Chapel Hill is nearing the completion of an agreement to purchase the approximately 35-acre property on Legion Road from the American Legion Post No. 6. A newly commissioned task force will seek to determine how to best use that property.
The task force will include Mayor Pam Hemminger and town council members Donna Bell and Nancy Oates. It will also be made up of members from various commissions and the visitors bureau, a person with knowledge of commercial development and three at-large community interests representatives.
“I’m excited about this, because it does really take usually a task force or group of people to look over all that information and distill it and come back with some kind of recommendations or suggestions,” Hemminger said.
The town will accept applications to join the task force through the end of March.
Chapel Hill is also expected to officially close on the property at the end of the month. In December 2016, Post No. 6 agreed to Chapel Hill’s offer of $7.9 million for the property.
Applications for the task force can be made through the town’s website. The task force is scheduled to be voted on in early April.
“We’re looking for people in the different categories we have out there,” Hemminger said. “But mostly for people who are interested in the bigger picture, the multitudes of things going on there.”
Once the task force is confirmed, the members will participate in the community charrette April 8 to begin discussion for the land usage of the property. A follow-up meeting is scheduled for April 17 to provide the Town Council with recommendations for the scope and schedule of the proposed land uses.
Additional task force meetings will likely continue into the month of May. The town council scheduled another discussion of the findings May 22, though that date is subject to change.
“This is just one step in the process,” Hemminger said. “This is not going to be the decision-making for the whole thing.”
Hemminger also pointed out that American Legion will lease the property from the town for three years and that there is no rush to determine exactly what the town would like to do.
Here we go again…the developers drooling at the door…why can’t the town simply leave it as “green space?” Yes, perhaps it will be too good a thing to pass up and have a design that looks like a foreign apartment building somewhere in eastern Europe (check out that green monstrosity at the end of Rosemary Street). But enough, is enough! When “multi-use” developments in town, and near the edge of town have vacancies upon vacancies still open, let’s give “green” a chance!