Minutes 03-27-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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earlier, in 2020. He said a partnership between the town and County will create a stronger debt payment structure and a bond package that is easier to market. Chair Jacobs said staff would want to do a fiscal analysis of this before there is any comment on participation. Chair Jacobs asked, given the planned 1,000 residential units, how this plan incorporates school sites per the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Act (SAPFO). Roger Stancil said staff has been talking with Todd Lofriese from Chapel Hill Carrboro School System (CHCCS), and he will be at the April 9th work session to assist them. Chair Jacobs asked if there will be a certain threshold for this or if a site will be determined. Mayor Kleinschmidt said no site has been identified for a school within this district. He said there are school sites that have been identified nearby, such as Legion Hall. Council Member Harrison said the American Legion area asked them to take the school off, and the likely land usage for this is actually athletic fields or a park. Chair Jacobs said the town may want to invite Craig Benedict to attend their next meeting, as he is familiar with student generation rates. He said if no site is identified, it will have to be acquired, and it is much easier to identify it. Mayor Kleinschmidt asked why a school would be required within this district. Chair Jacobs said it doesn't have to be within the district, but in the past developers have been required to set aside a site for a school. Town Council Member Palmer said this is not a new development; it is a re- development. She said the town has Ephesus Elementary within this area. She said this area is expected to grow gradually over the next 20 years and the demographics are going to change. She said the first thing to be re-developed will be the apartments, which will then be more upscale, and this will likely mean fewer children. Commissioner Pelissier said an important point for her is that the first 10 years appear to have mostly multi-family home development. She said the County has to look at how much of the tax revenue is coming from residential versus commercial. She said when the County foregoes revenue, this affects the school funding, and she questioned whether the entire County might be paying for these additional school children in one district. Commissioner Gordon asked what the transportation improvements are going for, and how transit will figure into this area along 15-501. Roger Stancil said the transit improvements are included in the development regulations and will be part of the regular development process. He said the transit director has been involved in this conversation. He said the numbers shown do not reflect the pennies that the town dedicates to transit service. He said the town is doing a sustainability study of the transit system and how to plan for this future. He said that study will complement this plan. Commissioner Gordon referred to the form based code information and she asked if the school system has to issue a certificate of adequate public facilities when a residential element comes in. Mayor Kleinschmidt said the form based would not be exempt from other existing laws, like SAPFO. Commissioner Gordon asked if form based code means that what can go in is set and predictable and can be approved at the staff level. Mayor Kleinschmidt said to imagine if the town behaved like most other communities and laid out zones, and then most development occurred by right. He said developers in many towns look at zones to determine what can be built and then decide what they want to build. He said these developers can usually just go through staff as long as they comply with the zones and permitted uses. He said the form based code idea is to create a zone that defines the appropriate frontage, number of stories, transitions in intensity, street appearance, and