Minutes - 20021009 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Orange County Planning Director Craig Benedict said that Orange County has been notified about this process. If the property were annexed, it would be a courtesy review for Orange County. In this process, they look at the Carrboro Northern Study Area Plan and ensure that the project is consistent with the overall intent of the joint planning area agreement. The Northern Study Area Plan had some general design concepts and land use concepts that were part of the planning regulations. The regulations anticipated village mixed-use projects coming forward. The comments from both Carrboro's staff and Orange County's staff have been extensive. He wants to keep the County Commissioners involved in this application process. PUBLIC COMMENT: Phillip Szostak said that he is a long-term resident of this area and he gave a history of this project (he is the developer). Winmore was born because of what he has heard that it is too expensive to live in town. There are a lot of complaints about development in this area. He did not want to do another five hundred thousand dollar residential development. He said that this development is for all people because it has affordable units, 50,000+ co-op housing, and 25% of the units are less than $175,000. It has live/work units in the village center where somebody could live upstairs and work downstairs. The village is very walkable. The project is sustainable because all of the builders will be required to meet the green building guidelines. It is designed for superior water quality and will be a benchmark for developments in this area. He said that they have designed Winmore to maximize the Northern Transition Area buffer. He showed an image of the project. He said that there is 1600 feet of green area before you get to the first house. The first phase has 50% open space. The second phase has 60% open space and they are working on getting a portion of it in a conservation district so that it cannot be built on in the future. James Carnahan lives in Carrboro and said that 20 years ago policy changes were made to keep sustainable growth. The three changes were: 1) an establishment of an urban growth boundary; 2) watershed protection and critical conservation area protection; and 3) density. Density is important because it enables us to further constrain the land we use and make more efficient use of resources. He said that the present international situation that we are in now and our dependence on the automobile and the foreign sources of oil that is required to power the activity places us in great jeopardy. Chuck Willingham is a resident of Lake Hogan Farms and was representing a group that was formed last week called BEST (Build Elementary School Ten Now). His concern is school use and that the area in the northwest is crowded. He said that this group would help facilitate planning for the schools. This group would like to be involved in long and short-term planning with the school district. His purpose for speaking tonight is to make sure that, during the planning for Winmore and other developments in the northwest section, that the concern for overcrowding in the school system is considered. He distributed a written statement to the Clerk. Dave Otto was representing the Friends of Bolin Creek, which is a group dedicated to preserving the natural habitat along the Bolin Creek corridor. The Friends of Bolin Creek are concerned about the proposed rezoning and the development of Winmore. Bolin Creek flows through the lands proposed for rezoning. He said that development in this area must be planned very carefully because it could impact the entire downstream corridor. The Friends of Bolin Creek have initiated a campaign to save this special corridor. The Bolin Creek corridor includes one of the last stretches of significant native forest habitat left in southern Orange County. They have determined that initiating a Bolin Creek Corridor Master Plan is the next appropriate step in preserving Bolin Creek. This plan must involve Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, UNC-CH, and the community. They will be coming to all of the boards later this fall to ask for help in developing this master plan. He distributed a copy of the full statement. Nancy Salmon, a resident of the Northern Transition area, asked for some extra time because she is leaving town for six weeks and is worried she will not be able to speak again. Kathy Kaufman yielded her time. Nancy Salmon said that the small area plan for the northern study area states clearly that the most environmentally sensitive areas are found along Bolin Creek. The Upper Bolin Creek Basin is classified by the State as a protected water supply watershed. The small area plan also encourages clustered or