Ephesus Fordham still undergoing changes and improvements

Ordinance changes to the Ephesus-Fordham district were recently proposed to help remodel the district to improve transportation and commercial use.

At a Chapel Hill Town Council work session on Feb. 8, Tony Sease, founder of Civitech and consultant to the Chapel Hill Planning Department, stressed the need to increase block length in the area. He also proposed ordinance changes to promote open space for walkability and possible residential development. 

Chapel Hill Town Council member Michael Parker said the council has been working with the town staff to ensure that they understand everything that has been suggested to them. 

“The council is looking at package form-based codes that will address block size, street frontages and a few other things,” Parker said.

Because of the unappealing look of strip malls, parking lots and traffic, the goal for the Ephesus-Fordham district is to have an enjoyable walking experience, along with bike paths and cafes, according the Town of Chapel Hill website. The upper stories of the buildings will feature residential space and offices. 

“There is a two-story building, I believe it has already been approved, where Play It Again sports will go,” Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said. 

There is a proposal for two 350-unit complexes where the Days Inn and Crown Honda-Volvo sites currently are located. 

Twenty percent, or at least 300 units, of the residential housing in Ephesus-Fordham will be allocated for affordable housing. Greenfield Place, a rental community in the district, is set to have 80 units for working families, containing one to three bedrooms. Another rental community, Greenfield Commons, will have at most 69 units for senior citizens. 

Affordable housing is a top priority for the council, which is partnering with nonprofit housing providers to create low-income housing tax credit projects. 

According to form-based code, developers must go in front of the Community Design Commission to get a certificate of appropriateness before filing an application, Hemminger said. The Community Design Commission provides standards and demands changes that will better suit the project. 

Chapel Hill Town Council member Nancy Oates said the main objective for the Ephesus-Fordham district is to be a commercial hub and the sooner the guidelines are in place, the better. 

“The idea is that this would be retail," Oates said. "Because the guidelines were not refined, we got applications for these apartments and that’s not what we had in mind. As far as the game plan for Ephesus-Fordham, we are going through the process of refining the guidelines to reshape them, so it is more encouraging for commercial developments.”

The council also plans to update the stormwater services for the Village Plaza Apartments (the first development project approved under the new development regulations) by installing a bio-retention basin for runoff from the roof and a sand filter for runoff from the parking deck.

Parker said the next round of changes will be come in front of the town council for a vote in early March.

“We will vote and see what happens,” he said.

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