HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 199210141'
Approved: 11/2/92
MINUTES
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
JOINT PLANNING PUBLIC HEARING
OCTOBER 14, 1992
The Orange County Board of Commissioners, Chapel Hill Town Council,
Carrboro Board of Aldermen, and the Crange County Planning Board met in joint
session on October 14, 1992 at ?:30 p.m, in the Culbreth Middle School
Auditorium, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chairman Moses Carey, Jr., Commissioners
Alice Gordon, Verla Insko and Don Willhait.
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioner Stephen Halkiotis
CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Ken Broun, Council Members Joe
Herzenberg, Joe Capowski, Joyce Brown and Julie Andresen.
CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERMEN PRESENT: Mayor Ellie K.innaird, Aldermen ~~acqueline
Gist, and Frances Shetley.
ORANGE COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John Link, Deputy Clerk Kathy
Baker, Planner Gene Bell, and Planning Director Marvin Collins.
COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill
ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD PRESENT: Chair Carol Cantrell, and members Jim
Gray, Setty Eidenier and Joan Jobsis.
WELCOME
Chairman Carey welcomed the citizens in the audience and requested that
they sign up if they want to speak.
A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner
Insko, to appoint Deputy Clerk Kathy Baker as the Acting Clerk far this
meeting.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
This item was presented by Roger Walden, Planning Director far the Town
of Chapel Hill, to receive citizen comment on a proposal to amend the Joint
Planning Area Land Use Plan in order to incorporate the Southern Small Area
Plan adopted by the Town Council an June 23, 1992. Mr. Walden stated that the
Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and Orange County have established a Joint
Planning Area which established Urban Service Boundaries. The Towns exercise
jurisdiction within the boundaries and the county is responsibile for the area
outside of the boundaries. The plan that Chapel Hill adopted in the mid
1980's was found to need more specifics for newly developing areas.
Therefore, the Council asked the Planning Board and staff to develop Small
Area Plans. The Small Area Plan for the Southern Area is now being presented.
The foundation of this plan is the urban village concept.
Gene Bell, Planner for the Orange County Planning Department also
presented information related to this plan. Ne stated that in October, 1990
the Chapel Hill Town Council appointed a Small Area Plan Work Group to develop
a recommended long-range plan for the Southern Area. This area is located
generally south of Morgan Creek and includes land on both sides of U.S. 15-501
South to the Chatham County line. To the east, the boundary is a natural
ridge line. To the west, the boundary is 250 feet east of Smith Level Road.
The majority of the southern area is located within Chapel Hill's
extraterritorial planning jurisdiction (ETJ). However, an area of
approximately 205 acres bounded generally by U.S. 15-501 to the west, the ETJ
line to the north, Old Lystra Road to the east, and the Chatham Count;y line to
the south is in the JPA.
This area is currently designated as Chapel Hill Suburban Residential
Transition in the JPA Land Use Plan. The Plan describes such areas as
follows:
Suburban Residential Areas are designated for housing densitie;> from one
(1) to five (5) dwelling units per acre. Such areas are located where
land is changing from rural to urban, suitable for urban densities, and
to be provided with public utilities and services. Housing types range
from single-family homes to duplexes to multi-family dwellings.
In general, the Southern Small Area Plan concentrates development in
areas of environmental suitability nearest the existing town limits. Density
is lower in areas of environmental constraints and in areas farthest from
being served by public facilities. Residential densities for the Southern
Area range from four houses per acre to one house per five acres. The area
contained in the JPA is shown as having a future residential density of one
unit per acre for areas off 15-501 and one unit per five acres far areas off
Old Lystra Road. Thus, substantially lower densities are proposed fcr the
area than were originally envisioned in the JPA Land Use Plan.
The Southern Small Area Plan attempts to balance preservation and
development objectives. Preservation objectives include protection of
environmentally sensitive areas, natural beauty, area character, and existing
neighborhoods. Development objectives focus on providing a range of housing,
limiting increases in traffic, providing appropriate community facilities and
emphasizing alternatives to the automobile.
The Plan does not include the Laurel Hill Parkway. Instead, a network
of existing and potential local roads would be interconnected. The local
roads are intended to help people move around the area without creating major
arterial roads. The Plan emphasizes development of a transportation network
that includes all forms of transportation, and de-emphasizes the automobile.
A network of bikepaths, sidewalks, and greenways is suggested.
THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPEN FOR QUESTIONS AND/OR COMENTS FROM ELECTED
OFFICIALS OR PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS
Commissioner Garden requested that the wording be changed so that it was
clear which parcel of land was being described as West of Old Lystra Road.
Council Member Capowski asked how the portion of this land to -the west
which is currently existing commerical development will be effected. The
Planning Departments will determine exactly how they will be impacted by this
Small Area Plan.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS - None.
A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner
Willhoit, to refer this item to the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro for a
decision and to the Orange County Planning Board for a recommendation to be
returned to the County Commissioners at their second regular meeting in
December.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned. The next
meeting of the Board of County Commissioners will be held on Tuesday, October
20, 1992 at 7:30 p.m. in the OWASA Community Meeting Room, Carrboro, North
Carolina.
Moses Carey, Jr., Chair
Kathy Baker, Acting Clerk
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