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 Megan Patnaik Susan Lyons, Vice Chair Heather Washburn Scott Levitan Tuesday, January 23, 2024 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_68yjKMnvTfmBvILcVAywLQ After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar in listen-only mode. Phone: 301-715-8592, Meeting ID: 850 8946 6427 Opening Roll Call Planning Staff Liaison Katherine Shor was present for this meeting. Present 5 - Chair John Weis, Vice-Chair Susan Lyons, Scott Levitan, Megan Patnaik, and Heather Washburn Approval of Agenda Commissioner Patnaik moved, and Washburn seconded, to approve the agenda. The motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Levitan was not present for this Page 1 of 6 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024 vote and joined the meeting at 6:33 p.m. Announcements No annoucements were noted at the time of agenda release. Commission Vice Chair Lyons requested if it was possible to change the meeting start time to 5pm. Staff liaison would consult with Town Clerk and provide an update at the next month's meeting. Petitions No petitions were noted at the time of agenda release. No petitions Approval of Minutes Draft report for December will be provided for review in February. Consent Agenda 1. AURA Chapel Hill [24-0021] AURA Chapel Hill is looking for an updated approval for final plans which were previously reviewed in 2021. Projects prior approval has been modified w/ a siding color modification. Prior approved and updated dwgs. have been provided for reference. Commissioner Washburn moved, and Patnaik seconded, to approve the consent agenda. The motion carried unanimously. New Business 2. 2217 Homestead [24-0022] Final plans approval is requested for the referenced project. This is an affordable housing project and the approved stipulations give the CDC a courtesy review of the dwelling units only. Per the approval language the developer is only required to attend one meeting w/ the CDC and the commission has no authority to approve, deny or defer the submitted drawings. The CDC may submit comments to the applicant. Commission members discussed the elevation view from Homestead Road, the trim color of windows, and the desire for a color difference among the elevations overall. Staff Liaison recommended the Chair and Vice Chair summarize comments to share with the applicant as a part of the courtesy review. The summarized comments are below. MEMORANDUM To: Tri Pointe Homes From: Community Design Commission Chair John Weis Page 2 of 6 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024 Date: February 27th, 2024 RE: Courtesy Review of All Elevations, CDC-23-15 (2217 Homestead Road) After reviewing this project in 2021 the Community Design Commission (CDC) reviewed it again on November 17, 2022. At that meeting Commission members thought that the project was much improved but still had some concerns especially about the rear and side elevations since they would be seen by walkers and passersby There was also concern with the front elevations which emphasized the garages that were more prominent than the Townhouse entrances. The Commission’s approval was conditioned that the Developer, after approval by Town Council, should return to the Commission for a Courtesy Review of All Elevations. That Courtesy Review was held on Tuesday January 23rd, 2024 and is the subject of this Memo. The proposed treatment of the rear and side elevations remains an issue for Commission Members. The view of the project from Homestead is not favorable or inviting as the entrance to the project is dominated by rear and side views which are very plain and lack detail and interest. The rear and side elevations remain a concern for the townhouses which are located along the north/south roads that serve as the primary entrances. These units will be visible from the walkway which is proposed between the buildings and suffers the same visual impact as the entranceway units. All rear and side units need stronger articulation of window openings and trim. Although the front elevations are improved, the repetition of the numerous 4 and 5 Plexes, all in shades of gray along these north/south roads, may result in a negative visual impact. Set-backs and varying shades and colors can mitigate this effect. The white window sash/mullion is too much of a contrast with the gray trim and cladding. A shade of gray would soften this appearance. Commissioner Levitan moved, and Commissioner Lyons seconded, for the Chair and Vice Chair to draft a summary of the Commission's comments to share with the applicant. The motion carried unanimously. 3. 306 West Franklin Design Principals [24-0024] Requested by commission for discussion. A summary of the Commission's discussion is provided below. MEMORANDUM From: Community Design Commission Chair John Weis To: Community Design Commission Members Page 3 of 6 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024 Date: February 27th, 2024 RE: 306 W. Franklin Street (CZD-23-7) Design Principles Discussion We all believe that the Design Principles as prepared by the developer were basically OK and some even commented that they aligned well with the Ordinance as approved by Council. With that said there were a number of issues/concerns expressed that warrant our consideration for discussion. If I have misinterpreted you or have missed any thoughts that you feel should be included, let me know and I will prepare a “finished draft" for Tuesday. Here, in no prioritized order are the comments: “A Top 10", if you will. 1. At the Retail/ First Floor level retain a 60% glazing instead of allowing 40% in certain areas and for certain uses. 2. Require building entrances along the Rosemary Street frontage. 3. The building needs to be contextual with the existing 4-7 story residential buildings located across Rosemary and Franklin Streets and can be accomplished with masonry at both streets; and step-backs using glass and metal to the eventual 140’ to 165’ height. 4. The 4-story base on Franklin and Rosemary and the step-back portion should have discrete elements, reference cornices, window elevations and facade heights. 5. Sidewalks on Rosemary and Franklin should be wide enough to accommodate pedestrian traffic, tree planting and other landscape materials. 6. If there are restaurants located along Franklin or Rosemary, outdoor seating should be on the Developers property and not intrude into the Public realm. Provision needs to be made for adequate shading by trees, rollup shades or other means of shading. 7. On Franklin the residential buildings across the street are roughly 300’ wide and 200’ wide. The width as shown on the renderings for 306 Franklin appears to be roughly +/- 175 feet. On Rosemary the buildings across the street are much smaller yet the width of the proposed rendering along Rosemary is much wider (250-300 lf) 8. The passageway connecting Rosemary and Franklin must easily accommodate outside restaurant and passive seating, landscape elements and pedestrian movement without conflict. 9. The plaza on Franklin presents an opportunity for a true Urban Place as well as an activity Node. In addition to landscape elements; sculptures, statues and nameplates may be appropriate to create a space where people will want to gather, observe, learn and share. For example there are a number of individuals and events that could be displayed from Northside, Chapel Hill and UNC. 10. The Open Space on Rosemary is much smaller than the space on Franklin and according to the preliminary concept plans is being looked at as a ”Pass through" for bike traffic rather than a Node. The grade change here is substantial but it should not completely dictate design. This needs rethinking by the developer to create a true Page 4 of 6 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024 Urban space for both streets. Commission Chair Weis requested a discussion of proposed design principles for 306 W. Franklin Street (CZD-23-7) with Commission Members. This item was received and filed. 4. CDC Review Roles [24-0026] Requested by commission for discussion. Principal Planner Tas Lagoo shared information with Commission Members on the ongoing work of consultant team SOM to study building typologies and develop design related dimensional standards. This work is a part of the Land Use Management Ordinance (LUMO) update project. Lagoo requested the Commission's thoughts and feedback on a design study document that was shared as a part of this meeting's agenda. This document will be used to inform the effort to draft a limited set of design related rules in the new LUMO and serve as the basis for discussion at Feb. 27 meeting between Lagoo and Commission members. received and filed. 5. Planning Updates [24-0023] Documents have been provided FYSA. received and filed. Adjournment Next Meeting - Tuesday, Feb 27 The meeting was adjourned. Moved by Commission Washburn, second from Commission Lyons. The motion carried unanimously. 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 Page 5 of 6 Community Design Commission Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024 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 6 of 6