Plans for development and parking heard at Chapel Hill Town Council meeting

Correction: An earlier version of this stories misstated the name of the Chapel Hill mayor. The mayor's is Pam Hemminger. An earlier version of the story also misrepresented the status of the plan for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools maintenance building. The council gave recommendations to the developer. The article has been updated to reflect these changes. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the errors.

The Chapel Hill Town Council discussed new downtown parking structures and three concept plans for new developments at a public hearing on Monday. 

Town Manager Roger Stancil told the council about new parking facilities to ease traffic congestion downtown after further evaluation was called for at the June 27 council meeting.

Six options were proposed, including parking decks and surface parking lots. 

After evaluating cost per space, land availability and the number of proposed parking spaces, Stancil recommended creating a surface parking lot behind Courtyard Lofts or a parking deck on Lot 2, at the corner of Rosemary and Colombia streets.

Council members opposed the development of a parking deck on Lot 2, as they hoped to use the site for commercial development in the future.

“Basically none of these options seem terribly exciting, and at this moment, worthy of future consideration at this moment,” Council Member Donna Bell said. “A larger conversation needs to be had about what is our prioritization now about parking and the best options that we are really interested in doing.”

Ben Hitchings, director of planning and development services for Chapel Hill, brought the council three concept plans for review.

The first plan involved expanding the Signature Health Care of Chapel Hill Residential Support Facility on East Franklin Street. 

Dave Ballentine, a designer for Ballentine Associates, said the expansion would include adding more single rooms to the facility, increasing space for therapy and adding a covered drop-off area at the entrance.

“It’s not a redevelopment project, but looking to update the building based on evolving needs,” Ballentine said.

The addition would be built on a portion of the existing parking lot. Council members expressed a desire to see the inclusion of outdoor space for residents where they could watch and interact with movement of Franklin Street.

The concept plan for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools maintenance building near Chapel Hill High School was recommended. The plan includes a 23,000 square foot covered storage area, a loading dock and a parking lot. The plan addresses concerns regarding storm water runoff and includes on-site storm water treatment. 

The proposed concept plan for American Legion Post 6 Mixed Use Development attracted intense debate.

The plan, proposed by Woodfield Investments, outlined two options for the property, both of which would include 300 to 400 multi-family apartment units, potential office or retail space, a civic or recreational facility and the development of parks on the site.

Scott Underwood, the developer for Woodfield Investments, said the proposed apartments would appeal to millennials, working professionals and baby boomers alike.

Approximately 15 members of the community spoke for and against the project. 

Heavy traffic on Legion, Ephesus Church and Fordham roads were primary concerns, especially due to the project's proximity to Ephesus Elementary School. Flooding, commercialization and zoning issues led to additional complaints.

The American Legion offered to sell the property to the City of Chapel Hill for $9 million. The city has 30 days to accept the offer, but Council Member Maria Palmer said the city does not have the funds to do so.

The council agreed they could not support the project as it currently stands. Council Member Jessica Anderson said she saw the need for the area to be developed, but did not think this was the right way.

“I understand that this has become a messy, confusing process for everybody,” Anderson said. “I don’t think there are ill intentions on either side, but I really don’t think apartments are the right thing, in my opinion, for this space, given what is going on around it.”

Mayor Pam Hemminger agreed the plan needs further development before it could be approved. 

“I think the plan has progressed, but I think it has a long way to go before I could move this along,” Hemminger said.

Notable: A proclamation was made naming September 2016 as Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) Disease Awareness Month. CMT is an inherited disorder that affects the peripheral nerves.

Quoteable: “I wholeheartedly support wanting to expand the surface parking behind the Courtyard for many reasons. As well as parking we also have some safety concerns back there,” Hemminger said when discussing the proposed parking lot options. 

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