In 1997, UNC hired a consultant to develop a new Master Plan for central campus. Now that the bond funds are available, the UNC Board of Trustees wants to vote on the Master Plan next month before key issues have been worked out with the town and the surrounding community. The town of Chapel Hill has regulatory responsibility for the campus expansion because the proposed plan exceeds the current zoning by 4 million square feet, therefore a zoning change will be necessary.
Neither the UNC community, Chapel Hill nor the surrounding communities have been privy to the impacts and details of this proposed plan. What all of us need to do is to understand how this proposed expansion will affect the special character and charm of the UNC campus, this still-small city of 45,000 people and the wider community.
Does it make sense for the BOT to vote now on a little-understood plan that will cause wide-ranging changes to the campus and community? You decide. Please take five minutes to read this and find out what this proposed plan could mean to you, your University and the surrounding community.
New construction: Faculty, students and residents might not be aware that much of the newly approved bond money will be spent for new construction, in addition to the much-needed renovation of older campus buildings. The proposed UNC Master Plan would add an estimated 5 million square feet of structures (equal to 12 University Malls) to an existing 14 million square feet of campus buildings and could add about 15,000 new employees to 37,000 current ones commuting to and from campus.
Health affairs: Most of the construction adds to the crowded mix of research towers and mismatched structures in the southern part of campus and the health affairs complex. The majority of the new buildings and employees will not serve the estimated 3,000 to 4,000 additional students due to arrive over the next five years. New research towers would bring research scientists and many more employees earning lower salaries who would commute from distant counties. One of the most controversial aspects of the plan places a new road entrance and a transit corridor from U.S. 15-501 to the health affairs campus through a quiet in-town neighborhood. This road proposal violates an existing town permit. The placement of the road and the transit corridor needs to be negotiated directly with the town before the Master Plan is approved.
Transit: From the UNC planners' perspective, UNC's insistence on the unpopular location of the campus transit corridor stems from a desire to improve the congestion in the health affairs area. However, the selection of a transit corridor must be workable and be coordinated with the town and several other agencies, including the Triangle Transit Authority. UNC is aware that all parties expect results from a technical study on the transit corridor between Chapel Hill and Durham in May 2001. These results will provide valuable data on what type of transit will most effectively reduce congestion in this corridor. Voting on this plan before knowing the study results is premature.
Housing: One positive aspect of the plan proposes new housing on campus which is sorely needed. Replacement residence units will be built to accommodate displaced students while the undergraduate towers are renovated. However, about 1,700 of the new students won't have an on-campus bed and will need to seek housing in the crowded off-campus market. This lack of adequate on-campus housing continues to adversely affect some of Chapel Hill's oldest black neighborhoods, such as Northside, where real estate speculators have moved in to rent houses to students at inflated prices.
Environmental damage: No amount of beautiful renderings and assurances from consultants can substitute for agreements made with the town to protect the environment. It is vital that UNC abide by all state and town regulations to minimize the negative effects of construction on remaining green space on campus. The large size of the expansion will threaten old trees, the most attractive aspect of the campus. More serious are the long-term impacts of increased paving and traffic on congestion, air quality and flooding. These impacts cannot be managed without cooperation with the Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County. The county might soon be part of a nonattainment area for ozone, a harmful pollutant caused by vehicle emissions combining with sunlight. More paved surfaces will increase the risk of floods to downstream neighborhoods and campus areas. Stormwater rushing off the impervious surfaces of new building rooftops and parking decks carry pollutants into Jordan Lake, a regional drinking water reservoir. Agreements with the town and county on how to handle these impacts need to be in place before a plan is adopted.
Impact on the towns: If University administrators do not proceed carefully, the proposed plan could turn a university town that has carefully managed its land development since the 1950's into a town with unmanageable problems. In 1987, Orange County, Chapel Hill and Carrboro put in place a comprehensive land-use plan that established defined boundaries for the towns. Without more information from UNC, it is impossible to know if the towns can accommodate to the demands this plan would place on the community at large. UNC's growth also will impose new costs on taxpayers including the costs of school construction. Town officials have asked for detailed information about the plan so these effects can be determined. Questions about the plan need to be answered before the plan is adopted.
