On Jan. 28, the council approved a resolution halting area development until officials create a new development ordinance that will provide building regulations. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Chapel Hill Town Hall.
Certain projects, including the Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center, which is owned and operated by the Kenan-Flagler Business School, have been allowed to have their plans reviewed by the council for approval despite the virtual moratorium on development.
The center, which hosts business school functions, is located in Meadowmont, a mixed-use community located off N.C. 54.
But Town Council member Edith Wiggins said it is the council's wish to hold new developments until the new ordinances are finalized. "If you believe that these projects should be built under new ordinances of development, we should get them to conform to them," she said.
Bruce Runberg, UNC's associate vice chancellor for facilities planning, who is managing the Rizzo Conference Center's request to proceed with two additions, hopes the board will grant a special permit to build. "We originally approved years back for the basic project and then for these additions," Runberg said.
In addition to special-permit hearings, the council is expected to discuss budget cuts after Gov. Mike Easley withheld more than $1 million in funds last week. Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy said the council must find ways to eliminate $1.04 million dollars in services to avoid running a deficit, which by law the town is not allowed to do.
Council member Mark Kleinschmidt said the town's budget is in a precarious situation. "It's the worst-case scenario, and it's affecting our budget planning because we're going to be focusing on the immediate problem," he said.
The crisis has council members weighing the option of raising taxes for the next fiscal year. "It is interesting that the mayor has already told us that we'd have to raise taxes to provide the same level of services for next year," Kleinschmidt said. "It may be such that it needs to happen."
Council member Flicka Bateman said she is pessimistic that the town will be able to continue providing the same services, given the budget. "I think at this point, something is certainly going to give."
