North-East Chapel Hill Neighbors Petition Town Council for Area Planning

by | Apr 26, 2022 | Affordable Housing, Town Planning | 5 comments

Petition - Pause to Plan Development in North-east Chapel Hill - GoPetitionC

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North-East Chapel Hill Neighborhoods Call on Town Council to do Area Planning

Petition Summary

Four individual concept plans have been submitted for new developments along Old Chapel Hill Road in north-east Chapel Hill. Unfortunately, these projects propose more of the same: expensive rental developments offering egregiously little affordable housing to a Town already burdened with a housing crisis.

Last year, UNC and the town commissioned a highly experienced urban planning consultant, Rod Stevens, to study the overall history and directions of residential development in Chapel Hill. (See David Adams’ summary of the report). The findings: Chapel Hill already has a surfeit of market-rate rentals, which attract commuters who work out of town but do not provide the housing we need. Stevens strongly advised that the Council plan for neighborhoods and the required infrastructure as a whole with the surrounding communities – and warned against continuing our path of approving large scale, expensive rentals on a project-by-project basis with no comprehensive plan.

Community members are asking for signatures on a petition to the Mayor and Town Council. The petition asks the Town to follow Stevens’ urgent recommendation by planning the North-East Chapel Hill area before developing further.

Petition Text

Petition to Mayor Hemminger and Chapel Hill Town Council Members

Whereas:

  1.  Four individual concept plans have been submitted for new developments along Old Chapel Hill Road in north-east Chapel Hill. They offer the same kind of market rate high priced rentals already overbuilt in Blue Hill and none of the proposals make noteworthy contributions to mitigating our affordable housing crisis.
  2. Last year, UNC and the town commissioned a highly experienced urban planning consultant, Rod Stevens, to study the overall history and directions of residential development in Chapel Hill. The Housing Report findings said that Chapel Hill already has a surfeit of large scale rental buildings that attract commuters who work in Durham, RTP and Wake County.
  3. This Report strongly recommended that the Council must plan first for neighborhoods and the required infrastructure as a whole with the surrounding communities, instead of continuing to approve large scale rental buildings on a project-by-project basis with little connection to their surroundings.

Therefore we the undersigned call on the Town Council to make an updated overall vision plan for this north-east Chapel Hill area along Old Chapel Hill Road before accepting applications for rezoning.

First steps include:

  • Provide up-to-date transit improvements for 15-501.
  • Engage the surrounding and affected neighborhoods.
  • Plan for conserving existing mature tree canopy, and
  • Request significant owner occupied and affordable housing commitments, instead of the expensive market rate rentals.

Published April 26, 2022