The Chapel Hill Town Council voted to move ahead with maintaining town control of a 36-acre property off Legion Road on Wednesday, setting up the local government to expand park land and reserve space for eventual affordable housing.
The approval closed out a four-hour-long meeting and the council’s slate of 2022 meetings, charting a course for a piece of land that’s garnered significant interest from Chapel Hill residents since its purchase in 2016. The council voted 8-1 in favor of a recommendation from the Legion Property Committee, with Council Member Adam Searing being the lone dissenting vote and Mayor Pam Hemminger being a de facto ‘yes’ due to a surprise absence.
Wednesday night’s vote was not on a specific site plan or design for the land. Rather, the Chapel Hill Town Council provided direction for town staff to take first steps in eventually reaching its goals of creating a new affordable housing community near the community park it plans to formally establish. 27 acres of the Legion property will be combined with the existing 10 acres of Ephesus Park to create a park with “both active and passive recreation and can also accommodate the cultural arts.” Meanwhile, 8-9 acres of land fronting Legion Road will be reserved for the eventual construction of a housing complex. While doing this, the town committed to preserving “existing natural areas,” including a nearby stream and forests and seeking the best placement of stormwater features for the site.
Throughout the fall, the Legion Road Property was a major talking point for community members who say they already use the land as a park or more heavily value the open space. Of the nearly 90 minutes of public comment ahead of the council’s vote, many of the speakers advocating for preserving the entire 36 acres and keeping it for passive recreation. It followed a long information meeting and public comment period on Tuesday, November 29, where community members shared thoughts about maintaining the current status of the land or adding affordable housing and more park elements.
There was much focus Wednesday night on the future of the site’s pond as well, which the town’s Legion Property Committee recommends further examination. Based the determination of an underground water source and whether the reportedly-failing earthen dam can be restored, the pond may be fully drained or reduced in size.
The pond at 1714 Legion Road was man-made in the 1960s. The Town of Chapel Hill says the pond’s earthen dam and, if it is to remain, will need to be repaired.
While there is no specific site plan developed yet, the Town Council’s approved resolution aims for affordable housing to be built along property’s frontage along Legion Road.
Meanwhile, housing advocates — including the Orange County Housing Coalition and nonprofits that work to provide housing to low-income community members — said they believed this parcel’s proximity to the expanded park, transit lines and shopping centers makes it one of the most viable spots for affordable housing units. Discussions on including affordable housing as part of the land’s eventual use began in May when several council members brought forth a petition to sell some of the land and use the money to fund creating a “first-class” park.
Council Member Jess Anderson said Wednesday night she believes that with town leadership coming together, Chapel Hill maintaining control of the land, choosing to add affordable housing and also increasing official park land, the project represents compromise.
“That’s what I think community is about,” said Anderson. “And that’s what we do on this board: we represent the entire community. We try and find something that’s healthy for all of us to move forward, something that doesn’t just make one person happy.”
Anderson also said she is excited about the town’s adoption of the Complete Community Strategy for planning growth and development, one that she described as “housing and environment [going] hand in hand” and indicated this project will be approached with that mentality.
Council Member Michael Parker echoed that sentiment, saying he believes that approach will be “groundbreaking” for Chapel Hill and creating affordable housing like what he envisions for Legion Road is a critical element.
“Doing a ‘complete community’ means that we also provide for a diversity of people in Chapel Hill,” he said. “It is about greenways, it is about nature, it is about good design. But more important than anything else, ‘complete community’ means that you’ve got a diversity of people. [It’s important] that the people who serve other people in our town get to live here if they want. The people who protect us, the people who put out our fires, the people who take care of us when we’re ill — that they get to live in the town in which they work.”
Council Member Adam Searing shared in his comments before the vote that he believes Chapel Hill is not investing enough in its park system. He also said he believes the town’s role is to balance its priorities and not focus on just being “a housing developer” or “a national park.” Searing also said some of the long-standing parks projects Chapel Hill residents have advocated for, like a splash pad, full skate park and others, reflect the town’s struggle to deliver on those recreational elements. He described housing as one of the town’s “other priorities” in this case.
“No wonder people are upset,” said Searing. “The idea that we’re gonna have some sort of amazing park on the land that’s left… I mean, if we can’t turn a spade full earth for a desperately-needed skate park that our kids have been asking us for a decade, and that every other single community around here has done, how can we expect you as the people in Chapel Hill to trust us on the council? That we’re going to somehow build an amazing park on what’s left of this property? I would say to you, you would be justified in being very skeptical about our commitment to do that.”
The Chapel Hill Town Council votes on a broad recommendation to guide staff on the future of 1714 Legion Road on December 7, 2022. (Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.)
Council Member Tai Huynh, however, said he believes the town can use the Legion Road property to address several priorities instead of one over the other. He said Chapel Hill must address its critical housing deficit in addition to adding amenities, like the expanded park set for the land.
“I’m very proud to be part of a town that punches way above its weight class in terms of affordable housing and prioritizing the need for shelter for members of our community who provide vital services,” Huynh said. “80 percent of our renters are still cost-burdened, including a lot of the ones in a lot of the apartments that are full in the Blue Hill district. So, we need more housing everywhere we can get it.”
Hemminger, who was not present for the vote after leaving the meeting due to illness, shared a statement that Anderson read to the rest of council and residents in attendance. She said she feels grateful the town purchased the land when it did, otherwise it faced a future of full-scale development and would limit the opportunities Chapel Hill now envisions for the space.
“For me, as mayor, the purchase of the Legion property for the the town is one of my proudest accomplishments,” wrote Hemminger. “And after many years of community conversation, I’m excited to begin work to create a place that our entire community can benefit from and enjoy. Looking ahead, there will still be much work to be done. But for tonight, I would like to take a moment to be grateful and to celebrate the possibilities that this property holds for our entire community, for generations to come.”
To view the full resolution approved by the Chapel Hill Town Council on Wednesday night, click here.
Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.
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