On January 9, 2014, Central West Focus Area Steering Committee chair Michael Parker gave an update on the Central West plan approved by Chapel Hill Town Council.

1. CENTRAL WEST FOCUS AREA PLANNING
January 9, 2014

2. Background
 Part of/continuation of Chapel Hill 2020
 Outgrowth of six identified “Future Focus” areas
 Downtown
 North Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd./I-40
 South Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd./Homestead Road to Estes Drive
 Highway 54
 North 15-501
 South 15-501
 First one to be addressed

3. CWFA Planning and Impact Areas

4. Committee Organization and Decision-Making
 17 member committee appointed by Council
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8 residents of the surrounding area
9 other representatives, including Advisory Board members, land
and business owners
 Committee determined its own decision-making process
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Consensus was the goal
2/3 supermajority if no consensus
 Consensus decisions (unanimous)
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Principles and objectives
Bike, pedestrian, and greenway plan
Stormwater recommendations
Improvements to Estes Road profile, including off-road trail
 Supermajority decisions (2/3 majority or greater)
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Land uses
Heights and density
Draft plan document
Maximum Estes width of 5 lanes at the MLK intersection

5. The 13 CW Planning Principles
 Create a strong sense of place
 Ensure community compatibility
 Create social connections
 Improve physical connections
 Minimize vehicular traffic impacts
 Enhance pedestrian/bicycle experience
 Improve the transit system
 Encourage a diverse mix of uses
 Encourage a diverse population
 Respect existing neighborhoods
 Employ environmentally sound practices
 Feature, repair, and enhance natural resources
 Consider economic impacts in development decisions

6. Overview of Recommendations
Planning Area
Totals
Use
Total
Residential
620 units
Office
100,000 sf
Retail
25,000 sf
Commercial
30,000 sf
Hotel
65,000 sf
Institutional
50,000 sf

7. Endorsements
 Unanimously endorsed by multiple Boards:
 Bike and Ped
 Transportation
 Parks and Recreation
 Planning – with stipulations addressing
• Traffic – comprehensive Town traffic study
• Storm water – possible storm water district
 Unanimously approved by Council
 Accepted most P-Board recommendations
 Modified traffic recommendation to avoid a moratorium

8. And the Upshot Is…
 A flawed process yielded a good plan
 Took too long
 Consumed too many resources
 Proved contentious in the extreme; ordinary citizens put in the firing
line
 Where the Town goes from here
 Unlikely that there will be proactive zoning changes
 Council likely to respond to specific development proposals
 Airport hazard zone needs to be dealt with – or not
 Unclear how traffic study requirement will be dealt with