The Chapel Hill Town Council met this week to discuss passing a memorandum of understanding surrounding the future of the 828 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. The council voted 8 – 1 to explore potential development on the site.
Since 2013, the Town of Chapel Hill has been discussing the future of the 828 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard site due to the presence of coal ash.
A memorandum of understanding or MOU is just the first step in the public process of redevelopment. It’s non-binding, allowing for further discussions around what the town wants to do with the site. An MOU also allows the town to get an early site plan completed, which is needed for the state department of environmental quality to complete further mitigation of the coal ash fill.
The MOU approved by the council Wednesday stated the preference for development was for the site to primarily if not wholly consist of multi-family residential housing. That’s something Councilmember Adam Searing, who had the lone dissenting vote, couldn’t get behind.
“If we remove the language, I can be in favor of this,” Searing said. “I totally agree [on] the dangers of moving all this ash and dumping it on some other community. The issue for me, though, is really one of the effects on our kids and our families.”
Town staff have stressed once the site is remediated, it will be safe for commercial projects like apartments. As Councilmember Michael Parker said, however, even passing the MOU does not guarantee the site will be used for housing.
“What we are doing tonight is taking it to the next step,” Parker said. “We are going to be working with [the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.] They will tell us if it is safe to build family housing on the site or it’s not. If it’s not, then obviously we can’t and won’t.”
Parker pointed to the town’s commitment to do more than the minimum requirement to ensure the site has as close to no coal ash exposure as possible.
“Not a safe exposure, not a minimal exposure, but no exposure to the coal ash,” Parker said. “We know that life is full of risk. We don’t want to add to them, but we are doing everything that I think we can to bring this level of risk way below acceptable to essentially nil.”
Councilmember Camille Berry also agreed to move forward with the MOU. She said she couldn’t justify the argument of it being safe for the town workforce, including the police department currently located at 828 MLK, to work there every day but not for anyone to live there.
“If it is as dangerous as [Councilmember Searing said], we don’t need to have anyone there at any time of day for extended periods of time,” Berry said.
Council voted 8 – 1 to approve the MOU on redevelopment of the 828 MLK site. Next steps for the project include concept review and discussions with the department of environmental quality with a goal of an economic development agreement in June.
Photo via Town of Chapel Hill
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