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2. The proposed community, "Homestead Twins ", is located within walking distance <br />to Seawell Elementary, Smith Middle'School and Chapel Hill High School. As <br />part of our proposed plan, we will construct sidewalk along Seawell School Road <br />to connect the community with the schools. It has become clear that there are <br />significant advantages to having our children walk to school. It is safer, healthier <br />and less costly than riding a bus, kids get to know their fellow students and <br />neighbors, it frees up traffic and congestion around the schools at drop off and pick <br />up times, and it is simply better for the environment. The zoning atlas amendment <br />will further the goals of the Town's Comprehensive Plan by allowing a family <br />oriented community to be built next to all levels of public schools. <br />3. One of the goals of Chapel Hill's Comprehensive Plan is to increase the Town's <br />stock of affordable homes. 'In residential communities, the development ordinance <br />(LUMO) requires a percentage of -all new homes be restricted in size. While this is <br />the requirement, the Town's preference has always been that builders make homes <br />affordable as opposed to size restricted. The plan submitted for "Homestead <br />Twins" will provide 20% of all the homes built in the community remain <br />affordable. The ordinance recommends 15% and we have increased the minimum <br />to 20 %. The proposed amendment to the zoning atlas will fuuther the goals of <br />Chapel Hill's Comprehensive Plan by increasing the stocks of affordable housing. <br />4. Chapel Hill's Comprehensive Plan has always placed a high priority on open space <br />preservation. The proposed "Homestead Twins" community provides 64% of the <br />gross land area as open space or recreation space. We have concentrated all <br />development on roughly half of the site, leaving a stream, 300 feet of stream buffer <br />and open space untouched by development.` The goals of Chapel Hill's <br />Comprehensive Plan will be further advanced by the preservation of open space <br />included in the plan for "Homestead Twins ". <br />5. As part of our development plan to build "Homestead Twins ", we will move two <br />existing homes on the site to a nearby location on Rogers Road. We believe that <br />recycling the homes is beneficial from an environmental standpoint and helps <br />preserve the Town's stock of existing homes. By recycling the existing homes on <br />the site, we will be. furthering the goals of the Town' Comprehensive Plan which <br />advocates recycling when possible. <br />We believe that by approving the zoning atlas amendment and the conditional approval of <br />"Homestead Twins' , the Town will more fully achieve the purpose of its Comprehensive <br />Plan. <br />M <br />