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 Scott Levitan Susan Lyons, Vice Chair Megan Patnaik Edward Hoskins Tuesday, September 27, 2022 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_K6GwPjxpSfGAljiF0T0VnQ After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar in listen-only mode. Phone: 301-715-8592, Meeting ID: 860 2748 7014 Opening Roll Call Present 4 - Chair John Weis, Vice-Chair Susan Lyons, Scott Levitan, and Megan Patnaik Absent 1 - Edward Hoskins Approval of Agenda A motion was made by Chair Weis, seconded by Vice-Chair Lyons, that the Agenda be approved with the modification noted below. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Page 1 of 6 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes September 27, 2022 1. Monterrey Grill - Certificate of Appropriateness Modification moved off the consent agenda. Item to be discussed as Old Business. Announcements Staff was not aware of any announcements at time of agenda release. Chair Weis announced that an additional discussion item - 710 N. Estes - should be added to the agenda as the final item. Staff noted that the November and December meetings of the CDC have been rescheduled to avoid conflicts with the holidays. Petitions No petitions were noted. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Chair Weis, seconded by Vice-Chair Lyons, that the August minutes be approved with the modifications noted by Chair Weis. The motion carried by unanimous vote. 1. August Minutes [22-0676] Commission is asked to receive and consider action on August minutes report. Consent Agenda A motion was made by Levitan, seconded by Patnaik, that the consent agenda be approved. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. The Consent Agenda, as reflected in the approved agenda includes Officer Elections and Union Grove - Lighting Updates. 2. Officer Elections [22-0677] Commission is asked to provide officer elections for the next year. Chair Weis and Vice-Chair Lyons are eligible for another year of service. If discussion is required then this item can be moved to the last item on the agenda. If both the Chair and Vice-Chair are ok w/ continued service and the Commission supports that, then the item can be approved as part of the consent agenda. 3. Union Grove [22-0678] Lighting Updates Page 2 of 6 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes September 27, 2022 Commission is asked to review and consider approval of this application. The application is a modification to a request the commission heard and approved in May. As stated in the support narrative, the lights that were previously proposed for removal were discovered to be required for egress lighting. The applicant has proposed a modification that includes a downward facing 3k fixture. Old Business 4. Monterrey Grill [22-0679] Certificate of Appropriateness Modification Commission is asked to review and consider approval of this COA modification. In August the request was made for street trees and for the applicant to work w/ staff to investigate this request. Staff has talked w/ the applicant and consulted the regulating plan for the Blue Hill District, which has been provided w/ the agenda. The A-1 Frontage required for this location (WX-7 District), has w/ it a requirement for a 10' sidewalk width. Meaning the current sidewalk is a code compliant frontage. This means that a 10' clear hardscape zone would be considered Non-Compliant if trees were added. There is no district mechanism that would allow for a modification to the regulating plan or to allow trees in the 10' clear sidewalk zone. A motion was made by Vice Chair Lyons, seconded by Levitan, to approve the requested modification to the Certificate of Appropriateness. New Business 5. Tarheel Lodging [22-0680] Certificate of Appropriateness Modification Commission is asked to receive the application and drawings for a Blue Hill COA modification. This modification includes multiple DA request which are outlined in the applicant's narrative statement. If an action is possible, motions on a COA are approval, approval w/ conditions or denial. A motion was made by Vice-Chair Lyons, seconded by Levitan, that Tarheel Lodging be deferred to the Community Design Commission at a later date. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Page 3 of 6 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes September 27, 2022 The applicant was encouraged to resubmit their proposal after incorporating comments made by the CDC. 6. Carraway Village Refuel Center [22-0681] Commission is asked to receive and consider action on this final plans application. Actions for consideration are approval, approval w/ conditions or deferral to meet voluntary compliance request from the commission. A motion was made by Patnaik, seconded by Vice-Chair Lyons, that Carraway Refuel be deferred to the Community Design Commission at a later date. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. The applicant was encouraged to resubmit their proposal after incorporating comments made by the CDC. Concept Plan Reviews 7. 157 E. Rosemary [22-0682] Commission is asked to provide comments for this concept plan application. The Commission conducted a concept plan review of the 157 E. Rosemary concept plan. Below is a summary of comments made by members of the Commission: · The Commission voiced concerns about the proposed height of the building, noting that the Future Land Use Map guidance for up to 6 stories core height was particularly relevant on this end of E Rosemary St. Commissioners stated that an effective transition would involve the height of the building being about halfway between that of the sorority house and the future 150 E Rosemary lab building. Further, the building height should avoid creating a canyon or back alley effect on E Rosemary St. · Commissioners suggested that consideration of greater height for this building should involve special or high-quality architecture. · Commissioners felt the building would perhaps be more appropriate further west on Rosemary St. instead of next to the historic district. · The Commission strongly encouraged discussions between the applicant and the owner of the adjacent parking lot, seeking opportunity for integrated development of both parcels. A development involving both parcels could have reduced height and offer design flexibility given the small size of these parcels. Absent integrated development, coordination with the adjacent owner would be important for compatible development, consistent street setback, and avoiding Page 4 of 6 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes September 27, 2022 adverse impacts such as residents’ views being blocked by a future building. · Commissioners expressed appreciation for the stepback of upper stories on the E Rosemary St side of the building, and encouraged the design to feature stepping or articulation on the non-street-facing sides of the building, avoiding flat walls abutting surrounding properties. · Commissioners were concerned about the exposed parking level in the rear and on both sides of the proposed garage. · Commissioners were interested in creating a green roof and/or resident amenity where the parking structure extends beyond the main building envelope. · Commissioners noted the potential for significant traffic increase on E Rosemary St, given the amount of parking that would be accessed for this building along with other upcoming development. · The Commission wanted to be sure that the trash pick-up would not interfere with pedestrian and driveway traffic on Rosemary. · Commissioners stated that the affordable units should be spread throughout the project and not on one floor, and to avoid making the affordable units smaller than other units with the same number of bedrooms. · Commissioners noted that the project should have iterative design review with the Council and CDC, similar to the approach taken for the 150 E Rosemary lab building. Commission Discussion 8. 710 N. Estes [22-0776] The Commission received and discussed a letter provided by the applicant for 710 N. Estes Drive in which the applicant's responses to prior Commission comments were provided. Adjournment Next Meeting - Tuesday, October 25 Please note special meeting dates in November, Thursday 17th and December, Page 5 of 6 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes September 27, 2022 Thursday 15th. A motion was made by Levitan, seconded by Patnaik, that the meeting be adjourned at 9:40pm. The motion carried by 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. Note Page 6 of 6