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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 10-15-2002 - 5e 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: October 15, 2002 Action Agenda Item No. SUBJECT: Resolution Providing Comments Regarding Proposed Changes to the US 15-501 Fixed Guideway Corridor and Station Areas DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: 1. Resolution Karen Lincoln, ext, 2594 2. 10/8/02 Newspaper Article Maps: TELEPHONE NUMBERS: 3. US 15-501 MIS Phase II Recommended Transit Corridor Hillsborough 732-8181 4 Proposed Alternative to Adopted Alignment Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane (336)227-2031 PURPOSE: To consider a resolution providing comments to the City of Durham, Durham County and Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro (DCHC) Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) on proposed modifications to the US 15-501 Fixed Guideway Corridor and Station Areas. BACKGROUND: The City of Durham is holding a public hearing on October 21, 2002, to consider modifications to the US 15-501 Fixed Guideway Corridor and Station Areas recommended in Phase II. of the US 15-501 Major Investment Study (MIS). The City of Durham has received a development proposal to redevelop the South Square Mall site. That proposal would demolish the existing Mall and replace it with two large retail anchors at the southern end of the property (University Drive) with six outparcels along the outer edge of the property, and move the approved fixed guideway. corridor and transit station location off the site. The redevelopment proposal recommends using Shannon Road as the fixed guideway corridor and moving the transit station to the east side of Shannon Road. Phase II of the US 15-501 Major Investment Study, completed in 2001,was a cooperative effort of Chapel Hill, Durham, the Triangle Transit Authority, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University.. The Phase II Study evaluated several potential transit technologies and alignments. The DCHC TAC, on November 14, 2001, endorsed the fixed guideway alignment identified in the MIS Phase II report for inclusion in the DCHC 2025 Transportation Plan, and formally requested the City and County of Durham and the Town of Chapel Hill to initiate procedures to protect the corridor. The Durham City Council, in November 2001, endorsed the transit corridor as identified in Phase II of the US 15-501 MIS. The proposed development proposal for the South Square site appears to be inconsistent with the projected land use pattern for a fixed guideway station in this area and could result in lower ridership projections for the entire corridor. The development proposal only addresses the 2 technical feasibility of the shifted alignment, and does not address implications the shift will have on costs and potential ridership in the corridor. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no direct financial impact associated with this decision item. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Administration recommends that the Board endorse the attached resolution providing comments to the City of Durham, Durham County and the DCHC TAC regarding proposed modifications to the US 15-501 fixed guideway corridor. 3 ORANGE BOUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS A RESOLUTION PROVIDING COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY OF DURHAM, DURHAM COUNTY AND DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS TO THE ADOPTED US 15-501 FIXED GUIDEWAY CORRIDOR AND STATION AREAS WHEREAS, the Town of Chapel Hill, City of Durham, Triangle Transit Authority, North Carolina Department of Transportation, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill participated cooperatively in the development of the US 15-501 Major Investment Study; and WHEREAS, the US 15-501 Phase II Major Investment Study included a recommended fixed guideway corridor and station locations; and WHEREAS, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee has adopted the recommendations of the US 15-501 Major Investment Study; and WHEREAS, the implementation of a fixed guideway transit corridor between Durham and Chapel Hill is an important element in maintaining future mobility along the US 15-501 corridor; and WHEREAS, a development proposal has been submitted to the City of Durham and Durham County that requires modification of the adopted fixed guideway corridor and station locations; and WHEREAS, the impacts of the proposed modification on the feasibility of implementing the US 15-501 fixed guideway corridor are unknown; NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners respectfully requests and recommends to the City of Durham, Durham County and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee that: • Modifications to the adopted US 15-501 Fixed Guideway corridor and station locations, as adopted in the US 15-501 Major Investment Study, be evaluated for potential impacts on ridership, operations and financial feasibility prior to approval. • All parties that participated in the development of the US 15-501 Major Investment Study, Chapel Hill, Durham, Triangle Transit Authority, North Carolina Department of Transportation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke University, be provided an opportunity to review the analysis of proposed modifications and provide comments. _ �JQ • The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee approve any modifications to the adopted corridor and station locations. • The City of Durham and Durham County protect the fixed guideway corridor and development of station areas consistent with the adopted Plan. • The City of Durham require dedication of appropriate right of way for the fixed guideway corridor along Shannon Drive and University Drive adjacent to the South Square site if modification of the corridor is deemed feasible. Upon motion of Commissioner , seconded by Commissioner the foregoing resolution was adopted this the day of , 2002. I, Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board of Commissioners for the County of Orange, North Carolina, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true copy of so much of the proceedings of said Board at a meeting held on October 15, 2002 as relates in any way to the adoption of the foregoing and that said proceedings are recorded in the minutes of said Board. WITNESS my hand and the seal of said County, this day of , 2002. Clerk to the Board of Commissioners printer-friendly story wysiwyg://17/http://newsobserver.corn/ne...le/v-print/story/1794146p-1799351c.htm Tuesday,October 8,2002 12:OOAM EDT Lk Plans of mall, rail line clash By BARBARA BARRETT, Staff Writer In 15 years, if all goes as planned, a light rail line or busway might whisk shoppers, medical students and commuters between central Durham and Chapel Hill, past lines of cars stuck on U.S. 15-501. That's a long time away,though,for people who own property in the proposed transit corridor with its dozen or so stations. For now, planners face a tough challenge keeping the 14-mile line clean of new development. A big test comes Oct. 21, when the Durham City Council holds a public hearing related to the long-hoped-for redevelopment of Durham's deserted South Square Mall. Current maps show the transit line and a station edging one side of the mall's parking lot, but the mall's owner opposes that idea. Planners say a South Square station, with between 250 and 700 riders a day, could be the most important one on the Durham-Chapel Hill line, helping to justify the entire project's expense of up to$330 million. But South Square owner Henry Faison of Charlotte wants to raze the empty mall and build a big-box strip center with a Sam's Club and, likely, a SuperTarget. Those plans don't leave room for a transit station and corridor. The Triangle Transit Authority and transit backers see the Durham-to-Chapel Hill corridor, mostly running beside U.S. 15-501, as a critical link in a mass transit system for the region. By late 2007, the TTA plans to run commuter rail along an existing freight corridor between Raleigh and Durham.The line between Durham and Chapel Hill would come later, after transit planners decide whether to go with rail or buses. But the TTA and local governments do not own the proposed Durham-Chapel Hill corridor. Instead,they must persuade landowners to keep the path open.At the same time, they are encouraging high-density mixes of retail, residential and office development around the prospective station sites. Faison,the owner, has a different vision for South Square. His proposal would move the corridor away from South Square and have it skirt the rear of the nearby Office Depot and run down Shannon Road a few hundred feet to the east. The station would be built across Shannon Road, where several businesses are already located. Jensie Teague, Faison's senior managing director of retail, said the company spent several hundred thousand dollars on planning fees and worked hard with city officials to preserve the corridor but found it economically impossible. "The corridor, the way it goes through the property, it would be fatal,"he said. "In every way." Leaning toward mall Durham Mayor Bill Bell,who also is chairman of TTA's board of trustees, said he is inclined to vote for Faison's requested change. He pointed out that the corridor needs more study anyway. The TTA is far from determining whether it would better to link Durham and Chapel Hill by rail or busway, or whether either would be cost-effective. In fact, a recent study showed that for some sections of the route, including the area around South Square, buses in mixed traffic might be the best way to go. Some warn, however, that moving the station site and corridor away from South Square could put the entire line in danger. "I just think it sets a bad precedent for this guy to come in and say, 'I don't want it,' "said Dan Jewell, an architect and member of the local Durham Area Designers organization, which has pushed for a dense, mixed-use redevelopment of South Square Mall. Frank Duke, the city-county planning director, said there are important public policy questions to consider with the 1 of 3 10/8/2002 12:09 PM printer-friendly story wysiwyg://17/http://newsobserver.com/ne...le/v-print/story/1794146p-1799351c.htm move. �CE "If you move [the station] off the property, it's going to move onto someone else's property,"he said. "It definitely complicates things." The communities have been working closely on the transit link, and Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy said he hopes Durham leaders protect the corridor. "I think all of us in the region have an obligation to stick to the commitments we're making in regard to public transportation so the transportation infrastructure can get built." Last November,the Durham City Council approved a resolution to preserve the corridor for future transit use. Singe then,the council has persuaded other developers to take the corridor into consideration.Wesley Parham, a Durham senior transportation planner, said examples of that include rezoning requests for a townhouse project on Pickett Road and for an office site near Erwin Road and with a mixed-use development called Patterson Place, just southwest of the empty mall. But nothing in state law requires property owners to protect the corridor. In fact, the October public hearing isn't even required, said Karen Sindelar,the city attorney who handles transportation and planning issues. Although state law preserves right-of-way for highways once the proposed roads are etched into long-range plans, no statutes govern transit corridors, Sindelar said. She said local jurisdictions have to help landowners understand that;they can develop their property without'jeopardizing the corridor. "It doesn't mean that people cannot develop their property, and it doesn't mean that people have to give that land to the transit corridor,"she said. "However, it's often useful to make it easier for government to acquire it. [The corridor] doesn't act as an impediment for everybody." And in the end, she said, local governments do have the power of eminent domain. Design also an issue Some transit supporters are more worried about Faison's big-box design than his desire to shift the corridor. The swaths of asphalt that accompany strip shopping centers repel the pedestrians likely to use transit, said John Hodges-Copple, regional planning director of the Triangle J Council of Governments, an agency that helps local governments on planning issues. A transit study predicts that 9,000 to 16,000 people a day will ride the Durham-Chapel Hill line. If only a few people use the South Square station, Hodges-Copple said, "it could make the transit line ineffective." Whatever the Durham City Council decides about moving the South Square corridor, the council has less control over how Faison develops his property. Because Faison's land is already zoned for use as a shopping center, he needs only site plan approval from the council. As long as the plan meets regulations on such things as setbacks and parking, the city has little choice but to go along, said Dick Hails, Durham's assistant director of city-county planning. South Square is not the first snag along the corridor. In southwest Durham County, school leaders want to build an elementary school next to the corridor.And planners worry that the area will become dotted with houses on large lots, a style of development that would not be dense enough to draw many transit riders. Watching from the wings are other TTA board members and leaders in Chapel Hill and Orange County who depend on Durham to preserve the corridor. "From a TTA perspective, that's an important location,"said Chapel Hill Town Council member Bill Strom, also a TTA trustee. "It'd be a shame if the options and the locations that would make the Durham-Chapel Hill line a success evaporated." 2 of 3 10/8/2002 12:09 PM Exhibit ES-2 ? k us 15-501 MIS phase II Recommended -j f"" Transit Corridor Cdr LEGEND "� •^"r j{ Transit Slannn% ,-,- r ,- k •��+ �IrrlprsSl n+R At [rap ;O Rail jTT . k ;N,,v. I( Chapel Hill urham s f f�d�rC�Y 4 ! HNTB a;ri+t�3fna;eawr cam:rc+�rn?}AI yS��d C,�nia bk4Y dsFrr� V _ \ lillim ■ EXISTING OPTION PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE 9/122002 o goo oao IUS 15501 TRANSIT CORRIDOR SOUTH SQUARE AREA \Busway\option_shan c.dgn 09/12/2002 03:02:41 PM