On January 9, 2014, Central West Focus Area Steering Committee chair Michael Parker gave an update on the Central West plan approved by Chapel Hill Town Council.
2. Background
Part of/continuation of Chapel Hill 2020
Outgrowth of six identified “Future Focus” areas
Downtown
North Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd./I-40
South Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd./Homestead Road to Estes Drive
Highway 54
North 15-501
South 15-501
First one to be addressed
4. Committee Organization and Decision-Making
17 member committee appointed by Council
8 residents of the surrounding area
9 other representatives, including Advisory Board members, land
and business owners
Committee determined its own decision-making process
Consensus was the goal
2/3 supermajority if no consensus
Consensus decisions (unanimous)
Principles and objectives
Bike, pedestrian, and greenway plan
Stormwater recommendations
Improvements to Estes Road profile, including off-road trail
Supermajority decisions (2/3 majority or greater)
Land uses
Heights and density
Draft plan document
Maximum Estes width of 5 lanes at the MLK intersection
5. The 13 CW Planning Principles
Create a strong sense of place
Ensure community compatibility
Create social connections
Improve physical connections
Minimize vehicular traffic impacts
Enhance pedestrian/bicycle experience
Improve the transit system
Encourage a diverse mix of uses
Encourage a diverse population
Respect existing neighborhoods
Employ environmentally sound practices
Feature, repair, and enhance natural resources
Consider economic impacts in development decisions
6. Overview of Recommendations
Planning Area
Totals
Use
Total
Residential
620 units
Office
100,000 sf
Retail
25,000 sf
Commercial
30,000 sf
Hotel
65,000 sf
Institutional
50,000 sf
7. Endorsements
Unanimously endorsed by multiple Boards:
Bike and Ped
Transportation
Parks and Recreation
Planning – with stipulations addressing
• Traffic – comprehensive Town traffic study
• Storm water – possible storm water district
Unanimously approved by Council
Accepted most P-Board recommendations
Modified traffic recommendation to avoid a moratorium
8. And the Upshot Is…
A flawed process yielded a good plan
Took too long
Consumed too many resources
Proved contentious in the extreme; ordinary citizens put in the firing
line
Where the Town goes from here
Unlikely that there will be proactive zoning changes
Council likely to respond to specific development proposals
Airport hazard zone needs to be dealt with – or not
Unclear how traffic study requirement will be dealt with
Hinweis der Redaktion
The organizing committee had distinguished between a planning area, which would look at possible change, and an impact area that would be affectedThe final charge had 3 areas defined: an impact area, which would be affected by the plan; an area to evaluate for transportation and connection issues (blue); and a planning area, which we should evaluate for changes in use, form, and density.
Michael: Added #13
Committee has a vision for an amount of open space. Since last meeting, these #s were calculated with X green space, undeveloped acres. Will bring these specific numbersto committee at Nov. 7 meeting