Town mulls rezoning airport tract

While UNC has not made a formal change to its plans for a future satellite campus since last spring, the Chapel Hill Town Council continues to prepare for the undertaking.

Much of the debate among council members at the portion of Monday’s council meeting devoted to Carolina North was whether the town should rezone the portion of the Horace Williams property within the town of Chapel Hill to make the tract Office/Institutional-2.

Council member Edith Wiggins said the town shouldn’t act without first hearing from the University.

“Until they deny an invitation to sit down and work with us, I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” she said. “What would that mean for long-term relations with the University?”

But Mayor Kevin Foy stressed that it would be beneficial for the town to rezone the entire tract to OI-2.

“It gives uniformity to the parcels there, and it gives assurance to neighbors that nothing can happen without their involvement,” he said.

The property now falls under three different zoning districts: Residential-2, OI-2 and Office/Institutional-3.

Rezoning the entire property to OI-2 would allow more development in the areas now zoned R-2, but less development in areas now zoned OI-3.

Rezoning to OI-2 would also give the council more control of OI-2-zoned property, which requires council approval of development plans. OI-3-zoned property requires only planning board approval.

The council first considered rezoning the property at its Oct. 11 business meeting.

Four days later, Chancellor James Moeser wrote a letter to Foy objecting “in the strongest possible terms” to the rezoning.

“For the record, the University has not submitted a request for rezoning,” Moeser stated in the letter. “When it does, we expect to consult with the town to identify appropriate ways to proceed with any rezoning consideration.”

The zoning issue will be reconsidered during a March 21 public hearing.

There was also debate among council members as to the best way to maximize open space and land conservation at Carolina North.

The “Principles, Goals and Strategies for Guiding the Development of the Horace Williams Property” report, written by the Horace Williams Citizens Committee and accepted by the council last March, has “a goal of preserving 75 percent of the Horace Williams property.”

Council member Jim Ward questioned the goal, saying the council might be asking too much.

But Foy said he believed the council should reiterate its ultimate goals, which could still be negotiated. “I just think we need to set out what it is that we want.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.