Council to tweak rules on duplexes

Duplexes have been a key part of Chapel Hill’s housing scene, and they have also been a disdained part.

Now the Chapel Hill Town Council is considering a tweak to the requirements for double domiciles.

The proposals in question could change the number of lots that duplexes can be built on, the way they are reviewed, and how many parking spaces they can have.

Waldon said the proposals are designed to make sure duplexes mesh well with their surroundings.

“The overriding objective is that construction of a new duplex would fit in with its neighborhood context rather than stand out and be intrusive,” he said.

Town staff has come down in favor of the parking restrictions and an extra review by the Community Design Commission but is opposed to the decrease in lot size on the grounds that it would increase too dramatically the number of lots on which duplexes are permitted.

If duplexes were permitted on lots only one-and-a-half times the size required for single houses, instead of the current two, staff found that in the Colony Woods neighborhood, the number of lots on which duplexes are allowed jumps from 13 percent to 62 percent.

Instead, the town recommends that the council ask the planning board to review the report.

“Overall, the main point of all of this is that ... most folks in this regulatory arena have come to the conclusion that we still don’t have our regulations right with regard to duplexes,” Waldon said.

The fact that different parts of the proposal have received different reviews from town staff is perhaps indicative of the sensitivity and complexity of what can seem a mundane issue.

“It’s not a black-and-white issue in terms of a right and wrong way to do it,” council member Jim Ward said.

“I think it’s a difficult issue in a growing community like Chapel Hill where we are dealing with how to grow in size without diminishing our quality of life,” he added.

Amid concerns that newer, more expensive duplexes were corrupting the characters of existing neighborhoods, a moratorium on the structures was enacted in October 2002.

“What’s being built is often 200 to 300 thousand dollars for one half of the duplex,” Ward said.

The moratorium was lifted, except in the Northside neighborhood in February 2004, and regulations, which are currently being revised, were enacted.

“It’s time to come up with language that will allow people to build duplexes that do not adversely impact the quality of life in the existing Chapel Hill community,” Ward said.

But historically, town officials say, duplexes have offered a myriad of different housing options.

Waldon pointed out that sometimes both sides are rental units, sometimes both sides are owned and sometimes an owner lives on one side and rents the other.

“This is a diverse community with diverse needs, different kinds of people different kinds of households … so it’s important that there be a lot of housing options for the community.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.