Town Council

Town Hall TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Town Council Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Meeting Minutes - Final Mayor Pam Hemminger Council Member Nancy Oates Mayor pro tem Jessica Anderson Council Member Michael Parker Council Member Donna Bell Council Member Karen Stegman Council Member Allen Buansi Council Member Rachel Schaevitz Council Member Hongbin Gu Wednesday, February 6, 2019 6:30 PM Library Room B Roll Call Present: 9 - Mayor Pam Hemminger, Mayor pro tem Jessica Anderson, Council Member Donna Bell, Council Member Allen Buansi, Council Member Hongbin Gu, Council Member Nancy Oates, Council Member Michael Parker, Council Member Rachel Schaevitz, and Council Member Karen Stegman Other Attendees Town Manager Maurice Jones, Deputy Town Manager Florentine Miller, Planning Director Ben Hitchings, Planning and Development Manager Judy Johnson, Engineering Manager Chris Roberts, Senior Planner Anya Grahn, Community Resilience Officer John Richardson, Police Chief Chris Blue, Economic Development Officer Dwight Bassett, Public Works Director Lance Norris, Planner Michael Sudol, Community Safety Manager Meg McGurk, LUMO Project Manager Alisa Duffey Rogers, and Communications and Public Affairs Director/Town Clerk Sabrina M. Oliver. OPENING Mayor Hemminger announced that a number of Council Members had attended an economic impact meeting that had covered all things commercial, retail, and development. She added that the Council Committee on Economic Sustainability will meet on Friday at 8 a.m. along with a public information meeting would be held on February 12 regarding transmission line removal on Weaver Dairy Road. The Mayor announced that the Council would have a regular meeting on February 13 and added that there would be a gun sense advocacy meeting at the library on February 12. She noted that UNC had announced Keven M. Guskiewicz as the appointed interim Chancellor. AGENDA ITEMS 1. UNC Health Care Eastowne Master Plan Project. [19-0108] Simon George, with UNC Healthcare, said UNC was proceeding with the first medical building at the Eastowne development. Mr. George provided the timeframe, adding that it was an aggressive schedule. He said they want to develop the building and not come back to ask for any more until Page 1 of 8 Town Council Meeting Minutes - Final February 6, 2019 it is completed and that it should be done in short order. John Martin, with UNC Healthcare, said he believed 18 months to be a reasonable time frame. He said he was confident there was no set agenda and said he believed there to be a shared vision with UNC Health and the Town Council. He said in the preliminary phase they were asking for a resolution to begin the process in earnest set for March. He directed Council Members to the timeline schedule. Council Member Parker said the project would be driven by the schedule. He asked if there would be a subcommittee of Council Members. He added that the plan gives the impression it’s been subbed out to advisory boards. Mr. Martin said input and comments would be received at all board meetings and the negotiation itself would be with the full Council or a subcommittee as he had suggested. Mr. Hitchings said there were topics that need to be discussed such as the recent Amity Station. He said there are several approaches and that they would need the involvement of Council. He suggested a subgroup or some combination of check-ins with a full body and subcommittees. Council Member Parker said he would like to see month-to-month involvement by Council. He said that in the case of Amity, there were advisors directing them. He asked what additional resources were needed and who would pay. Mr. Hitchings said the applicant would pay for an urban designer. Town Manager Maurice Jones commented that some time could be spent discussing other things needed, similar to what was done with Amity Station. Council Member Parker said it would be helpful to have a staff person on site at the open houses and mentioned potential challenges with the start date of negotiations, as we would be coming off the heals of the election in November 2019. Mr. George agreed with Council Member Parker and said that having a staff person on site would show commitment and partnership. Mr. Hitchings commented that there would be a session before the meetings. Council Member Stegman said she wanted to see public comment meetings and wanted to have community meetings giving an example of Pinegate. Mr. George agreed in response. Council Member Gu said she didn’t see UNC as part of the schedule and asked what the schedule for UNC would be and when a time proposal would be made. Mr. George said it would dovetail into the Town’s schedule. Council Member Gu asked how the framework would be combined, and Mr. George replied that they would overlay UNC’s time frame over the Town’s as they are fundamentally the same schedule. Mr. George said that the clinical, academic, and financial components would be the same. Page 2 of 8 Town Council Meeting Minutes - Final February 6, 2019 Mayor pro tem Anderson asked about the stormwater review and if it would be in the environmental stewardship. Mr. Hitchings replied, yes. He said there would be an orientation for the commission in an open house framework. Mr. Hitchings said that instead of just an open discussion, which doesn’t work for them, they would find a way of talking about potential uses throughout. Mr. George mentioned that UNC was going to have a clinical focus but was unsure of how much would have to be clinical and not. Mayor pro tem Anderson mentioned her concern about how UNC would house their employees in Town. She mentioned this was a bigger conversation that should take place during the negotiation process and agreed with Council Member Parker that there should be a subcommittee. Council Member Schaevitz said she was interested in hearing about the sustainability workshop and in talking about the uses. Mr. Martin said he was open to either idea and all ideas. Council Member Oates said that by looking at the dots on the schedule, time is expensive. She would like for the Council to be able to give feedback after hearing thoughts from the environmental sustainability meeting. Mayor Hemminger agreed that there was a lot of stuff on the scheduled timeline. Amy Ryan said it depends on the level of input you want. She said they work better in subcommittees and should choose people who are not up for re-election so as to be thoughtful about this. We need to go back and talk to the Town Manager about what this schedule looks like. She said we need to look at stormwater and commented that it is a swamp over there. We need to have a list of potential uses. Ms. Ryan said it was hard to understand what you are doing. You need to tell the community you’re growing and what will be there such as a major job center with a number of employees who will be at this site and that the people working there have the best of experience. Council Member Parker said that both UNC and the Town needed to have a negotiating position, so they can have the discussion, and can represent the residents and community in a dual and visioning process. Mr. Jones commented that this was an excellent point and wanted to ensure the community’s desires would be heard. Mayor pro tem Anderson agreed with Council Member Oates and Mayor Hemminger about more check-ins with Council early on. Council Member Stegman said that regarding the costs and meetings there were too many dots and that the boards were not in the steps. She recommended replacing the dots with the joint board member meetings. Mr. Hitchings said, yes, that this would be possible and the reason for so many meetings is for the UNC team to share their developing information. Page 3 of 8 Town Council Meeting Minutes - Final February 6, 2019 Mr. Martin said there would be a check-in early on with the Council and mentioned that consolidating board meetings would save time. We want the public to say there was enough input time, he said. Council Member Bell said that she read the blue dots to be a response to the Council meeting where the Council had mentioned there was enough public meeting input. She said the Obey Creek Joint Advisory board meeting was very effective and expressed her support of a combined meeting for phase two. Mr. Hitchings commented that the blue dots were regular advisory board meetings. Mayor Hemminger said she preferred a check-in with the Council sooner rather than later after the economic sustainability meeting, and for the work sessions as well. She expressed a desire to see the committees first and to then have the joint meetings. Mr. George said he was happy to do that and would inquire with the board members to ensure their attendance. He stated he would think a little more about not having as many meetings as they require lots of notice and not all the members would be required to attend. FEEDBACK It was asked if there were any major principles missing from the Proposed Town of Chapel Hill Council Themes. Council Member Parker mentioned roadway capacity and recommended adding it based on roadway capacity sequencing of a project. Mayor Hemminger mentioned that themes #2 and #5 should be combined. Mayor pro tem Anderson asked what was meant by “high quality” gateway in theme #1. She said she was unsure what strong links to transit meant in item #3 and mentioned there was nothing about tree canopy in theme #5. She thought this could be taken from the Carolina North ecological integrity. Mayor pro tem Anderson suggested understanding the impacts on town services should be added to theme #6. Council Member Oates asked what affordable housing in theme #6 meant. Mayor Hemminger mentioned jobs and the job creation it would bring to the Town. She noted that the Town pays for services to these types of developments and that there would be a need for taxes to pay for this. Mayor Hemminger recommended food access for those who work there. Council Member Oates mentioned having clear expectations of AH and who is paying for what. She asked for stormwater considerations as well. Page 4 of 8 Town Council Meeting Minutes - Final February 6, 2019 Council Member Schaevitz suggested there be stronger language in theme # 6 regarding AH and in theme #2 regarding energy efficient buildings and in re-green engineering. Council Member Parker suggested the addition of solar panels to theme #2. Council Member Stegman questioned what attractive buildings with appropriate height meant in theme #2. She said the wording was not clear and wanted clarification on the meaning and what the vision is. Council Member Gu commented that the themes cover most conversations the Council and staff have had but suggested something more global and visionary. She recommended a statement like what was in Carolina North, the urban design principles, and an overarching theme. Council Member Bell said that theme #2 should involve some type of measurement like a 20-year build out with the idea of an ecological assessment. She said there should be a commitment in how we are going to preserve and what our desire around AH will look like. Mayor Hemminger recommended adding in a healthy work-place and an environmental piece. She advised the addition of best environmental places for it reuse of water and renewable energy. She suggested making it clear that it’s a connected part of the community. Mr. George referred to the handout on UNC’s planned themes and touched on the goals of phased infrastructure and financial sustainability. Council Member Parker referred to the Amity Station project and wanted to know if they would be willing to share that amount of information with the Council to help them better understand what financial sustainability means. Mr. George replied that breaking out proformas would have to come back to the Council but replied, yes. Council Member Parker mentioned that affordable employee housing had not been added to the list. Mr. George said it should not be a concern until it was determined what we want. Council Member Gu asked if there was a vision and Mr. George replied that it had not been developed yet. ITEMS FOR FUTURE DISCUSSION · Council to consider resolution to consider on February 20 (authorization to conduct a DA) Page 5 of 8 Town Council Meeting Minutes - Final February 6, 2019 · Adopting town principles · Establishing general schedule · Authorizing process to proceed Mr. George said there is a commitment to go through this process. He said what he is asking from you is the same commitment and engagement, long-vested rights. 2. Downtown Parking Update. (no attachment) [19-0109] Meg McGurk, Community Safety Planner, reviewed a PowerPoint presentation to discuss the current and future demands of downtown parking and to discuss the financial opportunities to meet the demand. She mentioned that the staff would be seeking the Council’s feedback at the end of the presentations. Ms. McGurk mentioned the recent parking improvements which included: · 60 new parking kiosks · 375 new spaces to public parking downtown · Downtown Ambassadors to help ease the transition to new parking systems · Consistent times for off-street parking at 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Ms. McGurk mentioned that a parking study had been completed by the Walker Consulting Group and it was determined that the demand for parking had been observed during the weekdays between noon and 2 p.m. Additionally, it was noted that the occupancy had reached 70%, which was deemed adequate but that several areas had experienced high occupancy levels which had put them at or near capacity. Ms. McGurk mentioned there would be a future demand of approximately 1,000 spaces within the next 10 years. The mentioned takeaways from the study were that the study captured a point in time, that the demand would change as development occurs, and that there were several options to meet the future demand. Dwight Bassett, Economic Development Officer, highlighted the opportunities that would be available to meet the future demand of 1000 in the PowerPoint presentation. Chris Roberts, Manager of Engineering & Infrastructure, mentioned that a 2012 Condition Assessment Report had identified maintenance needs on the Wallace deck which would cost approximately $1.8 million in addition to the already determined parking needs. He said the staff would bring before the Council the recommendation of adding 100 parking spaces along with the repairs for a total cost of $2.4 million by late February or early March. Page 6 of 8 Town Council Meeting Minutes - Final February 6, 2019 Mayor Hemminger commented that the visitor’s center was moving to Franklin Street and asked if additional parking would be added, if trees could be left on the deck, and if solar panels could be added. Ben Hitchings, Planning Director, highlighted the needs for an integrated system to assist in planning, funding, and for building public parking. He identified the following components for the system, a parking information system, a parking capital improvement plan, a financing plan, and a capital improvements delivery system. FEEDBACK · Additional parking on the Wallace Deck was mentioned and Mayor pro tem Anderson responded in favor. · An integrated parking management system that includes data and best management practices. Mayor pro tem Anderson responded in favor. · A financing system that allows the Town to build parking to meet future demand. Mayor pro tem Anderson responded in favor. · Council Member Schaevitz said she wanted to hear feedback about the new kiosks and asked if people knew where the new spaces were located. She said she agreed with Mayor pro tem Anderson that there can’t be bus routes all over Town but asked if the addition of a park and ride or shuttle close to downtown had been looked into. · Council Member Schaevitz mentioned that there was not enough down time for downtown parking. She wondered if there were other reasons the Town couldn’t look into doing shared parking, other than a lack of money. Mr. Bassett said that Glen Lennox was currently doing it and mentioned it works because those living there go to work and then the space is available for other workers while they are gone. Council Member Gu asked if we could partner with UNC. Mr. Bassett replied that we would try again. Mayor Hemminger asked if there were any numbers on parking and the time and inquired on why numbers had dropped. She mentioned needing to get together again and said she wanted to see numbers from an 8 to 11 time frame. Mayor Hemminger said she wanted to see a change or suggested it come from the General Fund but said she didn’t want to do that. Mayor Hemminger mentioned autonomous vehicles and said the timeline was shifting because of public confidence and technology issues. She said Page 7 of 8 Town Council Meeting Minutes - Final February 6, 2019 there was a need to do something about parking now and not 10 years from now when the autonomous cars will be here. Mayor Hemminger said there was not enough parking for the bicyclists, apartments, and luxury buildings taking over some spaces in downtown. She said parents of students would be willing to pay to reduce students driving. She encouraged the staff to bring up the Wallace Deck soon and urged the Council to keep thinking of questions. One hundred spaces will be used quickly, maybe behind the Courtyards, Mayor Hemminger suggested. There was consensus from the Council regarding additional parking on the Wallace deck. There was a consensus from the Council on integrated parking. There was a consensus from the Council on more info about financing. The Council mentioned not wanting to wait until the fall to hear back about this and asked for it to be brought back soon. Mr. Jones recommended the focus to be on more than just parking. He mentioned bus rapid transit and multimodal transportation to help with the climate. Mr. Gladdeck, Executive Director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, said they need data and a pilot way to tweak this. Mr. Page spoke about public/private parking. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:32 p.m. Page 8 of 8