Community Design Commission

Town Hall TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Community Design Commission Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Meeting Minutes John Weis, Chair Edward Hoskins Susan Lyons, Vice Chair Scott Levitan Susana Dancy Megan Patnaik Thursday, December 16, 2021 6:30 PM Virtual Meeting Language Access Statement Virtual Meeting Notification Board members will attend and participate in this meeting remotely, through internet access, and will not physically attend. The Town will not provide a physical location for viewing the meeting. The public is invited to attend the Zoom webinar directly online or by phone. Register for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0O7FtxkgRkaxL6DRqU6bJA. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar in listen-only mode. Phone: 301-715-8592, Meeting ID: 867 7964 2200 Opening Roll Call Present 6 - Chair John Weis, Vice-Chair Susan Lyons, Susana Dancy, Edward Hoskins, Scott Levitan, and Megan Patnaik Approval of Agenda A motion was made by Vice-Chair Lyons, seconded by Hoskins, that item 9, 307 N. Roberson, be moved to the consent agenda. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Page 1 of 7 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes December 16, 2021 A motion was made by Chair Weis, seconded by Vice-Chair Lyons, that item 10 be limited to discussion of the University Place Design Standards, and that discussion of the Multifamily building be deferred to a later meeting. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. A motion was made by Vice-Chair Lyons, seconded by Dancy, to approve the agenda as amended. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Announcements No announcements were noted at time of agenda release Corey Liles with the Planning Department shared that a modification had been made to the materials for item 3, YMCA. The applicant had updated the Photometric Plan to provide a color temperature of 3000K, and the attachments in the online agenda had been updated accordingly. Petitions No petitions were noted at time of agenda release No petitions were presented or discussed. Approval of Minutes 1. October Minutes [21-0953] Commission is asked to approve October minutes. Updates include comments from Weis received before November meeting. A motion was made by Vice-Chair Lyons, seconded by Hoskins, to approve the October minutes with the corrections noted by Chair Weis. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. 2. November Minutes [21-0954] Commission is asked to review and consider action on November minutes. A motion was made by Vice-Chair Lyons, seconded by Hoskins, to approve the November minutes w/ the noted modifications as submitted by Chair Weis. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Consent Agenda A motion was made by Hoskins, seconded by Vice-Chair Lyons, to approve the consent agenda with the condition that the color temperature for YMCA lighting be as stated on the updated Photometric Plan. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Approval of the consent agenda included the following items: Page 2 of 7 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes December 16, 2021 3. YMCA 9. 307 N. Roberson 3. YMCA [21-0955] Final Plans-Lighting Retrofit Commission is asked to consider action on lighting retrofit. Old Business 4. AURA Blue Hill [21-0956] COA Request Commission is asked to receive application presentation and materials and discuss COA request. A motion was made by Vice-Chair Lyons, seconded by Chair Weis, that Commission member Dancy be recused from this agenda item due to a stated conflict of interest. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. No public comment was received. Concerns shared by Commission members: - Building elevations don't give a Chapel Hill feel - South elevation of Fordham building needs more visual interest - Beige horizontal siding gives a monolithic impression - Consider treatments for pedestrian safety where the multiuse path crosses Bypass Ln - Consider other facade options for the parking deck, since current approach does not fully screen the internal ramps - Public space along Fordham doesn't seem inviting - Consider service functions (trash, loading, etc) and ensure those don't conflict with resident and public experience Guidance on Design Alternatives provided by Commission members: - General support for the increased upper floor plate area request - General agreement that the proposed street trees do not provide an 'equivalent or better' approach A motion was made by Vice-Chair Lyons, seconded by Patnaik, that action on this item be deferred for continued discussion at a later meeting, with a request to focus discussion on the building elevation refinements. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Page 3 of 7 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes December 16, 2021 5. Fifth Third Bank [21-0957] Final Plans-Elevations and LIghting Plan Commission is asked to receive application materials and consider action on final plans request. This review requires action on elevations and site lighting plan. No public comment was received. Concerns shared by Commission members: - Extent of EIFS being proposed for a small one-story building - Determining whether the proposed light poles were consistent with the fixtures being contemplated for the rest of the University Place site. A motion was made by Dancy, seconded by Levitan, that action on this item be deferred for continued discussion at a later meeting. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. 6. Shack Shake at Eastgate [21-0958] COA Modification Request Commission is asked to receive application presentation and materials and discuss COA request. No public comment was received. Concerns shared by Commission members: - Continued use of EIFS on the building facade, particularly without clarification as to whether it could be allowed through a Design Alternative, nonconformity, or other means. A motion was made by Hoskins, seconded by Chair Weis, to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness with a Design Alternative for additional EIFS as shown on submitted elevations. The motion failed by the following vote: Aye: Chair John Weis, Edward Hoskins Nay: Vice-Chair Susan Lyons, Susana Dancy, Scott Levitan, Megan Patnaik Members voting Nay found that the use of EIFS did not meet the 'equivalent or better' threshold for approving a Design Alternative. A motion was made by Dancy, seconded by Levitan, that action on this item Page 4 of 7 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes December 16, 2021 be deferred for continued discussion at a later meeting. The motion carried by the following vote: Hoskins stated readiness to take action as the reason for his Nay vote. Aye: 5 - Chair John Weis, Vice-Chair Susan Lyons, Susana Dancy, Scott Levitan, and Megan Patnaik Nay: 1 - Edward Hoskins Concept Plan Reviews 7. South Creek [21-0959] Concept Plan Commission is asked to provide comments on proposed concept plan. A member of the public shared concerns related to the Concept Plan. Commission members provided comments for consideration by the applicant and Town Council. No action was taken. - Measures to promote safe crossing of 15-501, including consideration of a bridge. - Concern about noise for townhomes facing 15-501. Interest in reconsidering the street in front of these townhomes - opportunity for a wider green zone. Additional comment was noted to consider the layout of townhomes on Oval Park at Meadowmont w/ a driveway in back. - Work with NCDOT to modify the design of 15-501 where possible, given the recent speed limit reduction. For example, an additional traffic light, narrower travel lanes, and other measures could make it more pedestrian friendly. - Concern that proposed price points would not be feasible given construction costs. - Interest in variety for condo buildings, where they would have similar character but not be carbon copies. - Consider expanding the central green as a placemaking feature, and possibly orient townhomes more towards open space. - Appreciation for quality of building design, proposed open space and trail network, relationship to Southern Village and Southern Community Park, and strategies for working with topography. 8. 2217 Homestead Road [21-0960] Concept Plan Commission is asked to provide comments on proposed concept plan. Page 5 of 7 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes December 16, 2021 Members of the public shared concerns related to the Concept Plan. Commission members provided comments for consideration by the applicant and Town Council. No action was taken. - Community open space should be more defined, meaningful, and unifying for the community. Don't have it broken into small pieces. Program open spaces with amenities to make it more active, such as play equipment and a club house. - The design makes garage doors prominent, which works against the resident experience. Consider shared driveways providing rear garage access. This would improve the streetscape for pedestrians and allow more space for on-street visitor parking. - One member felt a design to minimize garage doors was particularly important for units along the edges of the site. - Appreciation for amount of tree preservation, minimized grading approach, and site entry experience. - Interest in seeing how other Homestead Rd projects relate to this one. 9. 307 N. Roberson [21-0983] Concept plan is part of a limited scope Conditional Zoning review approved by council. Similar projects in the past have been passed through by CDC on the consent agenda and forwarded w/ no comments. This item was moved to the Consent Agenda and forwarded without comments. New Business 10. UPlace Multi-Family and Design Standards [21-0961] Commission is asked to begin review of final plans related to elevations and site lighting. This item was modified to include only a discussion of the Design Standards. No further action was taken. Commission members voiced continued concern about the scale of buildings, the ubiquity of large multifamily projects, and the shortcomings of the Design Standards for Pod A. Staff stated they will provide a list of changes made to the Design Standards in response to CDC input, and share CDC concerns with the Manager's Office. Page 6 of 7 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes December 16, 2021 Adjournment Next Meeting - January 25, 2022 A motion was made by Dancy, seconded by Patnaik, to adjourn the meeting at 10:45PM. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Order of Consideration of Agenda Items: 1. Staff Presentation 2. Applicant’s Presentation 3. Public Comment 4. Board Discussion 5. Motion 6. Restatement of Motion by Chair 7. Vote 8. Announcement of Vote by Chair Public Charge: The Advisory Body pledges its respect to the public. The Body asks the public to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous manner, both with the Body and with fellow members of the public. Should any member of the Body or any member of the public fail to observe this charge at any time, the Chair will ask the offending person to leave the meeting until that individual regains personal control. Should decorum fail to be restored, the Chair will recess the meeting until a genuine commitment to this public charge is observed. Unless otherwise noted, please contact the Planning Department at 919-968-2728; planning@townofchapelhill.org for more information on the above referenced applications. See the Advisory Boards page http://www.townofchapelhill.org/boards for background information on this Board. Page 7 of 7