Town, ex-planner launch into talks

A series of meetings with residents of Chapel Hill neighborhoods trying to preserve their character is giving town planners a plethora of ideas, project leaders say.

Former Planning Director Roger Waldon, now a private consultant for the initiative, told the town's planning board at its meeting that the first discussion, held Sunday, was a success.

"I'm very pleased about the progress we're making," he said. "I think the issues are coming out pretty good."

Residents of the Coker Hills neighborhood met with Waldon on Sunday to discuss the possibility of turning their area into a neighborhood conservation district.

Setting up a district theoretically will help preserve historic elements of applicant neighborhoods by establishing specific zoning standards.

Four applicants petitioned the Chapel Hill Town Council last year for the status; the three remaining neighborhoods are slated to have meetings with Waldon this month.

"We want to get people talking about their neighborhoods - what they like, what they don't like," Waldon said.

The town first dished out the district status to the Northside neighborhood in February 2004.

But the Chapel Hill Town Council told Waldon that the motions for the Northside adoption - an 18-month process - must be cut down to six months for the four current applicants.

Waldon has set up meetings with all four neighborhoods applying for the status in November and next February as well.

The Coker Hills meeting, Waldon said, provided new information to both him and the residents. "One of the things that was a new issue for me was when one resident liked the way there were no fences (in Coker Hills)," he said. "It has a seamless look."

Planning board member Margaret Campion said she was pleased with the amount of response at the Coker Hills discussion.

"Twenty people showed up, which I thought was a fairly good turnout for Sunday afternoon," she said. "It's interesting for me to see where everyone's likes and dislikes conflict."

Board chairwoman Ruby Sinreich said keeping track of individual resident involvement at the meetings could help to make clear the general opinions of each neighborhood. "It would be good to know the continuity of the discussions," she said.

The board pushed the idea of residents using cameras to take pictures of things they liked and disapproved of within their neighborhoods - a helpful tool in shaping the Northside regulations, Waldon said.

The Greenwood neighborhood has scheduled a meeting from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today with Waldon at Town Hall. Residents of the Kings Mill/Morgan Creek area will meet with him Sept. 29 at the N.C. Botanical Gardens Totten Center.

 

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