Locals eye new projects closely

Few things have, or will, continue to have as big an impact on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area as University development.

“Growth and development has been the driving force in Chapel Hill. That’s going to continue to be the major issue around which all other issues revolve,” said Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy on Saturday.

Indeed, from the chiller plant slowly rising above the Gimghoul neighborhood to the Horace Williams Airport, the future site of Carolina North, the growth of the town’s biggest organization rarely advances without controversy.

“When you think about the close proximity and passionate interests of neighbors on campus, there is likely to be a little bit of disagreement or friction,” said Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for planning and construction.

Runberg said last week that university representatives were taken mostly unawares by the loud resistance they received from local residents regarding the chiller plant approved for construction above Gimghoul in 2003.

Since then, he said, officials have been trying to talk to and respect the wishes of residents along the perimeter of the academic island as the University progresses with projects like student family housing on Mason Farm Road and Carolina North.

Mason Farm Road resident Diana Steele, who has been outspoken about the impact the University family housing has had on her neighborhood, said University officials have become better at accommodating neighborhood concerns over time.

“When they first published the Master Plan, there was no recognition that there were human beings living in some of the areas where they intended to build,” she said.

She said the University created a better-than-anticipated integration between student housing and the Mason Farm neighborhood by leaving untouched some houses on the north side of the road — as was requested. Officials also gave residents a personal tour of the new buildings earlier this month.

Now UNC, quickly running out of space on main campus, will look to expand mainly on the Carolina North satellite campus at the Horace Williams Tract.

In a further effort to assuage local concerns, University officials took a group of influential off-campus politicos on a tour of newly renovated campus facilities last week. The tour featured candidates and elected officials from area governments.

The message from school to town was clear: We come in peace, mean you no harm and want no resistance.

“If you like what you’ve seen here, if you think we’re doing a good job (with the eco-friendliness of the buildings and the green spaces), that’s exactly what we have in mind for Carolina North,” said Chancellor James Moeser.

“We want to give you a sense of pride in what your university is doing. We hope you share our pride in what we’re doing.”

Foy said he was impressed with what he had seen on main campus.

“The town’s interest in the main campus development has been focused on transportation and the environment and from those two points of view I think the University is doing a good job,” he said.

Concerns with main campus growth have largely been addressed through the Office/Institutional-4 zoning district, which allows faster approval of University development. Created in 2001, OI-4 was amended in June to allow for additional town review of university projects.

Town and university officials also tentatively agreed in the spring that a new zoning district, and not OI-4, would be used at Carolina North.

Foy acknowledged the possibility for discord over Carolina North.

“It really depends on how that proposal for Carolina North evolves. I think that the University understands that it’s important to inform neighbors about your goals and listen to their concerns and make the adjustments that can be made,” he said.

For now, Foy said, the town is waiting to see what the University will do at Carolina North.

“I think that it’s true that the University intends to proceed differently in the future with projects that have an impact on the neighborhoods, but we really need to wait to see how that plays out.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.