Chapel Hill plans for improvements downtown

Chapel Hill has made a plan to change business and development downtown, with goals from increased parking and green space to improved lighting and safety.

The Development Framework and Action Plan is intended to provide the town with a direction for planning and development for the next five to 10 years and will incorporate revised elements of a similar plan developed in 2000.

“The themes of the project are to keep downtown Chapel Hill compact, improve connections from downtown to the University and adjacent neighborhoods, to develop parking facilities and to create new green public spaces that are financially and environmentally sustainable,” said project director Dan Douglas.

The cost of the studies being done to develop this framework is estimated to be approximately $70,000 and will be funded by the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership and the town of Chapel Hill.

Downtown Partnership Director Jim Norton said the plan is a joint venture, where the town is paying $50,000, and the Partnership is paying $20,000.

KlingStubbins, a Philadelphia-based architecture company with a Raleigh office, was selected by the Downtown Partnership and Town Council in February to develop the plan.

“We try to incorporate and address as many concerns as possible. Some we can address with planning, but others are policy decisions that the town … would have to address at that level,” said Michael Stevenson, design principal of the project for KlingStubbins and a former UNC student.

Douglas said there has been an incredibly positive response from all levels of the town, including the Town Council, the University community and the general public.

Douglas expects that some concerns will inevitably be raised.

“You have to find a balance between needs of broader community and needs of individuals,” he said.

Stevenson said he hopes the plan will improve downtown issues including walkability, panhandling and downtown shopping.

Another major goal of KlingStubbins plan is to coordinate with other development projects.

“Clearly these planning efforts have to move forward in concert with projects like 140 West and the University Square development,” Stevenson said.

The Town Council met Wednesday night, soliciting resident input on these and other questions of downtown development.

The next step of the process will be for KlingStubbins to make adjustments for its final draft that will be submitted to the Downtown Partnership and Town Council.

Chapel Hill Economic Develop-ment Officer Dwight Bassett said he expects the next draft by late August or early September, with the final draft hopefully coming by October.

“I’ve worked for a lot of municipalities and government agencies, and I have been impressed by the general sense of communication,” Stevenson said.

Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt is optimistic for the plan and was looking forward to hearing more of the community’s response.

“We want to make downtown a 365-days-a-year kind of place, not just a school-year kind of place,” he said.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.