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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-21-2013 - 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HILLSBOROUGH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS JOINT MEETING AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date:February 21, 2013 SUBJECT: Joint Meeting Discussion Items DEPARTMENT:PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N)No County Manager/Town Manager/Town Planning/County Planning/County Asset ManagementServices/County Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation ATTACHMENT(S):INFORMATION CONTACT: As noted in “Background” sectionFrank Clifton, 245-2300; Eric Peterson, 732-1270;Margaret Hauth, 732-1270;Bob Hornik, 732-1270; Craig Benedict, 245- 2592;Tom Altieri, 245-2579; Abigaile Pittman, 245-2575; Jeff Thompson, 245- 2650; David Stancil, 245-2510;Greg Wilder, 245-2300 PURPOSE: To discuss topics of mutual interest between the governing boards of Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough. BACKGROUND: 1.Coordinated Planning Efforts This subject areaprovides the opportunity for the two governing boards to discussthe following items: a) Update on Town of Hillsborough Future Land Use Plan The updated Hillsborough Future Land Use Plan (available from the Town’s planning department website http://www.ci.hillsborough.nc.us/content/future-land- use-plan-revisionupdate) is nearing completion. A draft plan is scheduled for Town Board action on March 11. The plan shows future land uses for the areas currently in the Town’s city limits and extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) as well as Urbanizing Areas covered by the Interlocal Land Management Agreement Central Orange Coordinated Area (December 2009). Adoption of this plan and notification to theCounty of the Town’sinterest in amending ETJ boundaries are the next steps as outlined intheAgreement.Hillsborough received comments from Orange County during the October Public Hearing and included many of those requests in the recommended plan. Two important changes in this updated Future Land Use Plan (FLUP) are that specific zoning districts are now attached to each land use designation to clarify when the Plan will have to be amended as part of a zoning request and there are more use designations, so the revised plan is more specific than the previous document. Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. No Attachments b)Central Orange Coordinated Area (COCA) Land Use Plan The intent of the coordinated planning areas defined in the Interlocal Land Management Agreement COCA is to provide clear and consistent guidance for land use/zoning decisions, coordinated growth patterns, and a distinction between areas that are to have urban characteristics from those that are to remainrural. In general and consistent with the Agreement, the plan is to be completed and adopted first by Hillsborough, “inviting comments from the BOCC”. Following Town adoptionof its FLUP (Agenda Item 1a), the BOCC is to consider endorsing the plan, adding land use designations for the Notification Area (area shown in white on Attachment 1B)or arranging for negotiation and agreement on any changes followed by joint approval. The Town is prepared to participate in the process according to the County’s timeline, which the BOCC will consider late- March or early-April. Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. Attachment 1B – Map from the Hillsborough-Orange Interlocal LandManagement Agreement COCA. c)Safe Routes to Schools (STST) Action Plan Update Orange County received a Safe Routes to School (SRST) Action Plan Service Award in July 2008 for planning assistance to prepare an Action Plan for Grady A. Brown Elementary School, Cameron Park Elementary School and C.W. Stanford Middle School. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), in 2009, contracted Greenways, Incorporated and Greene Transportation Solutions to work with County staff, local agency representatives, School Team leaders and principals of the three schools to identify non-motorized infrastructure improvements that enhance safetyfor walking and bicycling. A draft Plan was completed, reviewed locally, and comments submitted to Greenways, Incorporated for inclusion in the final draft. The draft Plan was reviewed by the NCDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Division and a final draft was completed and returned to the Planning Staff in December 2012. Staff has been reviewing the final draft and developing recommended steps and calendar for initial implementation actions. Orange County Schools, the Town of Hillsborough, and Orange County will be asked to adopt the Plan. NCDOT recommends that the County serve as the Lead Planning Agency, but the details of this responsibility will need to be worked out between Orange County and the Schools as an initial step in advancing the SRTS program. The Town has little direct involvement in this project. The plan recommendations involve sidewalk construction outside the city limits and programming at school sites. The adopted plan will enhance opportunities for Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough for obtaining Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grants to implement the Action Plan. There were some revisions to federal and state funding sources in December 2012 that will impact the SRTS program but the specificsremain unknown. Additional details regarding project funding are forthcoming from NCDOT staff. A copy of the Draft SRTS Action Plan is available at: http://orangecountync.gov/planning/documents/CompleteFinalDraftSRTS.pdf More information on this program is available at: http://www.ncdot.gov/programs/safety/ Staff will provide an update and any other information at the meeting, and the Board can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. No Attachments d)North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Rail Crossings Plans in and near Hillsborough The Planning and Inspections Department received a solicitation for comments from the NCDOT in September 2012 with regard to proposed private crossing closures with the North Carolina (NCRR)/Norfolk Southern (NS) Railway crossings at Gordon Thomas Drive, Greenbriar Drive, and Byrdsville Road in Orange County. This railroad track is part of the SE High Speed Rail corridor, which when complete, will provide high speed passenger rail service between Washington, DC and Charlotte, NC. NCDOT requested that the County provide scoping comments to be used in the preparation of a proposed Environmental Assessment (EA). Initial comments were sent to the NCDOT Rail Division in November 2012, and a response letter was received in December 2012. Citizens Informational Workshops were held by the NCDOT Rail Division in January for all three proposed private railroad crossing closures, and a summary of public comments is available. The BOCC will be discussing additional comments at its meeting on th February 19. On a parallel track with the proposed private crossing closure meetings in the County’s jurisdiction, the Town of Hillsborough has been engaged with the State to study crossing closures in town.Both the town and NCRR requested scoping changes that have delayed this project indefinitely. The town is providing some financial support to the process at the State’s request, along with the State and NCRR. Background information about the three proposed private crossing closures can be found online at: http://orangecountync.gov/planning/transportation.asp Staff will provide an update and any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. No Attachments 2.Transit This subject area provides the opportunity for the two governing boards to discuss the following items: a)Update on Orange County Bus and Rail Investment Plan (OCBRIP) Implementation The OCBRIP was adopted by the County Commissioners in October 2012 and specifies revenues, costs, borrowing, financial assumptions (inflation, sales tax growth) and timing of new/expanded bus and rail services to 2035. Elements of the Plan most relevant to Hillsborough include: New regional bus service connecting Mebane, Hillsborough, and Durham Increased peak hour service on the 420 Route between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill Bus service hours for the Hillsborough Circulator and addition of Saturday service Park and Ride lot at Cedar Grove Park Hillsborough Amtrak Station As a corollary, the BOCC, Triangle Transit Authority, and the Durham-Chapel Hill- Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) are all parties to an operational and explanatory agreement, known as the Interlocal Implementation Agreement, which among other items provides for the creation of a Staff Working Group (SWG) to monitor plan progress. When meetings of the SWG have Hillsborough bus service as part of its agenda, Town of Hillsborough Staffwill be asked to participate. Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. More information on this program is available at: http://www.co.orange.nc.us/planning/TransitPlan_TaxRef.asp No Attachments b)Update Informationon Circulator Route: Cost per Hour, Trips per Hour, CMAQ Funding and Beyond The in-town Hillsborough Circulator route began June6, 2011 with a three year grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Program. For the first year, NCDOT waived the local match requirement of 20 percent. The Town of Hillsborough is providingthe local match of about $22,000 for the remaining years, while the County will operate the service at no additional cost to the Town. The CMAQ grant will continue until June 30, 2014. Funding from July 1, 2014 forward will need to be identified. The route serves various residential areas around Hillsboroughas well as the Library; Orange County Courthouse; Social Services Center at Hillsborough Commons Shopping Center; The Shops at Daniel Boone; UNC Family Practice; Durham Technical CommunityCollege satellite campus; Hampton Pointe and Meadowlands Business Park. High volume pick-up points includetheFairview community, Coachwood Apartments, and Gateway Apartments. Favorite stops along the routeinclude the Library, Social Services, Durham Tech Campus and Walmart. The Hillsborough Circulator route was redesigned in October 2011 based on input from users. An additional stop was added at South Nash and Calvin Streets. Staff will provide aroute map and operational statistics along with anyother information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. No Attachments 3.Implementation of Downtown Hillsborough Access Study Improvements (Crosswalks, Parking, Sidewalk Work) Hillsborough is completing design work in order to establish a firm budget for the various improvements planned before the end of 2013, depending on funding availability. The center turn land between King and Tryon Streets was implemented in January. The next round of improvements will remove some on street parking closest to the King Street Intersection and involve widening the sidewalks. The Nash & Kollock, Margaret, King, and Tryon intersections will have stamped crosswalks installed as well as new handicap ramps to make thesidewalks fully ADA compliant. A pending ADA request to install an audible crosswalk indicator at King Street is also under consideration, if funding can be identified. Mid-block crosswalks are planned for Churton north of King Street, West King Street, and West Margaret Lane. A duct bank for future utility relocations is begin considered as is a rearrangement of access and service areas in the Bank of America lot. These two items do notimmediately qualify for NCDOT funding participation andmay have to be locally funded. The final design components are to study handicap ramp improvements at Queen, Union, Orange, and Corbin Streets to allow the installation of high visibility crosswalks across Churton at these intersections. (See Attachment 3). Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. Attachment 3 – Downtown Hillsborough Maps 4.Update on Waterstone The Stratford entities, who are the current owners of the Waterstone property, have proposed a modified (reduced) version of a special assessment district to finance the cost of completing the infrastructure remaining to be built in Waterstone. The remaining infrastructure consists primarily of construction of Cates Creek Parkwayfrom the western boundary of the Waterstone land, to Old NC 86 (South Churton Street) at the existing intersection of Lafayette Drive in Cornwallis Hills, as well as completion of a community park. Included in the proposed special assessment district areproperties still owned by Stratford and located within Waterstone (so, not the Durham Tech property, or the UNC Hospital site, or the Little School). If the special assessment district is approved, then revenue bonds (estimated at about $4.6 Million) canbe issued and sold, the proceeds of which will be used to pay for the cost of the improvements and administrative costs. The current proposal is to repay the bonds over 10 years through the collection of assessments from the properties located within thespecial assessment district. A key component of the special assessment district proposal is an arrangement with the Orange County Tax Collector to administer the collection of the assessments each year. Stratford representatives have spoken with Tax Administrator Dwane Brinson about this issue. The Town understands that the County must make a policy choice about whether to administer the special assessment collection process. The Town expects that if this arrangement can be made, the Tax Collector would receive a percentage of the assessments collected each year (similar to the agreement between the Town and the County for tax collections). The Town understands that there may be some software and instruction costs at the front end of the collection/administrationprocess to set the program up, and these costs would be paid for by the District out of bond sale proceeds. If the Town Board does agree to move forward with the special assessment district as currently proposed (initial Town Board action to decide whether to move the process forward was expected on February 11, 2013), details will be finalized and approval from the Local Government Commission will be required before bonds can be sold. The Town forecasts that if the special assessment districtmoves forward, the process will take several months, with potential bond sale in late May or June 2013. Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. No Attachments 5.Update on Hillsborough Vision 2030 The Town has just begun work on a new policy plan to replace and update the Vision 2010. The Town held a “by invitation” input session involving advisory board members and representatives of local organizations to garner preliminary comments from which staff will develop a draft plan. The draft should be ready for public review in late March, with various opportunities for wide public comments to be offered and the document to be revised and updated. It is hoped that a draft document will be ready for formal public hearing and consideration during late summer. Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. No Attachments 6.Interlocal Agreement to Protect Archaeological Resources on Town and County Properties Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough follow specific land disturbance and development regulations that are intended to protect the Cultural, Archaeological, Historic, and Environmental resources within its jurisdictions and on its property. For instance, a cultural and archaeological survey (“C&A Survey”) is required by the County for any projects that fall on County property, either above ground or below. The Orange County Department ofEnvironment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation (“DEAPR”) is currently working with Town Planning Staff on identified parcels and draft definitions of the terms archeological, cultural, and environmental resources. Agreement on these two items will allow the creation of an inter-local agreement regarding how these resources will be addressed. Historic preservation values shared by both the County and town are also being discussed as inclusive in this Inter-Local Agreement.Further, the town is considering a conceptual cultural asset inventory project as part of its FY2013-14 budget deliberations. Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. No Attachments 7.Future Use of Whitted Human Services Center On November 13, 2012, the BOCC discussed re-purposing the former library space on the second floor of the Whitted Facility as a permanent meeting room with a multi-purpose capability for housing a variety of public meeting and event uses. This space would also be available for events managed by the Orange County Cultural Center (“OCCC”), as well as for town uses, County schools use, and other public purpose activities. This discussion was founded on a February 23, 2012 joint meeting between the BOCC and the Hillsborough Town Board, and is summarized in Attachment 7A, “February 6, 2012 Memo Regarding Whitted Building”, that provides background presented to the Board prior to this joint meeting. Staff presented an alternate concept of providing additional general administrative and office space as part of its annual budget process during a work session held on February 12, 2013. nd Attachment 7B, “Whitted 2Floor Conceptual Space Plans”, depictsthese possible uses presented to the BOCC. County staff members have collaborated with Town staff on zoning and parking topics and look forward to working together on this project in its final form should the BOCC elect to move forward. Town staff has indicated that the proposes uses have adequate parking once the County provide code compliant asphalt paved lot in place of the existing gravel lots south and east of the facility as well as construct 25 additional spaces on the southeast corner of Tryon and Hassell Streets. Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. Attachment 7A – February 6, 2012 Memo Regarding Whitted Building nd Attachment 7B – Whitted 2Floor Conceptual Space Plans 8.INFORMATION ITEMS (Not for Specific Discussion) a) Attachment 8A – Memorandum on Conservation and Watershed Protection Efforts b) Attachment8B – Memorandum with Update on Extending Orange County Local Landmark Program into Hillsborough’s ETJ FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no direct financial impact associated with discussion of these topics. There are no action items requiring formal Board decisions. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Managers recommend the Boards discuss the topics listed and provide appropriate direction to the respective staffs.