Council to Decide Rules, Fate of Developments

After listening to input from the public, the council will decide Dec. 9 whether to approve the developments within the framework of current, less-stringent development standards or the proposed rules of the latest draft of the land-use management ordinance, which will regulate future development in Chapel Hill.

The council placed a moratorium on development within Chapel Hill last January. The moratorium will be in effect until the new development ordinance is passed.

The council expects to pass a final draft by January and, despite the development moratorium, has approved projects like the mixed-use development on Rosemary Street and the Larkspur subdivision.

The council also likely will decide on these special-use permits Dec. 9, before the passage of the new development ordinance.

The proposed Morgan Estates subdivision would be on Culbreth Road and include 12 residential lots for single family homes. The Avalon Park subdivision, which would be on High School Road, would include 10 residential lots.

If the subdivisions are approved before the new ordinance is enacted, they might not be subject to its regulations and instead be regulated by the town's existing development ordinance.

But if they are held to the new ordinance's standards, the two subdivisions would have trouble meeting several stipulations and developers could be forced to redesign to meet the requirements.

For example, the proposed Avalon Park subdivision includes a road and two residential lots that would encroach on the expanded resource conservation district, which prohibits development on land within 150 feet of a stream.

Council member Jim Ward said the council likely will approve the development permits with stipulations that will address the ordinance's planned regulations. "Any approval by the council would have some stipulations attached to it," he said. "We will look very closely at the rules in the land-use management ordinance."

The council could include language in the approval resolution asking for certain stormwater management techniques or a limited number of buildings and parking spots to ensure the developments meet any future ordinance standards, Ward said.

Council members Dorothy Verkerk and Mark Kleinschmidt said they agreed with Ward's assessment that the council likely would require additional stipulations that incorporate new development ordinance standards.

Council member Pat Evans said she thought the council would look to the existing development ordinance when deciding to approve the permits. "We have to base our decision not on if and when we are going to approve the (development ordinance). We should base our decision on the existing regulations."

Following input from the public at tonight's public forum, town staff will prepare a report for the council, Evans said. "It will likely factor in the implications of enacting the new (development ordinance) in January."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.