SUMMARY MINUTES OF A JOINT MEETING

OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL AND

THE CHATHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2004 AT 7:00 P.M.

The meeting was called to order by Tommy Emerson, Chair, Orange County Board of Commissioners.  Other Commissioners present were Vice-Chair Carl Outz, Bob Atwater, Bunkey Morgan, and Margaret Pollard.  Also present were County Manager Charlie Horne, Planning Director Keith Megginson, and Clerk to the Board Sandra Sublett.

Members of the Chapel Hill Town Council present were Mayor Kevin Foy, Mayor pro tem Edith Wiggins, and Council Members Sally Greene, Ed Harrison, Cam Hill, Mark Kleinschmidt, Bill Strom, and Dorothy Verkerk.  Council Member Jim Ward was absent, excused.  Also present were Town Manager Cal Horton, Deputy Town Manager Florentine Miller, Assistant Town Manager Bruce Heflin, Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos, Planning Director Roger Waldon, Town Information Officer Catherine Lazorko, and Tow Clerk Joyce Smith.

Following dinner, Chairman Emerson called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m.  He asked all those present to introduce themselves, then invited the Town to make a presentation on issues of value to both Chapel Hill and Chatham County.

Planning Director Roger Waldon gave a brief presentation of development issues of interest to both Chapel Hill and Chatham County.  He displayed two maps while he touched on the following issues:

University

Mr. Waldon noted there were many development issues concerning the University and its long-range growth plans on the central campus and its impact on surrounding neighborhoods and the Town.  He stated that the University also owns a large tract of land known as the Horace Williams property, which is in the middle of Chapel Hill.  The Town is currently in discussion with the University on their development plans for that property, Mr. Waldon said.

Downtown

Mr. Waldon commented that the Downtown is undergoing changes.  There is renewed attention to what we can be doing to keep it as vital as possible, he said.  One issue under review, he noted, is the possibility of development on two parking lots in the downtown.

Mixed Use

We have tried to promote mixed use in Chapel Hill, Mr. Waldon stated, and used Southern Village and the Meadowmont Development as examples.  Both have a core that has retail office and commercial uses, he explained, as well as residential development.  Mr. Waldon commented that we had learned many lessons along the way with both of these developments.  Both are robust developments, he said.

Urban Services Boundary

Mr. Waldon explained that planning for the edges around Chapel Hill is dictated by our Joint Planning Agreement with Orange County and Carrboro.  He noted that the Town’s annexation boundary, by that agreement, will not extend beyond the Chatham County line, which is also the Urban Services Boundary.

Stormwater Management

Mr. Waldon stated that the new Land Use Management Ordinance adopted last year contains aggressive stormwater management guidelines to protect our streams and water quality. 

Traffic – Transit

Mr. Waldon informed the Commissioners that every new development that comes before the Council now is looked at carefully to see how it will affect traffic.  We also encourage in every way possible, he said, the promotion of alternative means of travel.  Mr. Waldon noted this had led to the Town’s fare free transit system which has been highly successful.

Affordable Housing

Mr. Waldon commented that there is a constrained amount of land available for development in Chapel Hill, which affects the availability of affordable housing.  Hence, he stated, Chapel Hill now requires that 15% of housing being built must be affordable.

Mayor Foy said what the maps do not show is that Chapel Hill is surrounded by Carrboro, Chatham County and Durham County, which results in serious transportation problems.  Traffic impact of this concentration of people is beginning to dominate all of our roadways, he said.

Commissioner Outz asked if Chapel Hill had adequate water.  Mayor Foy replied that west of Carrboro is the Cane Creek Reservoir, our main source of water.  In about 20 years the quarry reservoir will be filled, he said, and the Cane Creek Reservoir will be phased out.  Mayor Foy said our goal is to gather all the water in the water shed and retain as much as possible to serve the entire area.  Also, he noted, we are working on aggressive conservation measures.

Council Member Strom noted that a portion of University Lake is in Chatham County, adding that in the late 1990’s a zoning change was made in Chatham County that affected development in the University Lake area.  County Planning Director Keith Megginson noted it was zoned for 2 acre lots, then changed to 1 acre, then changed back to 2 acre lots.

Commissioner Morgan asked what did the Mayor want to see happen.  Mayor Foy replied that we would like to see some way of getting a transportation corridor from 54 towards the airport and the Research Triangle Park.  He said the only way to do that is either by bus or car.  But, Mayor Foy stated, now we are looking at a railway.  Our goal is to get people to ride the transit system inside the city, but for people coming from Chatham County, travel by car is the only alternative.

Mayor Foy said it is his understanding that the University is looking for a park and ride lot in the Pittsboro area.  Mr. Megginson said there had been some conversation about that.  He noted that the proposed Briar Chapel development in Chatham County would have 2500 residences, and it has been proposed that a park and ride lot be located there.  Also, he continued, there has been some discussion that the Trailways bus line could develop a bus line between Siler City and Pittsboro.

County Manager Charlie Horne noted that he and Mr. Horton had discussed this in the past.

Mayor Foy said one reason we made the buses free in Chapel Hill was to increase ridership, because we wanted to increase service.  So, by making the buses free, we have tripled our ridership.

Mr. Horne said the biggest hurdle is to get people out of the habit of driving a car.  He said that one way may be to charge extraordinary fees for parking to discourage people from driving.

Council Member Verkerk noted that parking on the University campus would become even more difficult as time passes.

Council Member Strom said that there is a connection between water and sewer availability and density, which also results in transit issues.  If we limit where we provide water and sewer by creating an urban services boundary, he stated, you can control the density.  Council Member Strom added that is also effective in keeping a handle on transit issues.

Council Member Harrison noted that a phenomenon that he is seeing is that many UNC students who live just east of Chapel Hill have begun using a private bus service to get to campus, where parking is so scarce.  He thought that this approach would be worth encouraging in Chatham County for use by UNC commuters.  One problem we have, he stated, is that out of town traffic clogs our roadways because of the number of people coming into the campus and hospitals each day.  Council Member Harrison noted that Chapel Hill is committed to getting people out of their cars and into buses.

Chairman Emerson asked if he came to Chapel Hill, could he ride the bus for free.  Council Member Harrison replied that anyone can get on a bus anywhere in the town, and there is no charge to any rider.  He noted that the buses service Chapel Hill, Carrboro, western Chatham County as well as the campus and hospitals.  He said he understood that UNC was seeking to put a park and ride lot at the Chatham County line with Orange County.  Council Member Harrison added that as the Commissioners are planning for eastern Chatham, they need to think about how to get people to the Research Triangle Park without further overburdening the very poorly-functioning intersection of I-40 with NC 54 and Farrington Road, which is just east of Chapel Hill.

Commissioner Atwater, referring to Chatham County’s recently adopted Compact Communities Ordinance, asked for Mr. Waldon’s view of that type of ordinance.  He noted that Southern Village would be a good example to use.  Mr. Waldon said that with Southern Village, and with any development, you must decide how flexibility the development would have, and then a master plan must be created that would provide the flexibility necessary to allow the development to be amended as it is planned.  Mr. Waldon noted that amendments are always necessary because of the different types of retail or residential development that might take place as the project progresses.  He added that the retail and residential aspects of a development needed to be phased very carefully so that the retail is able to be supported while the phases are being built.

Mayor Foy said another component of this is that Chapel Hill has insisted that these large developments provide a school site, noting that students of the Meadowmont School are all able to walk to school.

Council Member Hill noted that as a builder, he believes we should ask for more from developers that propose these types of developments.  He said they are eager to build here, and are willing to do such things as donate land for a school.

Mayor Foy noted that as soon as Southern Village was populated, we did not have enough park land to support that development.  And, we had no money to build one.  Once that development was full, he stated, we had to build a fire station, provide police and public works services, increase the size of our library, and now we are trying to find the money to provide a park site.  Mayor Foy said that one of the things that prompted the Chapel Hill Town Council to begin talking with Chatham officials is that we formed a work group with Durham several years ago and now we have one with Chatham County.  Council Member Hill is our representative to the Chatham work group, but we realized that there were no going talks, and we have not been working with you as we probably should have.

Chairman Emerson said they had met with Cary recently, and he believes communication with them will be enhanced because of that.

Commissioner Pollard noted that the transportation issues are important to both communities.  She commented that Chatham Transit is a small service, but has much potential.  Commissioner Pollard suggested that someone from our Transportation Department meet periodically with a representative from Chatham Transit, noting she believes such communication would be beneficial to both communities.

Mayor Foy said one thing we have discovered with our work with the Transportation Advisory Commission is that there is money available if you are willing to go after it.

Commissioner Pollard noted that it was not an accident that the Compact Communities Ordinance was planned for the 15-501 corridor.  She said the hope was that the Ordinance would help them with transit issues by working with Chapel Hill.

Mr. Horne noted that Chatham County is one of the fastest growing communities in the nation.  He said they are still heavily agricultural, and the central focus of their land use plan was to handle growth and retain the rural character.  Mr. Horne noted said they are on the front end of issues that Chapel Hill has been doing for many years.  He observed that the Southern Village and Meadowmont developments were prime examples, adding they had spent the last two years exploring ways to address these issues.  Mr. Horne explained that there were several other developments that have been proposed or are in the planning stages, and they must handle that coming growth.

Mr. Megginson said a recent lawsuit filed against the County was due to the Homestead proposal approved on the west side of Jordan Lake, with 5-acre minimum lot sizes.  The lawsuit asked for increasing densities of one and one half acres to just over three acres.  In addition, he said, the County had a lawsuit filed just yesterday over a proposed Harris Teeters on a 36-acre tract.  Mr. Megginson noted that adjoining landowners felt that the property rezoning was “spot zoning.”

Chairman Emerson said that timber companies were selling off large tracts of land to developers because they were not eligible for reduced tax liability under the present State law.  He stated that Chatham County was currently looking at the possibility of the sale of development rights that may be beneficial in preserving some rural farm land.  For example, he noted, in the northern part of Chatham County where you have a hundred acre farm that might be zoned for one house per every five acres, you could potentially put 20 homes on that land.  Chairman Emerson said they were considering ways to prevent the subdivision of such land so that it would perpetually remain a 100-acre tract.

Chairman Emerson said the northern section of the County is becoming a bedroom community, populated by well educated, affluent professionals and with assets.  By the same token, he said, other sections of the County are not as economically prosperous. Chairman Emerson said what we have are traditionalists, landowners, new people who have come into the bedroom communities, and now we have the largest population of Hispanics in the southern United States.  He noted that this last population group has created a burden on our infrastructure, our schools and our police.  So, Chairman Emerson stated, we have a lot of challenges in Chatham County, and we realize we are behind the curve in certain areas.  He commented that they wanted to cooperate with Chapel Hill and their other neighbors, and were open to suggestions.  Chairman Emerson said they have a lot of controversy and discontent over the rapid growth that is occurring in parts of the County that borders Orange County, adding that they struggle with many issues and would welcome any input that Chapel Hill would like to make.  Chairman Emerson stated that vast sections of Chatham County have never been zoned, so urbanization is new to them.

Mr. Megginson noted that one development on the horizon for Chatham County to deal with is the Buck Mountain development, consisting of about 800 acres, with another 600 acres being considered by another development company.  Also, he noted the proposed Briar Chapel development with about 2500 homes proposed with retail elements, two school sites, a park, about seven miles of trails, a recycling site, a park and ride lot, and bus stops.  He noted that at the current rate, the impact fees would amount to about $10 million dollars, at $1,500 per home.

Council Member Harrison asked about the publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities in Chatham county, saying that he knew of two, the ones for Siler City and for Pittsboro.  Mr. Megginson replied that there was also  a small one in Bynum.  There has been some discussion on attempting to find a site for an additional treatment site, he said, but it is proving to be difficult.

Council Member Greene asked about growth potential, and is it constrained by the wastewater problems.  Mr. Megginson replied that was the major constraint they were facing.

Chairman Emerson said we are attempting to get a positive vote in July to form three water districts.  We will carry water from our plant on Jordan Lake to have a true County wide water system, he said, which is desperately needed.  Chairman Emerson noted that sewer, water treatment, and the need for water were their top three priorities.  He said there was opposition to this because it was felt by some that creating these sewer districts would bring even more growth.

Mayor Foy asked how access would be obtained to the water.  Chairman Emerson replied that every where that there are 12 houses per mile, water lines would be installed, adding that there would be a $500 tap-on fee.  Chairman Emerson commented that there were grants that would be applied for, as well as loans.  He said user fees would support the system once the trunk lines were installed using tax dollars.  Chairman Emerson stated that Silk Hope School had to use paper plates because there was not enough water for washing dishes, and that situation was untenable.

Council Member Hill said with the projections for new houses, it would be incredibly difficult to plan for economic development.  Chairman Emerson responded by offering a brief description of several properties for which they were attempting to provide economic development incentives.

Mayor Foy noted that the Commissioners and the Council should agree to meet again to continue these discussions, and thanked the Commissioners for their hospitality.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.