Review the draft Rosemary Imagined Concepts and draft Vision Plan!

Thank you to everyone who attended the Rosemary Imagined: First Community Review Meeting this morning! We had a great turnout and received lots of good ideas, feedback, and questions! We will be holding another session this evening from 6:00-8:00pm in the Sky Lounge at Greenbridge (601 Rosemary Street) – you should drop by!

During the meeting, participants provided thoughts and feedback about the three draft concepts (titled Option A, Option B, and Option C) and the draft Rosemary Street Vision and Implementation Plan.

Draft Concepts – Options A, B, and C

The draft concepts have been developed by the consulting team from KlingStubbins, a planning firm located in Raleigh. These concepts are based upon the community input and feedback received during the community meetings held in the summer and fall of 2013 and from meetings with property owners.

For a copy of the draft concepts, please click here: DRAFT CONCEPTS

Please review these concepts and provide your thoughts and ideas! What do you like about these concepts? What are you concerned about? Are these concepts missing anything? Let us know!

Send your thoughts and ideas to Meg McGurk and Megan Wooley at info@rosemaryimagined.com

Draft Rosemary Street Vision and Implementation Plan

During the Rosemary Imagined community meetings, many participants shared visions for and ideas about the Rosemary Street of the future. These ideas were pulled together to create the draft Rosemary Street Vision and Implementation Plan.

For a copy of the draft Rosemary Street Vision and Implementation Plan, please click here: DRAFT PLAN

The plan outlines nineteen visions for Rosemary Street and provides a vision statement, a lead, partners, and next steps for each of the visions.

We would like your feedback about this draft plan! Do you have ideas for implementation strategies or next steps? Would you like to be an implementation partner? Is the draft plan missing anything? Let us know!

Please send your ideas to Meg McGurk and Megan Wooley at info@rosemaryimagined.com

Next Steps

We are currently in the process of gathering community input about the draft concepts and the draft Rosemary Street Vision and Implementation Plan!

In early to mid May, the three draft concepts will be revised to develop one draft concept. A Second Community Review meeting will be held in late May or early June to receive community feedback about the revised draft concept and revised draft Rosemary Street Vision and Implementation Plan.

Central West: Summary of Steering Committee’s Draft Decisions

The Central West Steering Committee has been discussing the land uses and transportation options for the Central West Focus Area. For a summary of the Committee’s draft decisions, please see the map below.

This map includes the draft decisions made during the July 9th and July 30th Steering Committee meetings. A map will be posted soon that includes the draft decisions from the August 7th meeting.

For a copy of this map, please click here.

The next step in the process will be for the Town staff and consultants to analyze this information and provide data about the area. The information from the analysis will be presented during the August 19th and August 29th Steering Committee meetings.

For more information about the Central West process, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/centralwest

Chapel Hill Meets the Development Agreement Technical Team!

This past Wednesday and Thursday (June 26-27), the Development Agreement Technical Team traveled to Chapel Hill to meet with the Community, Town Staff and Glen Lennox development team to discuss the big issues that will frame the next steps in the Glen Lennox development process.

The Team, made up of experts in economic development, planning design and development, legal, and environmental and transportation planning, learned about the history of development in Chapel Hill and the Glen Lennox neighborhood. They were introduced to the great work the Glen Lennox Area Neighborhood Conservation District Development Committee did to conceptualize the Glen Lennox of the future. The Team was excited to see all the work the community has already done!

At Wednesday night’s public input meeting, Staff Project Team member Jason Damweber introduced the Technical Team and gave a brief overview on development agreements. Following the staff presentation, Technical Team member Victor Dover spoke about redevelopment best practices from around the country. Rachel Russell from Grub Properties wrapped up with a presentation on the highlights of the Glen Lennox Area Neighborhood Conservation District Plan.
Community members had a chance to ask questions of the technical team, staff, and Grubb properties.

The next day, Rachel Russell of Grubb properties led a public tour of Glen Lennox so the team and community members could see the property and imagine a redesigned Glen Lennox neighborhood.

Ephesus Church /Fordham Focus Area Information Session

The Town of Chapel Hill invites the community to participate in an information session from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 20, for an update regarding proposed changes to land use regulations in the Ephesus Church /Fordham Boulevard area.

The event is one of many public outreach opportunities of DESIGN Chapel Hill 2020, the title given to the implementation phase of the Chapel Hill 2020 comprehensive plan. The information session will be held in Room B at the Chapel Hill Library, located at 100 Library Drive in Chapel Hill. An informational presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m.Thursday’s discussion will provide information about upcoming changes to the land use regulations, including preliminary review of draft maps, for the Ephesus Church Road/Fordham Boulevard area. Consultant Lee Einsweiler of Code Studio will explain the steps for making regulatory changes and how this stage of Chapel Hill 2020 will be implemented for the Ephesus Church Road/Fordham Boulevard area.

The Ephesus Church Road/Fordham Boulevard focus area encompasses 123 acres surrounding Ram’s Plaza near the intersection of Ephesus Church Road and Fordham Boulevard from South Elliott Road to Ram’s Plaza. The Town Council adopted a small area plan in June 2011 for the Ephesus Church Road/Fordham Boulevard area.

Led by the Town’s Economic Development Division, the small area plan defined future land uses and offered solutions to the transportation network to encourage reinvestment. Community members identified the Ephesus Church Road/Fordham Boulevard as an area likely to change in the future due to vacant land, underdeveloped sites, and its location along transportation and transit corridors. To learn more about the adopted plan, visit: http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=1518.

Ephesus Church/Fordham is within Area 5: North 15-501, one of six future focus areas outlined in the Chapel Hill 2020 Comprehensive Plan and the adopted small area plan. Future focus areas are portions of Chapel Hill most likely to change in the future due to vacant land, underdeveloped sites, and their locations along transportation and transit corridors. In total, these areas represent about 24 percent of the land in Chapel Hill, and they do not include the predominately single-family areas and neighborhoods of Chapel Hill.

The Town’s other focus areas are Area 1: Downtown Chapel Hill; Area 2: North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/I-40; Area 3: South Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/Homestead Road to Estes Drive; Area 4: Highway 54; and Area 6: South 15-501.

For those unable to attend this meeting, there will be opportunities for future involvement. To be added to the email distribution list for the Ephesus Church Road-Fordham Boulevard Focus Area or to submit questions, contact compplan@townofchapelhill.org or 919-968-2728. To find more information, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=1656. More information about Lee Einsweiler and Code Studio is available at http://www.code-studio.com/.

Special Topics: Development Agreements

David Owens, UNC School of Government

The Town of Chapel Hill’s DESIGN 2020 will offer the special topic presentation, “Development Agreements in Chapel Hill,” by David Owens, professor of public law and government at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government at noon on Wednesday, June 19, in the Council Chamber of Chapel Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Professor Owens will present information about development agreements in North Carolina, including a general overview of what a development agreement can do and the basic requirements. A development agreement is a unique tool that may be useful for large projects that will be built over a period of up to 20 years. It provides the developer a level of certainty about what it can build and what mitigation measures will be required, if agreement is reached. It also provides the Town with the opportunity to look at the long-term horizon and make sure it fits with the Town’s comprehensive planning efforts and local policies.

Following the presentation, Town staff will share a brief update on the development agreement process adopted by the Chapel Hill Town Council on March 18, 2013, and current information on the Obey Creek (www.townofchapelhill.org/obeycreek) and Glen Lennox (http://www.townofchapelhill.org/glenlennox) development agreement projects. Read more about this process here: http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=2210

The presentation will be aired via streaming video at http://www.townofchapelhill.org/video and will be broadcast on Gov-TV 18 later in the week.

David Owens joined the UNC School of Government in 1989. Prior to that, he was an attorney and senior planner for the Wisconsin State Planning Office and spent 10 years with the NC Division of Coastal Management. His publications include numerous books and articles on zoning law, including the basic legal reference, Land Use Law in North Carolina, and the widely used guide for citizen boards, Introduction to Zoning. He has also written on a variety of land use law topics, the scope of local government authority, urban growth management, regulation of religious land uses and adult businesses, conflicts of interest, planning legislation, and various aspects of coastal management law and policy. Owens received a graduate planning degree and law degree from UNC-Chapel Hill.

The Town of Chapel Hill’s Special Topics series began during the Chapel Hill 2020 comprehensive planning process as a way to share information with interested residents who want to know more about issues, trends and studies that affect the future. These presentations continue with DESIGN 2020, the implementation phase of advancing the comprehensive plan’s goals and objectives.

For more information about DESIGN Chapel Hill 2020, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/design or the blog at http://2020buzz.org/

DESIGN 2020 Special Topic: Economic Development in Chapel Hill

DESIGN 2020 will offer the special topic presentation “Economic Development in Chapel Hill” by Town of Chapel Hill Economic Development Officer Dwight Bassett at noon Wednesday, May 15, in the Council Chamber of Chapel Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. 

Bassett will present information a general view of economic development in Chapel Hill, including facts and information about retail, housing and office markets. He will provide an overview of some of the key projects now under way including Ephesus Church-Fordham, Rosemary Imagined, and Downtown Chapel Hill. Concepts from the Downtown Framework and Action Plan also will be discussed. 

The presentation will be aired live on Chapel Hill Gov TV-18 and via streaming video at www.townofchapelhill.org/video

Bassett is the Town of Chapel Hill’s first economic development officer, hired in 2007 to develop a clear economic development strategy. Learn more about Chapel Hill’s economic development strategy at www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=1069. To access economic development studies and data, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=2063.  Office, housing and retail studies were completed to benchmark Chapel Hill for future economic development and to inform the Town Council of information to help in making decisions about our future. 

The Special Topics series began during the Chapel Hill 2020 comprehensive planning process as a way to share information with interested residents who want to know more about issues, trends and studies that affect the future. These presentations continue with DESIGN 2020, the implementation phase of advancing the comprehensive plan’s goals and objectives. For past topics, see www.townofchapelhill.org/video 

For more information about DESIGN Chapel Hill 2020, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/design

Central West Community Workshop

Join the Central West Steering Committee and your fellow community members for the upcoming Central West Community Workshop!

The Town of Chapel Hill will hold the Central West Community Workshop from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, with sign-in at 8:30 a.m. The workshop will be in Meeting Room B at the Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Drive. 

The purpose of the workshop is to gather the community’s thoughts and feedback about the draft planning principles, objectives, and planning concepts for the Central West Focus Area. 

The Central West Focus Area Steering Committee has developed a draft set of planning principles and objectives that define the important elements to be considered while developing the small area plan for the Central West Focus Area. The planning principles include statements about the importance of connectivity, pedestrian and bicycle safety, identity/sense of place, mixed uses, diversity, green environment, and others. 

In addition, the Central West Steering Committee has also begun developing different planning concepts which provide visuals of the locations of the different uses in the area. 

The Central West Focus Area Steering Committee was charged by the Council to develop recommendations for a small area plan for the Central West Focus Area that would address the appropriate uses, form, and intensity for the area. The Committee is to work with the community, Town staff, and a consultant, and the thoughts and ideas developed from this process will form a small area plan which if necessary, will be developed into new zoning regulations for this area. 

Please help spread the word about the Central West Community Workshop to your friends, neighbors, and colleagues! 

For more information about the Central West Focus Area process, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/centralwest.

Central West Community Drop-By Session

The Town of Chapel Hill will host a Central West Community Drop-By Session from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 25, in Meeting Room B of the Chapel Hill Public Library to receive public input about proposed planning principles for the area along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and portions of Estes Drive. 

 

The Central West Focus Area Steering Committee has developed a set of planning principles that define the important elements to be considered while developing the small area plan for this area. The planning principles include statements about the importance of connectivity, pedestrian and bicycle safety, identity/sense of place, mixed uses, diversity, green environment, and others.

 

During the Community Drop-By Session, community members can speak with Steering Committee members and Town staff about the planning principles and provide their feedback. 

 

The Central West Focus Area Steering Committee was charged by the Council to develop recommendations for a small area plan for the Central West Focus Area that would address the appropriate uses, form, and intensity for the area. The Committee is to work with the community, Town staff, and a consultant, and the thoughts and ideas developed from this process will form a small area plan which if necessary, will be developed into new zoning regulations for this area.

 

For more information about the Central West Focus Area process and to view the draft planning principles, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/centralwest

Community Forum for Chapel Hill Bike Plan set for May 9

Are you a cycling enthusiast? Maybe you haven’t ridden a bike in a while but want to. Perhaps you enjoy riding only on greenways or trails? Do you ride your bike to work or school? Do your kids ride a bike? Are you concerned about transportation issues? 

If you answered yes, then you’ll want to come to “Bike to the Future,” a community forum for the Chapel Hill Bike Plan set for 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at the Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Drive.

The Town of Chapel Hill planning process is one of many public outreach opportunities of DESIGN Chapel Hill 2020, the title given to the implementation phase of the community’s new comprehensive plan. “Connected Community” (including Chapel Hill Bike Plan) is one of the Big Idea initiatives that embody the essence of the Chapel Hill 2020 goals.

When completed, the Chapel Hill Bike Plan will provide a “how-to-guide” for making Chapel Hill a place where more people can safely ride their bikes to more places in the community. The Council is committed to building a more connected, bikeable community, as stated in Chapel Hill 2020 Plan. 

“We will have an opportunity in creating this plan to look at our streets and policies to see what’s working – and what could work better,” said Garrett Davis, a Town of Chapel Hill transportation planner. 

During the Chapel Hill 2020 planning process, residents expressed that they want more facilities and street design features that promote safe bicycling. People said there should be improved connectivity between important destinations and that bicycling can become part of a healthy active lifestyle.

The Community Survey of 2011 showed that 5.2 percent of residents ride a bicycle and that 64 percent of residents felt that riding a bicycle was safe in Chapel Hill. 

“We think that number should be higher, and this plan is going to show us what steps the Town can take to make that happen” said David Bonk, transportation planning manager for the Town of Chapel Hill. 

A steering committee will meet over the next year to guide the plan, and there will be many opportunities for the community to contribute. The committee will work closely with staff and Bill Schultheiss of Toole Design Group , the lead consultant. A final plan is expected to be presented to the Council in November 2013. 

For more information contact Garrett Davis at bikeplan@townofchapelhill.org  
Visit The Chapel Hill Bike Plan on the web at www.townofchapelhill.org/bikeplan  
Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thechapelhillbikeplan  
Toole Design Group www.tooledesign.com 

Central West Focus Area is on Flickr!

Do you like to keep up with what is going on in the Central West Focus Area? Do you like photography? If you answered yes to both of these questions, then you should consider joining the Central West Flickr page! The Central West Flickr site allows you to view pictures of the area that other members have posted, and to add your own photos to the collection as well.

We encourage you to go check out the Flickr site and see what others are posting about the Central West Focus area.
To access the Flickr Site, click here: www.flickr.com/groups/centralwest/
For detailed instructions for uploading images, click here.

While you are browsing around the site, take time to explore the many features that Flickr has to offer. You can provide captions for your photos and label them with tags to give viewers a better sense of how your photo relates to the focus area. Flickr also has a mobile app for smartphones, enabling you to view and post pictures when you are on the go. So, the next time you are wandering through the Central West area and see something that you would like to share with the group, snap a picture and upload it to the Flickr site! The Central West Flickr site is meant to be a useful AND fun tool in this process, so be sure to take advantage of it!

The Central West Focus Area is one of the six focus areas that were identified in Chapel Hill’s 2020 Comprehensive Plan. In December of 2012, a Central West Focus Area Steering Committee was formed, and the Committee has been working with community members to develop recommendations for the form, use, and intensity of the area. For more information about the Central West Focus Area process, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/centralwest