Town mulls building height

Builders looking to touch the sky on select properties on the fringe of Carrboro's commercial district might have to postpone their plans for a couple of months.

Tonight, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen will hold a public hearing to consider a moratorium on permits for new buildings of more than two stories on 25 properties. The properties are zoned for commercial use but situated near single-family residential neighborhoods.

"I think there's a general concern that very tall buildings located adjacent to or across from a historic neighborhood would be out of scale," said local resident Blan Holman. Holman is a member of a subcommittee charged with working out the details of a plan that would create a buffer zone separating any future five-story buildings from residential neighborhoods.

Tall buildings in Carrboro's commercial district became an issue in April 2003, when the board passed an ordinance upping the maximum height for buildings from three stories to five. The moratorium will prevent developers from submitting applications to construct buildings taller than two stories for 60 days.

Alderman Jacquelyn Gist said it also will allow time for the buffer zone committee to complete its work and give the aldermen time to deal with its recommendation.

Subcommittee member James Carnahan expected the group to finish its work quickly.

"It certainly is our intention to be done with this shortly," he said.

Roy Williford, Carrboro planning director, noted that the aldermen can declare another moratorium if the necessary work is not completed in two months. But he remained optimistic.

"I'm hoping the committee can finish up its work very shortly," he said.

Options under consideration include limiting the heights of new buildings and requiring commercial buildings to be set back as far from the road as from the neighborhoods they face, Holman said.

Gist said that while there would probably be public comment on the moratorium at tonight's meeting, she did not expect it to draw a packed house.

"I think there will be a good discussion. I expect several people," she said, adding that she voted against the original five-story ordinance and that she still thinks the proposal is not appropriate for Carrboro.

"I'm not against redevelopment, but I think three stories is plenty."

She also said tall buildings sprouting near the edges of downtown would pose a threat to residential neighborhoods: "It looks ugly. It can turn neighborhood streets into alleys."

Carnahan said that intensity of usage can increase things like traffic, parking, waste disposal and delivery trucks, and that sunlight can be cut off.

"I think it's a reasonable thing to do given that the town is looking at ways to lessen the problems of having tall buildings next to neighborhoods," Holman said of the moratorium.

Holman also emphasized that relatively few properties would be affected. "This is a small subset of the property that is now able to go to five stories."

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