Chapel Hill Town Council to discuss mixed-used development plan

A development proposal that could someday bring big-box retailers like Target to Chapel Hill will be back on the table tonight.

The Chapel Hill Town Council will discuss the Obey Creek mixed-use development at its Wednesday night meeting. The proposal has met concerns about traffic and environmental impact from many residents.

The development — which would be located across from Southern Community Park off U.S. 15-501 — would include 600 residential units, a 130-room hotel and retail space.

In the past month, the council has received many emails from neighbors worried about the site’s proximity to Southern Village.

Resident Rhea Colmar, who has lived in Chapel Hill since 2008, said the big-box retail outlet that the plan calls for would only make the area more prone to traffic jams.

“You think about it, it’s not just the density of the development,” she said. “But the stores like Target will draw people from all over.”

Colmar said she often takes the bus to her job at the Orange County Health Department to avoid driving on the highway.

“There’s already so much traffic there,” she said.

Colmar doesn’t think the development will be the best use of the land.

But Ben Perry, project manager for the developer, East West Partners, said the proposal was well-received by the council when it was last brought to them.

“We felt like they didn’t like everything we were proposing,” he said. “But it was mostly favorable.”

Perry said development will occur only on one side of the creek to help reduce pollution and erosion.

“By the time the construction is finished, that creek will be as clean at the end of the day as it is today,” he said.

Perry said big-box retail stores help diversify the tax base by offering more variety than other developments, like Southern Village, provide.

“We sort of went back and tried to tailor it to the 2020 plan,” he said.
He said he thinks many people are resisting the plan because Orange County does not have many large commercial stores.

“You can go five miles down the road to Wal-Mart,” he said, in reference to the Wal-Mart being built in Chatham County.

Given the economic situation, Councilman Lee Storrow said it’s in the town’s interest to be open to new development concepts.

“Many of us are willing to consider that big-box retailers could be a good thing for Chapel Hill,” he said.

Storrow, who will not be at the council’s meeting Wednesday, said after members review the concept plan, the developer will likely apply for a special-use permit.

He said it is unlikely the development will be approved before fall 2013.

“We’re asking the developer to give us a thought about what is intended for this property,” he said.

Storrow said after the council receives the plan, it will give the developer advice on what changes the council would like made.

“They can choose to take as much or as little as they want,” he said.

Contact the desk editor at
city@dailytarheel.com.