Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger opened up Monday night’s Chapel Hill Town Council meeting by assuring the crowd that the Nov. 8 election results would not affect the values and morals of Chapel Hill or Orange County.
“We are all here to say Chapel Hill remains Chapel Hill, Orange County remains Orange County, and we will continue to stand up for what we believe in,” Hemminger said.
At the meeting, the council passed an amendment to the code of ordinances to regulate and minimize unauthorized discharge to the stormwater drainage system, because contaminated stormwater and non-stormwater discharges can deteriorate water quality.
The Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination amendment aims to regulate pollutants, prohibit unauthorized discharges and prevent unsuitable disposal of materials that end up in the stormwater drains. The amendment also gives the town's staff the legal ability to inspect, detect and monitor to make sure people follow the ordinance.
The council also discussed proposed changes to the development of the Ephesus Fordham District.
“We are attempting to balance the council’s interests in walkability and integration of more open public civic spaces,” said John Richardson, Chapel Hill’s planning manager for sustainability.
These changes include increasing the maximum block length from 400 feet to 450 feet, creating a maximum block perimeter of 1,800 feet and decreasing the minimum outdoor amenity space ratio from 20 percent of non-residential portion of a development to 5 percent of net land area of a development.
The council had several concerns with the plan, including a need for shared green spaces, integration of canopy trees and a lack of a parking plan. The council also expressed a need for more visuals to better allow the community and council members to picture what the space will look like.
Amy Ryan, chairperson of the planning commission, suggested keeping the current max block length of 400 feet and raising the outdoor amenity ratio to 8 percent as opposed to the proposed 5 percent. The commission also suggested permeable pavement in tree zones as well as generous sidewalks, and they also highlighted their parking concerns.
