Orange County NC Website
potential sites for smaller buildings, thereby bringing the available number of additional building <br />sites to two, plus the area around the residence. The Board ultimately selected one of the <br />remaining two sites as the location for the senior center (Attachment 1: Bldg Area #4) <br />An assessment conducted by ERCD in 2004 indicates that additional construction in the area <br />around the residence of the previous property owner would require that the mature hardwoods <br />around the residence be removed. (Attachment 1: Existing House) Previous studies regarding <br />additional facilities on this campus have recommended that the house be retrofitted and reused <br />in lieu of replacement with a new and larger structure. <br />The sole remaining site is located east of the access drive and between the existing Southern <br />Human Services Center and the new Seymour Center (Attachment 1: Bldg Area #3) The <br />estimated footprint will accommodate approximately 22,000 square feet of ground level building <br />construction. Although no formal allocation of function has been attached to this site, the <br />County's mandated responsibilities to provide court and court related functions has been a <br />focus of previous conversations. At this time, the Town of Chapel Hill allows the use of the Old <br />Post Office on Franklin Street as the location of courtrooms, with the balance of the current <br />court needs addressed by space leased by the County in Carrboro (Public Defender at Carr Mill <br />Mall, other court offices at the Moody Building on Laurel Ave). Presumably, the County would <br />continue to consolidate new buildings for County and court obligations to the Homestead Road <br />site. <br />In summary, the recommended master plan of the Southern Orange Homestead Road Campus <br />would include: <br />• Building Areas #1 and #2 shall remain undisturbed as a nature conservation area on the <br />site; <br />• Building Area #3 shall be reserved to maintain flexibility in the location of future <br />county/court operations; <br />• Building Area #4 is designated for the Seymour Senior Center; <br />• Building Area #5 shall be reserved for the expansion of the current human services <br />building. <br />• Building Area #6 shall be reserved for future expansion of the Health Department, <br />specifically for the Dental Clinic; and <br />• Existing House and the natural areas surrounding it, shall remain undisturbed, except for <br />the renovation/upfit of the existing structure for County use as may be recommended in <br />the upcoming space study update; <br />As a final. note, upon Board recommendation, acultural and archaeological study was <br />conducted on the campus in areas where future construction could occur to ensure that future <br />development would not destroy hidden artifacts that may have been of value. A recently <br />received report, summarizing the findings of the assessment conducted over the summer, <br />indicates no remarkable findings and recommends no further study of the site (Attachment #5: <br />Executive Summary). <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: None at this time. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The County Manager recommends that the Board receive the <br />information, discuss as necessary, and approve the master plan as cited. <br />