Orange County NC Website
l~ <br />Mayor pro tem Wiggins asked if everyone would come together prepared to make <br />concessions with the ultimate goal of greatly reducing parking. Mr. Waldrop replied that <br />UNC was firmly committed to the overall type of development that they have identified.. <br />But, with regard to issues related to transportation and fiscal equity, they were eager to sit <br />down and discuss how they could do something that is accepted by the community as <br />well as the University, he said. Mr. Waldrop expressed appreciation for Mayor pro tem <br />Wiggins's comment that this would take compromises on both sides. <br />Council Member Strom stated that he wholeheartedly agreed with Mayor Foy's line of <br />questioning. One of the key principles in the Horace Williams Conunittee's report was <br />that this be designed as atransit-oriented development from the outset, he said. Council <br />Member Strom stated that rather than that he saw a sea of parking. With regard to the <br />request to coordinate and cooperate, he noted that several uncertainties remain in the mix <br />that caused citizens to feel anxious. Council Member Strom pointed out that all have the <br />same goal of achieving a muttrally beneficial plan that will attract employees to UNC and <br />the Town and which will meet the goals of the Town's Comprehensive Plan. He <br />expressed apprehension, however, that the process could be "rug-pulled" because of prior <br />experiences where tJNC had done that. Council Member Strom emphasized the <br />importance of establishing ground rules that would establish trust and create a safe <br />environment. <br />Council Member Hill noted that he had heard UNC Chancellor Moeser pledge on the <br />radio that his administration would not seek relief from the Town's zoning authority. He <br />asked if UNC was willing to agree before negotiation begins to specifically abide by the <br />outcome, even if a third party was successful in going to the Legislature and getting the <br />authority to circumvent the Town's zoning., Council Member Hill described that as "the <br />essential element that is missing in all the rhetoric about having two or tluee equal parties <br />sitting down and having a conversation." Mr. Waldrop pointed out that the partners also <br />include Carrboro, Orange County, and the State of North Carolina. UNC was committed <br />to the process and intended to work through it in the fashion that Council Member Strom <br />had described, he said.. <br />Council Member Strom replied that Mr. Waldrop was "really skipping around the <br />question." He stressed that the question was an important one because the Town had <br />recently adopted a resolution saying they need to be careful about allocating resources. <br />And the citizens and Council want to know that there is true engagement and that the rug <br />will not be pulled at some point in the process, he said. Council Member Strom asked if <br />ZINC would commit to abiding by the outcome of the type of conversation with Chapel <br />Hill that they were saying was necessary to getting the best plan. Mr, Waldrop pointed <br />out that UNC was a State agency and represented the citizens of North Carolina. If all <br />partners involved in the project are sitting down together and negotiating in good faith, <br />then he "would respond in the affirmative to what you've said," he replied. <br />Mrr. Waldrop asked to he allowed to continue with his presentation because he wanted to <br />show some of the changes that UNC had made in the plan, <br />