A public presentation on guidelines for the redevelopment of West Rosemary Street in Chapel Hill was given by town officials and members of an urban design firm on Monday.

Rae Buckley, the assistant to the town manager, described the presentation as part of a larger effort to let residents influence the design and direction of their neighborhoods.

“Many of the community members that we have, have turned out to give us feedback over the years about what they’d like to see happen on West Rosemary Street,” she noted. “This process is a process to bring all that together.”

Attendees were privy to remarks from Stan Harvey, a principal member of Lord Aeck Sargent, who emphasized the importance of laying a conceptual foundation before the start of actual construction.

“This is a rare opportunity where you’re able to get out to your point in front of development, and rather than being in the heat of an individual zoning battle or development proposal, it’s a proactive step,” he explained.

The Chapel Hill Town Council commissioned Lord Aeck Sargent to draft comprehensive redevelopment standards for West Rosemary Street that prioritize the needs of the community.

“There have been various iterations of discussion about this topic,” stated Buckley. “The council at this point is really looking for us to bring all that together and bring something back to them that summarizes all that conversation.”

With new buildings already appearing along the street, council members are seeking to institute a unified approach to area revitalization along West Rosemary Street as early as this spring.

“The guide, because of this recent activity, is indication that there will be more [developments],” he surmised. “That’s why the town council is interested in getting this guide out there now before other additional developments come in.”

Commercial developments notwithstanding, Lord Aeck Sargent has been given the contentious task of preserving Northside, an historic black neighborhood, while simultaneously opening the area to businesses.

“Rosemary Street is seeing development pressure, and it’s creating a tension between increasing market demand for higher-density and larger developments, and a historic African-American neighborhood in the north side,” explained Harvey. “Rosemary Street is literally the seam between those pressures.”

According to Buckley, a public hearing on the guidelines to be submitted by Lord Aeck Sargent will take place in April, with a ratification vote from the Chapel Hill Town Council expected in May.

Image by Lord Aeck Sargent.

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