Minutes 08-21-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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have to remember this is 25 years or more out. Things can change and be adapted. He added that while they're looking at 390,000 square feet of developable area, that doesn't necessarily mean a large or small footprint or impervious surface. Commissioner McKee said he supports Option B primarily because they spent a lot of time talking about moving towards higher density, more urban style development, particularly in the urban areas, for the advantage of walkability, transportation needs, and accessibility to services. This past June, they passed and placed on the ballot a half cent sales tax in a referendum for transportation plan that focuses on higher, more urban, style development. They've been talking the talk and this gives them the chance to walk the walk. Commissioner Foushee echoed Commissioner McKee and added that Option B allows them to centralize county services onto one campus for southern Orange County. Commissioner Yuhasz agreed they need to keep in mind they don't know how much space they're going to need. If they need all the space available in Option B and they don't have Option B, then they will have to look for another place within Chapel Hill to provide those same services. That would take property away from potentially taxable property which would then become non-taxable. Commissioner Yuhasz felt if they maximize the opportunity to develop this property, they won't have to look for other properties. This is important to Orange County as well as the Chapel Hill community. Commissioner Jacobs asked what the height restrictions were by Chapel Hill for this property. Mr. Waldon said 60 feet which typically translates into four stories. Commissioner Jacobs said theoretically the square footage they want can go on smaller footprints. He asked if they were anticipating four story buildings. Mr. Waldon said it was hard to know what to anticipate but the intent in drawing these concepts in these development areas is there would be some vertical element to it so these would not be one story buildings. It certainly increases the capacity to go higher. Commissioner Jacobs suggested the design guidelines specifically indicate these will be multi-story buildings because if they're working in an urban setting, they should abandon one story buildings if at all possible. That would allay some of his concerns about what they're going to do to the property and possibly some of the concerns of the Chapel Hill Town Council about suburban style development in an urban setting. Commissioner Jacobs commented that Option B had 50,000 square feet of additional development to the southeast of Southern Human Services Center. He asked why this was not in option A. He added there is some indication it was a difficult site to build on but they're comfortable now that's a doable thing. Mr. Redfoot said it was a choice and there was no compelling reason to do that. They felt the development area needed to be more intense on B and there is some topography they have to deal with. It tails off as it goes towards the dedicated right of way but they learned through using different levels in the building, they can have parking below and building above. He agreed, however, with Commissioner Jacobs in that it could be a development area and A could go into that same location. Commissioner Jacobs also requested that sometime between the September 4th meeting and the October 16th meeting, or when the Board of Commissioners are given a formal plan, that there be a guided tour of the property so they could invite the public. Commissioner Jacobs added that in talking about minimizing impact to hardwoods on the southwest corner (on page 006), he would like for it to also say, "and other significant hardwoods on the property." He said they glossed over the existing pond and the storm water management pond is an amenity that was on the property when they bought it. It was developed with trails by the Americorp volunteers and could easily plug into the greenway system. As they tweak the property in the future, Commissioner Jacobs feels it's possible they can still build buildings where they're put around the pond and it's actually an amenity. He said one reason that road curved was because there used to be a house site there and the hardwoods there are just as mature as the ones in the southwest corner. Commissioner Jacobs said as long as they somehow take special note they want to build those into the design, he can live with B versus A, at least at the gross level. Commissioner Hemminger said she likes Option B for many of the reasons already stated but her main like is that it flows much better so people don't get trapped in the Southern Human Services parking lot. She also wants to make sure they are mindful of bus access in and out of each one of the proposed development areas because a lot of the citizens that use these services have to come by bus. As of now, you can take the bus to the front of the two buildings which is especially helpful to people who need