A 'temporary' change

After months of escalated tensions between the Chapel Hill Town Council and the University, there might be light at the end of the tunnel.

The council unanimously approved a reworked resolution Monday night establishing any rezoning on the Horace Williams tract as a “reasonable temporary measure” in preparation for the development of UNC’s satellite campus, Carolina North.

It also affirms a “willingness to work cooperatively with the University.”

Mayor Kevin Foy submitted the proposal before the council approved a controversial plan that will rezone the central portion of the Horace Williams tract to Office/Institutional-2, a more restrictive district than the current Office/Institutional-3.

Supporters of the rezoning point out that OI-2 will allow the council to have a say in all development plans, whereas OI-3 just requires planning board approval.

Foy said it is important to move quickly on any rezoning and to reaffirm a friendly relationship with University officials, who had registered strong objection to the action, as the two prepare to collaborate to plan for Carolina North.

“We are in a good position to move forward with the University,” he said. “This is just a holding zone. We want to work with them on a permanent zone. It’s going to be a long process to figure out what is going to be the right zone.”

Foy said the proposal was a direct response to a letter from Chancellor James Moeser dated April 21 that indicated the possibility of compromise about the zoning question.

Moeser said the University might withdraw its protest petition under three conditions:

- that the council rezone the entire tract to OI-2, as recommended in the Horace Williams Citizens’ Committee report;

- that the council establish the zoning temporarily until the University is prepared to start development of Carolina North; and

- that the council agree to work cooperatively with UNC to develop a new zone for the entire tract.

Mayor Pro Tem Edith Wiggins said she believed the council’s actions Monday represented the compromise UNC officials sought.

“I’ve had a feeling all along … (UNC’s) protest petition was to say, ‘Hey, we exist. It’s our property,’” she said. “I think they fundamentally understood what needed to happen.”

There has been much debate in recent months about whether to rezone the 454 acres in question — 168 are now zoned as Residential-2 and 286 as OI-3 — to the more restrictive OI-2.

Council members’ vote rezones the OI-3 parcel of the tract but will retain the R-2-zoned land.

Many residents supported rezoning the OI-3 portion so as to give the council greater control over development decisions but said the R-2 designation should stay because its standards are even more strict than those in OI-2.

Michael Collins, spokesman for Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth, supported the vote as it passed, saying R-2 offers better protection for neighborhoods.

“It is just good common sense to propose zoning that protects the surrounding neighborhoods,” he said.

Council member Cam Hill said that he is glad the debate is over, though he believes the conflict had been exaggerated by the University.

“This was made a bigger deal than I think it had to be,” he said. “(The University) knew what was happening. This was not a quick end-run. This is something that everybody knew about.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.