Proposed Decks May See Some Resistance

Implementation of a recent proposal by the University's Advisory Committee on Transportation might encounter problems stemming from previous agreements with the town regarding development.

If passed by the UNC Board of Trustees, the proposal will replace the Manning Drive parking deck with two others near Cobb Residence Hall and Jackson Place. The Manning deck was drafted into the Development Plan, UNC's eight-year plan for campus growth.

ACT Vice Chairman Dean Bresciani said the Manning deck wasn't a practical investment because it "would not have been popular with commuters."

He said that because parking decks cost so much to build, higher rates are charged for use. University commuters would not want to pay higher rates for a deck so far from the center of campus.

But ACT's proposal is raising some questions about whether the University is disregarding some agreements made when the plan was scrutinized by the Chapel Hill Town Council.

The Development Plan -- the first phase of the Master Plan -- was ratified by the council in October 2001. Because of several points of contention, including traffic and the impact on the surrounding community, 36 stipulations were added, aimed at minimizing the effects of campus expansion.

Any changes -- such as the replacement of the Manning deck with the two other decks -- require the University to revisit negotiations with the town and to propose amendments to the plan.

But former council member Joyce Brown, who voted against the Development Plan because of its potential impact on neighborhoods abutting the campus, said she is worried the newly proposed decks might increase the traffic coming into campus.

"I think that the spirit of what those negotiations were about, in part at least, was to limit parking on campus," Brown said. "This would go against that spirit."

Council member Dorothy Verkerk said there are other examples of UNC disregarding the negotiations -- like the University's pursuit of widening Columbia Street, another project not included in the Development Plan.

Verkerk said that since the passage of the plan, "There seemed to be some backtracking on some provisions."

But Bresciani said the replacing of the Manning Deck and the possibility of widening Columbia Street do not represent attempts to go against agreed-upon terms of development.

Because of the nature of the projects, the University has to re-examine continuously development patterns throughout the implementation process, he said. "The University is still in the discussion phase for these (parking deck) plans."

ACT's proposal must be approved by Chancellor James Moeser and UNC's vice chancellors before going to the BOT for a final vote. And University officials said the proposal could experience changes before any of its individual projects not included in the Development Plan are sent to the council.

Bresciani said the University realizes that any changes in the Development Plan, such as the one ACT is proposing, will require that amendments be negotiated and added to the original plan. "We appreciate that we need to ultimately get back to them and get their support."

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