11 Acres Hold Up Tract Decision

The Greene Tract, which is jointly owned by the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, is located north of Homestead Road near the Orange County Regional Landfill.

For almost a year, the Greene Tract Committee -- which is made up of two members each from the Chapel Hill Town Council, Carrboro Board of Aldermen and the Orange County Board of Commissioners -- has worked to zone the land. The committee's existing deadline is Wednesday.

But the aldermen and the commissioners already have approved the extension and are awaiting the Town Council's endorsement.

The Town Council is expected to allocate more time to the committee at its April 22 meeting.

"We hoped that the three governing bodies could come to a resolution by now, but the Greene Tract Committee has asked to be given another 60 days to decide," said Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy, one of the Chapel Hill representatives.

The three boards involved voted in late November and early December to narrow the possible uses of the 109-acre tract to affordable housing and recreational purposes.

Foy said the committee has tentatively decided that at least 15 acres will be dedicated to affordable housing and about 75 will be preserved, but the debate continues over the use of the remaining 11 acres.

"We are pretty much agreed upon everything except for those 11 acres," Foy said.

Foy said the committee is debating whether the land should be used for affordable housing, recreation or be left untouched.

But should the committee disagree on what to do with the remaining 11 acres, its tentative decisions could be reversed.

"If we don't all agree, I don't know if the rest of this will mean anything," Foy said. "I think it might be all or nothing."

In 1986, the Greene Tract was designated as a potential landfill, according to town records.

But in April 2001, the Town Council opened up discussion about other uses for the tract.

Commissioner Moses Carey, chairman of the Greene Tract Committee, said other factors played a role in the committee not meeting its April 17 deadline.

"We were unable to complete the work by the deadline and needed more time to reach an agreement," he said.

"We also need to conduct a survey of the property and the land around it to see where we might run a sewer line."

Carey, who refused to comment on how he would like to see the remaining land used, said he sees the debate resting on whether to add more affordable housing or use the 11 acres for recreational uses, not open space.

"We know what the three basic land uses are and are just deciding how much land should be devoted to each one."

The City Editor can be reached

at citydesk@unc.edu.