The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted 5-2 Tuesday night to rezone the roughly 35.5-acre Lloyd Farm property. The vote came nearly two years after an initial development plan for the site failed by the same 5-2 margin.
The vote Tuesday night was the culmination of nearly four hours of discussion among town staff, the developer and the board.
After the initial plan was voted down in December 2016, a revised version was brought to the town earlier this year and a public hearing was held last month. The new plan shared some similarities with its first iteration. The proposal still calls for a grocery store-anchored development with buildings for office space, retail and restaurants. There is a residential portion of the development dedicated to residents 55 years old and older.
Concerns some neighbors and board members had from the first version of the project carried over to its second form, mainly stormwater and traffic. The developer is exceeding current stormwater guidelines put forward in the town’s ordinance by planning for a 100-year flood, which has a one percent chance of occurring each year, rather than the 25-year flood standard. The developer will also have to perform a new traffic study.
Several board members called Tuesday night’s decision the hardest of their political careers. The vote seemed to swing on the votes of Randee Haven-O’Donnell and Jacquie Gist to approve of the rezoning; both voted against initial plan. Rather than approval of this proposal, both indicated Tuesday night’s vote was the best way to keep the voice of the neighbors involved moving forward.
If the rezoning had been denied, the aldermen said, the property could be developed under the current zoning, which would have led to residential development creeping toward homes in the adjacent neighborhoods and would still call for a grocery store on the overall property.
Under the redevelopment proposal, roughly 4.5 acres of the property would be donated to the town. Discussion of the future of this property was one of the most contentious points of the night.
Gist and Haven-O’Donnell indicated they felt the donated property should be left undeveloped or used strictly for open space. But other board members said it was inappropriate to restrict the property from other future uses without going through a period studying the options and allowing for public input.
Board member Bethany Chaney said that this project was needed to help limit future tax increases for residents. In order to replicate the future tax contribution the developed site is expected to bring in, Chaney said the town would have to build four more Carr Mill Malls or 3.5 additional Hampton Inn hotels. All of those options, Chaney said, would require developable land the town does not have.
Sammy Slade and Damon Seils were the two votes against the rezoning. Seils called the site a “missed opportunity” and has advocated for a project that would call for increased density rather than the more suburban plans put forward. Slade echoed many of those concerns and said the by-right plan had the potential to exacerbate flooding on adjacent neighborhoods more than the current development plan.
With Tuesday’s vote, the developer can now put forward a more-detailed conditional use permit. Ted Barnes with Argus Development told the board Tuesday night that the process to submit that permit would begin with a hope for its approval by the end of next year. If approved, construction could begin in 2020 with the possibility of the first building opening on the property in the middle of 2022.
Thank you for this information from the closed meeting last night. I live on Lorraine Street and will no doubt feel the impact of the project. Beyond the fact this new development seems to simply mirror what is currently across the street, it’s moves forward against the wishes of the surrounding neighborhoods. A closer look at the capital gains achieved through property taxes, shows projections have been greatly exaggerated with numbers not reflecting deductions for added services to the site from the town. You rightfully mention the floodplain and the fact that the rating system, 25 year, 100 year and so on needs to be updated. There have been several 100 year events in the past couple of years and a 500 year event just this year with Florence. The system that is being proposed is to control the run off ,by code, and it will not increase the height of flood waters. Meeting that goal can still have a negative effect on the surrounding area. The flood water may be kept at current heights, but with the new system the duration of the event will now be longer. The collected water being held will be released over time matching the current flood height, but not adding to the height. I would argue that is not a win for the neighbors. As for traffic, anyone who has lived in this town for any time knows the best short cuts and uses them on a regular basis. Now add 400 to 600 cars per day to that shortcut, the current projected impact numbers per street, not total. I add all this because I don’t want folks to think we are turning up our collective nose at progress or clinging to a rural dream. The town’s infrastructure is simply not capable of supporting this concept. They are gambling that they will somehow have all these issue solved by the time Argus breaks ground. As for the intended customers of this project, we were told they are all the folks leaving town on highway 54W after work, and for whoever can afford 3K a month for elder care. So not so much for the heart of the town, but we get to pay the bill.
Well said, John Van Fleet. Here is an excellent illustration of how these type of development create a burden on towns over the long haul: https://ilsr.org/strong-towns-blp-episode-37/. We’d be better off building up on the current (and vastly run down) development across the street. We’d get the added bonus of tax revenue, keep remaining green space and not add to our long list of infrastructure needed to support these new developments.