Minutes 03-22-2018 Chapel Hill - Laserfiche WebLink

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21 f) Greene Tract Craig Benedict, Orange County Planning Director, provided the following update: The Greene Tract is a 164 acre parcel of which 104 acres is jointly owned by Orange County, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro. The remaining sixty (60) acres is owned by Orange County and has been designated as the Headwaters Preserve. In late 2016, the owners of the jointly owned portion of the Greene Tract agreed to have the Town Mayors and Board Chair consider different preservation and development options for the property. This discussion resulted in three alternatives that illustrate high, medium, and low development intensities. All of the alternatives include an elementary school site, a site for a future park, the preservation of significant environmental and cultural areas, and a preliminary road network and infrastructure design. The three alternatives also consider the project area’s current environmental conditions, elements of the 2002 Joint Governments Resolution, the Rogers Road Task Force report, the Mapping Our Community’s Future report, and previous land use discussions. These three alternatives are contained in Attachment 5f-3. In addition to the high, medium, and low development intensity scenarios, the Mayors and Chair requested an examination of the entire Greene Tract, including the Headwaters Preserve, in an effort to preserve the most environmentally sensitive areas and to develop the most appropriate areas of the entire 164 acre Tract. As a result, staff amended the proposed conceptual plan, reconfiguring the Headwaters Preserve and the jointly owned areas. This reconfiguration maintains the same total acreage for each of the areas but aligns them differently. The reconfigured tracts were drafted with environmental staff from the Town of Chapel Hill, the Town of Carrboro, and Orange County in order to create new parcels, which endeavored to protect environmental features and habitats located on site. The proposed reconfigured Headwaters Preserve area alternatives are also contained in Attachment 5f-3. Attachment 5f-4 includes land use and density outcomes for the different alternatives. Attachment 5f-5 includes potential affordable housing outputs based on different affordable housing proportions. The Board of Orange County Commissioners had a preliminary discussion about planning for the Greene Tract on February 20. Based on this discussion, the Board of Commissioners asked staff to communicate the following preferences with the other owners of the property: • Modify the headwaters preserve configuration, with the goal of creating, or protecting, the natural north-south corridor, with the exact boundaries to be determined; • Begin with the highest developable areas; • Seek input from the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro with the goal of communicating the Town’s preferences by May 1; • Set up the walking tour as soon as possible; and • Host a community meeting, presenting that, which has been learned, between the walking tour and May 1. The Board of Commissioners expressed interest in continuing the dialogue with Town elected officials on a timeline that could allow for final directions to staff prior to the summer break. A guided walking tour of the property is scheduled for March 23 with two tours, one beginning at 9:00 and the other beginning at 2:00.