Orange County NC Website
1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: September 15, 2015 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-a <br /> SUBJECT: Southern Branch Library Siting Criteria, Process Update <br /> DEPARTMENT: Manager's Office, Asset PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br /> Management Services <br /> (AMS), Library, Planning <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1) July 17, 2015 Memorandum from Bonnie Hammersley, (919) 245-2306 <br /> Manager Jeff Thompson, (919) 245-2658 <br /> Lucinda Munger, (919) 245-2528 <br /> Michael Harvey, (919) 245-2597 <br /> PURPOSE: To receive an update on the Southern Branch Library siting process and provide <br /> staff direction regarding next steps. <br /> BACKGROUND: On September 18, 2012 the Board of Orange County Commissioners <br /> (BOCC), in conjunction with the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, approved a set of guiding <br /> principles and a comprehensive site selection criterion for potentially locating a Southern Branch <br /> of the Orange County Library (hereafter "the Branch"). Since that time the BOCC and the <br /> Carrboro Board of Aldermen have submitted several properties for review by County staff <br /> consistent with the approved Branch siting process. Attachment 1, "July 17, 2015 Memorandum <br /> from Manager" outlines these criteria, the sites that have been suggested to staff study, and the <br /> sites currently under study: <br /> 1) 101 N. Merritt Mill (St. Paul's AME Zion Church) <br /> 2) 200 E. Main Street (Municipal Parking — "Armadillo Grill" site) <br /> 3) 203 S. Greensboro (Municipal Parking owned by Carrboro) <br /> 4) 311 E. Main Street (Fire & Hearth property assembly) <br /> Staff has worked closely with Carrboro staff in evaluating pertinent land use information. The <br /> Board may recall that the initial due diligence processes exhaust readily available and cost free <br /> information prior to moving into the preliminary phase assessments requiring professional <br /> services such as environmental, traffic, geotechnical, and cultural/archeological studies. <br /> The full Preliminary Phase Analysis located atvvv. umu a u . . � Il � lllillaumum l <br /> evaluates the four sites through the BOCC adopted criteria. The highlights of this analysis are <br /> as follows: <br /> Fire & Hearth Site. This site is challenged by its need to aggregate parcels of different <br /> ownership to be large enough for the Branch site. The majority of the property is either not for <br />