Residents toss around idea of conservation district

The third of four neighborhoods looking for status with the town of Chapel Hill as a preserved historic district voiced its concerns Thursday night to a town consultant charged with heading up the conservation district process.

Residents of the Morgan Creek-Kings Mill area spoke with former town planning director Roger Waldon, now representing Chapel Hill-based private firm Clarion Associates LLC, about issues ranging from university growth to walkability that could affect the neighborhood's personality.

"It seemed like we had a pretty good showing (despite) attendance being light at these NCD meetings," said Clarion associate Leigh Anne McDonald of the Thursday session. "These things that were mentioned are the kinds of things we can take back now and dig deeper into."

Morgan Creek-Kings Mill, along with the Greenwood, Coker Hills and Pine Knolls neighborhoods, petitioned the council in April to be considered for neighborhood conservation district status - a procedure that would see additional zoning ordinances placed so as to protect what residents deem historic aspects of their respective areas.

University Press Director Kate Torrey, a 16-year resident in the neighborhood, said impending University expansion could threaten the nature of her home.

"There's a lot of worry about the University building and developing in the area," she said. "And, of course, there's the perennial topic of traffic."

And several residents denounced the invasion of "McMansions" that they said don't contribute to the historic feel of the neighborhood.

But not everyone is pleased with the prospect of living in a conservation district.

John McPhaul presented a petition on behalf of 75 percent of the residents in his subdivision, Winter Hill, to the council Monday asking if it could be exempted from joining the rest of Morgan Creek-Kings Mill in picking up the conservation district moniker.

"One of my concerns is how permanent the NCD is," he told fellow residents Thursday. "We have to think past our lifetime. ... I don't know what the future holds. I don't see the University as a Darth Vader."

The Chapel Hill Town Council awarded the Northside neighborhood conservation district status in February 2004 after an 18-month process.

But this time, the town has instructed Waldon that the initiative needs to be cut down to six months - essentially giving Clarion an April 2006 deadline.

"There's a sense of urgency," Waldon said. "We want to do this more sooner than later, to try and have something in place."

This meeting, along with two already conducted and the Pine Knolls forum ahead, will give the firm an idea of what kinds of ordinances to draft.

Those drafts will be reviewed in a series of meetings with the neighborhoods in November.

But Waldon pointed out that drafting the ordinances for Morgan Creek-Kings Mill might be the smoothest work of the four conservation district hopefuls - with little debate, most residents were able to agree on a couple of items.

"There's a communal sense here," said resident George Entenman. "That's why I don't like rentals too much. Unless, of course, you live there for 10 years."

 

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