After a nearly three-hour work session on the Glen Lennox development, the Chapel Hill Town Council has more questions than answers.
The town of Chapel Hill is in an ongoing agreement negotiation with developers of the proposed Glen Lennox development, a multi-use development planned for a 70-acre plot at the intersection of N.C. Highway 54 and U.S. Highway 15-501.
Grubb Properties, the developers, worked with the town’s technical team and other town staff on a draft plan for the development. There have already been public input meetings about the development.
A work session on Wednesday marked the beginning of the agreement negotiation phase of the development plan.
There are four portions of the draft that are to be determined by the negotiation between the developers and the town. Two of them, transportation and fiscal concerns, were addressed at Wednesday night’s meeting.
Mac McCarley, legal expert for the technical team, said the representatives of Grubb Properties want to make sure the concerns of both parties are addressed before committing to a plan.
“They’re unwilling to make negotiations that will cost them money until all of these topics are addressed,” he said.
The traffic around the development area is predicted to triple within the next 20 years, raising concerns about if there is enough infrastructure in the area to support increased traffic flow.
One solution offered by the developers is the addition of another route from U.S. Highway 15-501 to Glen Lennox, tentatively called Muirhead Lane.
Only half of the road is proposed to have bicycle lanes, which the council disagreed with, saying that the whole road should be equipped for bicyclists.
The council also proposed adding more bike lanes, including one near N.C. Highway 54.
But council members said some bike lanes the developers proposed were unnecessary.
“I don’t think putting a separate facility on Hayes is necessary,” said council member Ed Harrison, referring to a bike lane planned for Hayes Road.
However, both council members and the developers agreed that the development should be accessible by bike and that potential residents can use bikes as transportation to the rest of the town.
“Bikes should be an important part in any sustainable community,” said Doug Rigler, who works with the developers. “What we’re doing is providing choices.”
Notable
If the development moves forward, Chapel Hill could gain about $2 million in tax revenues. Orange County could gain about $3 million. And Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools’ revenue could increase by nearly $1 million.
The technical team presented multiple studies that concluded the profitability of taxing commercial property, including apartments and other multi-family buildings, is greater than taxing residential property, single family homes.
Some council members questioned the validity of the studies.
Another three-hour work session will be held on the topic, but the date remains to be determined.
Quoted
“I’m disappointed in the presentation of this development,” council member Jim Ward said. Ward said the page numbers of the draft plan differed from its index and the quality of the maps was dubious.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
