By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
A perceived shift in the university’s mission at Carolina North along with concerns about housing at the new campus and its impact on regional transportation has officials and residents now asking why the rush to finish a plan this fall.
At a Monday night forum sponsored by several environmental and grassroots neighborhood groups, Chapel Hill Town Council member Bill Strom told a crowd of about 100 he’s worried that a timetable that would have a plan before the council by October is too compressed.
Strom said the project is far too big and the university’s request for development of a new zone for the 970-acre parcel too complicated to do well under the current schedule.
“This artificial deadline is compromising our ability to do a good job as regulators,†he said.
To meet the fall deadline set by the university’s Board of Trustees, the university has been conducting a series of public information meetings to show refined versions of its plans and take comment on how the elements work on the site.
Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy said while he expects the university will have a concept ready on its timetable, the town will move at its own pace.
“Every developer has their own timetable,†Foy said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. The council, he said, will make sure they and the citizens have time to thoroughly review the plans.
Foy said one of the biggest jobs will be crafting a zone for the area that’s appropriate. Although the broad outlines have been discussed, he does not expect the town to have a new zone ready by the time the university shares its concept for Carolina North with the town.
At the most recent UNC meeting, Jack Evans, who has led the university’s Carolina North effort, laid out the school’s “best estimate†of the first 15 years of construction at Carolina North. An innovation center and the First School – a pre-kindergarten through third-grade school due to be built near Seawell Elementary School – are among the most likely new elements, Evans said. Nearly half of the projects in the first phase, he said, would house programs already existing on the main campus and in rental space around the community. “These projects represent relocation and not new space, use or new employment.â€
But the composition and extent of housing and corporate partnerships may turn out to be either smaller or larger depending on “market response,†Evans said at last month’s session. “Certainty in these matters is just not possible.â€
At Monday’s community forum, Neighborhood for Responsible Growth member Julie McClintock said the fact that the campus will have a number of academic programs is a significant change from how Carolina North has been previously billed.
“They’re not talking about a research campus,†she said. “They’re talking about another campus.â€
In an interview Wednesday, Evans said he doesn’t think there has been a significant shift in the mission for Carolina North. The economic development aspect of the project, he said, is likely to become clearer as plans progress.
“Right now, there are people at UNC in conversations with potential occupants.†But until it looks more like a reality, he said, there’s nothing to show them.
Evans said he’s also hearing from faculty — including some that spoke at a campus workshop Wednesday morning — that housing might be a strong attraction for researchers.
Dan Coleman, a Carrboro Alderman and one of the panelists for the forum, said he continues to worry about the lack of housing. The university’s new 15-year projects list includes about 500,000 square feet of housing — only about one-sixth of what Coleman says is necessary to mitigate the impact of the additional jobs. More housing, he said, would make Carolina North more of a true mixed-use development, something that has proven popular in other parts of the area.
“If market forces were really driving this, they would mostly be building housing,†he said.
Strom said while he was pleased to see some progress in transportation planning, there is a concern that off-site planning is not going far enough.
“The bad news is that the scenerios we’re seeing are very inwardly focused. They don’t mesh well with the community.â€
The next university-sponsored Carolina North information meeting is scheduled for June 21. Visit http://cn.unc.edu/ for details.
The Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth Web Carolina North site is www.nrg-nc.net/prototype_dcd/page_10745.html