More than five years after it was originally proposed, a development project on the approximately 40-acre Lloyd Farm property in Carrboro was voted down in December.
Now the property owners are back before the Carrboro Board of Alderman hoping to agree on a proposal moving forward.
“They came to the town,” Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle said, “and basically said, ‘We want to move forward and here’s what we know we can do.’”
The options now are to move forward under current zoning regulations or work to come to an agreement between the property owners and the town.
“We saw some 3-D maps put together of what we’re talking about in terms of scale and setbacks and requirements,” Lavelle said. But she conceded the town would have much less input if the property owners move forward with a by-right project.
Lavelle said that ultimatum was brought to the town board at a work session last Tuesday with a question of, “Is there any way we can work with this proposal we brought before? Because, if not, here’s what we’re going to move forward with that we can actually do on this property.”
The board members and town staff noted what would need to change from December’s proposal in order for more board members to be comfortable supporting the development. Those ideas will now be taken back to the property owners.
“We’ll get feedback on that,” Lavelle anticipated. “Either they’ll come back before us, maybe, and say, ‘Well, here’s where we’d like to try to go with the old plan,’ or they would come back before us and say, ‘It seems like too much; we’re going to go forward with what we can do.’”
Lavelle said the next steps in the process could begin to move forward before the board’s summer break.
“It would be nice to hear what direction that they’re looking at taking before we break for the summer, I think,” Lavelle said. “Because either direction that they take, I know that townsfolks are very interested in it – many are concerned – but many are interested, and I know the Lloyds want to know what to do with their property.”
December’s vote on the proposal of a mixed-use development anchored by a Harris Teeter failed by a 5-2 margin with board members having varying issues, including that the project might exacerbate flooding for neighbors to the development.
Photo via The Design Response
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