Planning Commission

Town Hall TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Planning Commission Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Meeting Minutes Elizabeth Losos, Chair E. Strother Murray-ndinga Wesley Mcmahon, Vice Chair Theodore Nollert Geoffrey Green Louie Rivers Chuck Mills Erik Valera Jonathan Mitchell Tuesday, October 17, 2023 7:00 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_9kTgEL4ER9ehXjlzy6ia9A After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar in listen-only mode. Phone: 301-715-8592, Meeting ID: 875 8380 4542 Opening Roll Call Council Liaison: Camille Berry Staff Liaison: Jacob Hunt Present 7 - Vice-Chair Wesley Mcmahon, Geoffrey Green, Chuck Mills, Jonathan Mitchell, E. Strother Murray-ndinga, Louie Rivers, and Erik Valera Absent 2 - Chair Elizabeth Losos, and Theodore Nollert Page 1 of 4 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes October 17, 2023 Approval of Agenda Announcements Petitions Approval of Minutes 1. October 3, 2023 Meeting Minutes [23-0731] Planning Commission is asked to review and approve the minutes of the October 3, 2023, meeting. Jon Mitchell made a motion, seconded by Geoffrey Green, to approve the October 3rd, 2023 Meeting Minutes. The motion was carried by an 7-0 vote Old Business New Business 2. Conditional Zoning - Chapel Hill Life Sciences Center at 306. [23-0732] West Franklin Street Planning Commission is asked to review this Conditional Zoning Application and provide a recommendation regarding approval of the application and its consistency with the Comprehensive Plan to the Town Council by October 20, 2023. Geoff Green moved, and Strother Murray-Ndinga seconded, a recommendation that the Council find that the proposed Chapel Hill Life Sciences Center Conditional Zoning District Application is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The motion passed 7-0. Strother Murry-Ndinga moved, and Erik Valera seconded, a recommendation that the Council adopt the Chapel Hill Life Sciences Center Conditional Zoning District Application as an amendment to the Zoning Atlas with the attached comments as a supplement to their recommendation. The motion passed 7-0. Planning Commission Comments: • We support planning staff and their concerns and conditions reflected in the staff memo and the ordinance. We hope these issues are considered and resolved. Page 2 of 4 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes October 17, 2023 • We appreciate and noted the applicant's community engagement with Empowerment, Inc. and plans to reach out to Northside neighbors and other communities in the area. • The commission supports the trade off of height in order to realize more green space, and hope that there is a plan to ensure it becomes and stays activated. We also appreciate the attention to creating a pedestrian alleyway that is in line with the character of downtown and creates a connection between Rosemary and Franklin Streets. • There were no negative public comments at our meeting, the only public comment came from Aaron Nelson, chair of the Chamber, who expressed support for this project. • The commission would like to have seen more detailed design plans, but felt encouraged that the process requires the applicant to work with the Town's urban designer. More assurance and evidence that this is happening will only help the commission and members of the public earn trust in this process. • There was some concern for how the town will help current tenants at this location, and potentially other locations in the future, continue operating downtown, with a clear understanding that this is outside the zoning process. The planning commission does not feel that displacement should delay this project. Commission members were excited at the opportunities this project will bring to downtown and Chapel Hill as a whole. Prepared by: Wesley McMahon (Co-Chair) Adjournment Next Meeting - To be determined 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. Page 3 of 4 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes October 17, 2023 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 4 of 4