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Council gets look at Lowe’s expansion

Posted on September 23, 2010September 23, 2010 by Staff

Map Courtesy of the Town of Chapel Hill
By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL — The Chapel Hill Town Council reviewed plans Monday night for an expansion of the garden-supplies area at the Lowe’s Home Center on U.S. 15-501, a move the company says will actually improve conditions along a creek just off the store’s parking lot.

Lowe’s wants to add 27,691 square feet of space to its outdoor merchandise and supplies area, including erecting a 12-foot-high fence around the area. The plan would eliminate 64 existing parking spaces.

In its redesign for the area, the company is also planning to add additional stormwater infrastructure. Allan Fortner and Derek Melton, representing Lowe’s, told the council that as part of the project the company will commission clean-up teams to remove garbage along the creek and eliminate some downed trees blocking the flow of water.

After hearing concerns from residents of the nearby Providence Glenn neighborhood, council members said that if they approve the expansion they would likely require a stipulation that the store’s loudspeaker system be positioned in a way that it did not blare across the property line

The hearing was continued until Oct. 25.

The council also reviewed plans for finally finishing a section of the Northwoods V subdivision. Builder Calvin Mellott asked the council to allow for the construction of four homes on five lots along a stretch of Palafox Drive at the intersection of Rowe Road bordered by the Parkwood subdivision. The fifth lot would be converted to an access point for a future greenway project.

The lots had been removed from the original expansion of Northwoods V because they would have been difficult to build on. Mellott said his company had excavated a build-up of silt at the site and improved the lots so that they were now ready for homes.

“This has been a long time coming,” Mellott told the council.

Council members said they too wanted to see the project come to a conclusion because it left a gap in the neighborhood, including one in its sidewalk structure. But Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and council members Jim Ward and Ed Harrison said they wanted some assurances that the lots would not have a negative impact on a stream near the properties.

Kleinschmidt suggested that a conservation easement on a portion of the lots could be a solution. The hearing was continued until Oct. 25.

In other action Monday night, the council reviewed a concept plan for an expansion at Carol Woods Retirement Center.

The proposal would add a four-story building adjacent to Building 1 in the heart of Carol Woods. The 38,142-square-foot building would contain 18 residential units.

The town council also met last Wednesday, after the press call for The Citizen. At the Wednesday meeting at Town Hall, the council reviewed the upcoming $20.41 million general obligation bond sale scheduled for Sept. 21.

The council approved the use of taxable Build America Bonds (BABs) for all or part of the transaction and appointed Davenport & Company LLC as the financial advisor. The use of the taxable bonds could save the town $800,000 in interest over the life of the bonds.

In other matters, the council:

• received reports on pedestrian-safety improvements at the intersections of East Franklin Street and Elizabeth Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Estes Drive and projects proposed for further improvements;

• authorized the release of the N.C. 54 Corridor Study to citizen advisory boards and scheduled a public hearing for Nov. 8. The corridor study is intended to assess existing congestion and evaluate the impact of future transportation demand along the N.C. 54 corridor between Fordham Boulevard. in Chapel Hill and I-40 in Durham. A draft final report has been prepared and released for public comment. The full report is available at nc54-i40corridorstudy.com/

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