CENTRAL WEST FOCUS AREA PLANNING

January 9, 2014

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

CWFA Planning and Impact Areas

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

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

Overview of Recommendations

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

Planning Area Totals

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

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