Minutes - 04-11-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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A matian was made by Pat Evans, seconded by Edith Wiggins to refer the proposed amendment to the Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan and Map to the Chapel Hill Planning Board for consideration and a recommendation to come back to the Town Council on May 7, 2001. VOTE: UNANIMOUS A matian was made by Diana McDuffee, seconded by Jaal Hall Broun to refer the proposed amendment to the Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan and Map to the Carrboro Planning Board for consideration and a recommendation to come back to the Town Council. VOTE: UNANIMOUS With respect to the Greene Tract, Mayar Waldorf said that she, Mayar Nelson, and Commissioner Carey got together with the managers and worked on how to get through this and developed a framework for a process. She said that it was the County Manager's responsibility to write out the process and bring it forward. 2. JPA-Chapel Hill-Z-1-01 requests the changing of the zoning of a site on Homestead Road from Residential-2 (R-2} to Residential-4-Conditional {R-4-C}. Rezoning requests in the Chapel Hill Transition Area require the approval of the Orange County Commissioners and the Chapel Hill Town Council. Roger Waldon said that the Town of Chapel Hill's development ordinance, which is hereby incorporated by the County by reference for application in the Chapel Hill Transition Areas, has a provision for conditional use zoning. Conditional use zoning allows a property owner to request a rezoning and voluntarily limit the use of the property. If the property is rezoned, development must occur pursuant to approval of a special use permit. For this property, the applicant is requesting this conditional use zoning, which would allow a higher density than four units per acre. The property owner is voluntarily agreeing to a condition that would limit the density to four units per acre. The reason for the rezoning request has to do with floor area ratios, open space, and land use intensity ratios that would allow the development to be clustered. If the rezoning were approved, then a special use permit would follow, which would be reviewed and approved by the Chapel Hill Town Council. He said that the feature that was desirable with this case is that it would allow the design solution that could cluster the density in one part of the site, leaving another part of the site available as open space, recreation, etc. The recommendation of the Orange County Planning Department and the Chapel Hill Planning Department is to approve the rezoning. Commissioner Brown asked several questions, which were answered by Roger Waldon. Commissioner Gordon asked about the process of the rezoning and the special use permit. Roger Waldon said that if something is completely within Chapel Hill's Town limits, a conditional use rezoning request is usually accompanied by a special use permit request. The rezoning has to be approved first and the special use permit second. Mayor Waldorf said that she could not remember a time when the rezoning and the special use permit were not done on the same night. Commissioner Gordon did not understand why the Board of County Commissioners was involved in the rezoning and not the special use permit if they were tied together. Roger Waldon said that it was because the joint planning agreement says that in the transition areas any change in zoning needs the affirmative vote of the Board of County Commissioners and the Town Council. Commissioner Gordon asked about the road to the west that hooks up to the University piece and Roger Waldon said that on the thoroughfare plan it is an arterial road. Public Comment Jack Smyre from Kimley Horn and Associates spoke in support of this rezoning. They are the engineers and planners for this project. He said that what was driving the rezoning request was the floor area issue. The agenda explains that under the current R-2 zoning the floor area would be 850 square feet per unit and going to R-4 would allow about 2,040 square feet per unit. This rezoning