Chapel Hill Town Council Takes on Stormwater, Lighting, and More
Chapel Hill’s current Town Council. Source: Town of Chapel Hill
On March 20, Chapel Hill’s Town Council hosted what Mayor Jess Anderson described as a meeting that “set a new record” for speed in a Town Council meeting. In 55 minutes, the Town Council—minus Karen Stegman, who was absent—discussed a development that wanted an exemption from light rules, trash in the Haw River, affordable housing, changes to a right-of-way, and updated stormwater regulations.
Haw River Trash
First up on the Town Council’s agenda was a public comment from the Haw River Assembly, a group that works to improve the conditions of the Haw River. A representative of the Assembly, Madison Haley, provided information on their work preventing plastic litter from entering the river, including trash traps placed at creek entrances to fish out larger detritus.
“I will say that Chapel Hill is one of our cleanest traps, which is awesome,” Haley said. “The town of Chapel Hill is a leader in many ways, and I think y’all could set really fantastic examples for plastic and litter reduction policies.”
Haley suggested that Chapel Hill expand on its successes by collecting more data on its litter, releasing it publicly, and using that data to find new ways to reduce litter. She also mentioned that Chapel Hill uses excessive plastic in programs to manage stormwater and sediment, and called upon the town to find ways of managing those concerns without particularly environmentally harmful materials.
Excessive plastic usage, per Haley, by the Town of Chapel Hill. The first shows unnecessary use of plastic to prevent sediment, while the second shows a more environmentally friendly alternative.
Bond for Affordable Housing
The other issue in public comment was the proposal for a bond referendum on the November ballot concerning affordable housing. This bond, which would total $50 million and is expected to create at least 900 new affordable units, would be in addition to the proposed bond referendum on school facilities funding. Speakers representing various groups in Chapel Hill that work for affordable housing, particularly the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition, argued that it was important to make sure that the bond got on the ballot this year.
A representative of the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition highlighted how, although the Town Council has funded many projects currently being built, projects need more funding for earlier stages of design. Furthermore, information was shared about rising costs for building affordable housing, which give additional emphasis on funding housing sooner rather than later.
Mike Nicholson, a homeowner through Community Home Trust, commented on the importance of affordable housing through his own experience of benefiting from affordable housing projects.
Lighting for Aura
In 2021, the Town of Chapel Hill approved the Aura development for a lot at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Estes Drive. The project, which is also known as Booth Park, is now seeking an exception to the Town’s lighting standards for the property to have slightly brighter lights in some parts of the property. Aura’s developers argue that this will help attract people from the neighboring Shadowood development to walk to the retail elements of the mixed-use development at night, while having minimal impact on the single-family homes located nearby. Furthermore, the changes concern the amount of light shining on the ground, rather than the amount causing light pollution in the sky.
The overall approval of Aura was controversial, necessitating two votes. In the end, Aura was approved 5-3, with all three votes against no longer serving on the Town Council. Then-Mayor Pam Hemminger, who voted no on the project, raised concerns about frightening e-mails from members of the public and called on Chapel Hill’s residents to disagree respectfully about whether the Aura project was a good idea.
It’s not out of the question that these same concerns pop up again at the April 17 vote on Aura’s lighting request, but it seems unlikely. For one, the modifications that Aura is requesting are fairly minor and are supported by the owners of nearby apartment complexes. Additionally, the staff of the Town have provided a recommendation that the Town Council vote to approve the modification.
No More Public Right-of-Way on Old Hargraves Road
Many years ago, plans for the development of an area around Roosevelt Drive, off of Old Franklin Street, included a public right-of-way known as Old Hargraves Road. This was never turned into a road, and the 1200-foot gravel path behind various homes has not undergone maintenance and has become overgrown with bamboo.
Fifteen years or so ago, property owner Whit Rummel began looking into closing the public right-of-way to let him and other home owners in the area begin to make modifications along the road. He mentioned that the “six feet of space” allocated for the right-of-way could be used for gardening if it was owned by people who wanted to clear the bamboo.
“It doesn’t adjoin the Battle Branch Trail, but it is close to it,” Council Member Adam Searing said. “I’m just wondering if anybody has given any consideration to that might be a place where we might want to, since that’s such a critical connection for getting up into town, especially for those neighborhoods, that we may want to reserve as a possible place for a greenway.”
Town staff, Council Member Elizabeth Sharp, and residents of the area all responded that it would not be a particularly suitable location for a greenway. The area around the right-of-way is extremely hilly, doesn’t connect to the Battle Branch Trail in a useful way for residents, and is extremely close to at least one home.
Given that many nearby property owners gave public comment in favor of the attempt to close the right-of-way, it seems highly likely that the Town Council will ultimately support its closure.
New Stormwater Regulations Proposed
Last on the Town Council’s agenda was a proposal to modify certain regulations pertaining to how new developments handle issues regarding stormwater. Previously, new developments did not have to consider whether their changes to the property would result in stormwater runoff being worse for storms that come about in 1% of years and last for 24 hours. If the modifications get passed at a later date, both new developments and redevelopments that increase the amount of impervious surface will have to take those “100-year storms” into account.
The motivation for this comes from climate change making flooding more likely and dangerous. Both an outside consultant’s report for the Town of Chapel Hill and the report of a group looking at runoff conditions around Booker Creek recommended this change, which was also unanimously approved by the Planning Commission and the Stormwater Advisory Board.
Council Member Amy Ryan brought up e-mails from the public about whether the new standards might place undue burdens on smaller “infill” developments. Ryan recommended that the Council consider lessening the regulations for developments below a certain size. The hearing about these stormwater regulations will continue on May 1.