they then could report back to the whole Work Group. Madeline Jefferson said that they had not reached that point yet, but she hoped that they would break down into smaller groups but noted that they were still at the information-gathering stage. Mr. Hawkins said that the Work Group was preparing to identify a specific sub-committee for the Downtown Plan and that they would be looking for volunteers to serve. He added they would identify other areas for sub-committee action.
June Dunnick asked about the Northwest area and said that there was uncertainty about the Greene Tract.
Mayor Waldorf asked if the Work Group would like her to write a letter to the Orange County Commissioners asking them for a decision on the Greene Tract in order for the Comprehensive Plan to proceed.
Council Member McClintock said that the Town did have some agreement and that it was different from the Northwest Area Plan.
Council Member Brown responded that the Greene Tract was jointly owned and that it was difficult for one governing body to plan for it, and that this was going to be a hold-up. She said that there was an agreement on the table for the County to take 60 acres and leave the remainder under joint-jurisdiction for joint planning, which would leave two-thirds remaining for joint-planning between Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County.
Mayor Waldorf said that the Town had responded to the County’s solid-waste proposal, but they had not yet responded. She said there probably would be 60 acres designated for non-burial solid-waste purposes, and, hopefully, the Town would soon know where they would be. Mayor Waldorf said that the Work Group might have to plan without knowing the location of the acres.
June Dunnick asked if the Council objected to the plan given for the Greene Tract. She said she felt that the Work Group would like some feedback.
Council Member McClintock said that she wanted to emphasize that the Work Group should feel empowered, but that she was concerned about the deadline.
June Dunnick suggested putting a box in the Library for people to drop off a form with suggestions and opinions.
Louise Stone asked what happened to the issues raised at the Forum. Mr. Hawkins said that the staff was working on data-formulating. Ms. Berndt said that the consultant would put it together and the information would be on the next agenda for the Work Group.
Kit McGinnis asked about empowerment and who was supposed to follow through on the suggestions. Mayor Waldorf said that it should be done within the Work Group with the help of the staff. Mr. Hawkins said that these were issues that the Work Group needed to organize and work on together.
Mayor pro tem Capowski said that the Work Group was formed to help the Council. He asked where the Technical Report Hearing would be advertised. Ms. Berndt responded in the newspaper.
Mayor pro tem Capowski said that the Town was waiting to hear from the University on what their plans were for accomodating extra cars caused by their plans for expansion. He encouraged the redevelopment of the western end of downtown Chapel Hill, especially on Rosemary Street. Mayor pro tem Capowski said that he hoped it would be feasible to build a parking deck for the downtown western end.
Council Member Foy suggested that there be a co-chair of the Work Group, who was not a member of the Planning Board, so that the Work Group would feel like a part of the planning.
Alan Rimer said that the Work Group was just at the beginning of the planning process—gathering information, and that they would be more aggressive in planning at their future meetings. He said, concerning the issue of build-out, that he had gone back to the 1980’s and early 1990’s tables. Mr. Rimer said that he felt that build-out might be 25-30% of the actual capacity that the current zoning allowed, and noted this would be discussed at the next meeting.
Jeanette Gay Eddy said she felt the need to have a list of referred issues from the Council.
Ellen Ruina said that she would like to ask the Council some questions.
Council Member Brown asked if the Work Group was only meeting once a month or had they decided to meet more often. She also wondered if the Work Group was meeting with other departments, such as Solid Waste and Public Works. Mr. Hawkins said they were only meeting once a month at present, but they might need to meet more frequently. He said that he felt meeting with the other departments was a good idea, especially regarding the Greene Tract.
Council Member Brown said that negotiations regarding the restructuring process were just beginning, necessary because it was jointly-owned. She did not see how this fit into the Work Group’s process.
Mayor Waldorf disagreed.
Louise Stone said that she would like some definitions of words such as “affordable housing” and “diversity.”
Mayor Waldorf said that she felt confident in the Work Group’s process for gathering information and problem solving. She said she hoped that the Work Group was looking at affordable housing for the downtown, particularly on Rosemary Street. Mayor Waldorf said this would be even more desirable considering the expansion plans of the University, for student and faculty housing.
Ellen Ruina asked the Council why, since the 1989 Comprehensive Plan was progressive, more of the Plan had not been implemented and wondered if the Zoning and Development Ordinances had hampered progress on the 1989 Comprehensive Plan. She also said that there was no actual coordination between the three plans in progress—the Comprehensive Plan, Shaping Orange County’s Future and the University Plan—and wondered where they were headed.
Council Member Foy said that the Council had picked out the important ideas of the 1989 Plan, and passed along those not implemented to the Work Group. He asked that, in the future, conflicting goals be prioritized.
Mayor Waldorf said that the three planning groups were sharing and coordinating data, and suggesting solutions for the future evolution of the community. She said that all the objectives would have to converge to serve the community.
Mr. Hawkins said that what overlapped would not be ignored and that the Work Group needed to be aware of the priorities.
Linda Connvisor said that she was confused by the choice of Randall Arendt as a planner for the Comprehensive Plan, as she felt he would have been more appropriate for Orange County. She asked what the reasoning was behind his addition to the team.
Council Member McClintock said that Mr. Arendt was chosen by the consultant because of his experience.
Mr. Horton said that the 5:30 p.m. meeting had not been listed on the February 23rd schedule, and asked Mayor Waldorf to please announce it at the meeting later in the evening, and at the Wednesday meeting. He said he would announce it in advertisements in the newspaper, and also ask the media to help make it public.
Mayor Waldorf thanked the Work Group and adjourned the meeting at 7:06 p.m.
The minutes of February 15, 1999 were adopted on the 22nd
day of March, 1999.
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Joyce A. Smith, CMC