Five Chapel Hill Town Council members recently submitted a petition to rest of the town government asking to advance work on the future of the 1714 Legion Road property, leading to renewed discussions Wednesday night.
Chapel Hill has owned the 36 acres of land since buying it from the former American Legion Post 6 and its potential has long been debated among community members. Since the town bought the land for $7.9 million in 2017, town staff say the value has risen significantly. Council members Camille Berry, Tai Huynh, Paris Miller-Foushee, Michael Parker and Karen Stegman submitted a petition for town staff to begin developing a plan to use the Legion Road land – examining the possibility of selling part of the property to use for affordable housing or retail space.
During Wednesday’s work session, the council members heard updates from the Parks and Recreation Department about the need for several high priority repairs. Parker pointed to the Legion Road land as a possible resource to help get funding for projects across Chapel Hill, as well as fund maintenance for a future park on the site.
“Not only does it give us a good leg up on developing what I hope would be a world-class park,” Parker said of a potential sale, “the tax revenues that would be generated can allow us to maintain the park – something that we learned earlier tonight we’ve been struggling to do.”
While town staff presented a 2020 concept design of how the property could be divided and sold, council members focused their discussions more on the timeline proposed in the petition and how much land to preserve as a park.
Jess Anderson said she feels like prioritizing a solution by 2023 comes across as “more political than it is practical.” She pointed to a housing initiative Chapel Hill is completing in partnership with UNC as a reason to hold off on determining the future of the town-owned site.
“I guess it’s perplexing to me why this would be put to the side of that initiative when one of [its] core tenants is that everything is on the table,” said Anderson. “Not having this [site] be part of how we overall solve problems around housing, needed amenities and [more] just makes no sense to me.”
An aerial map and legend of the current zoning around the Legion Road property, which is owned by the town government. (Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.)
A concept layout presented by Chapel Hill town staff on June 1, 2022, of possible uses for the Legion Road property. (Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.)
Paris Miller-Foushee pushed back against the suggestion that her support for progress with the site is political in nature. She said based on her conversations with community members, she sees the land as a critical opportunity for Chapel Hill to build more affordable communities in an area prioritizing public transit and walkability.
“The reality on the ground is that community members who are struggling to meet their basic needs or to find housing that is affordable don’t have the privilege to see the American Legion Road property framed in zero-sum terms,” said Miller-Foushee. “What I’m excited about is the potential to build an inclusive community where people of all abilities and socio-economic status can participate and thrive.”
After purchasing the land, the Town of Chapel Hill commissioned a task force to study the property and gather preferences for the future of a park. A public survey returned diverse answers on potential amenities, but largely supported the creation of a community gathering space.
Council member Karen Stegman said she believes, however, the commission’s focus on using Legion Road for park land limited the discussion for affordable housing on the site.
“I remember learning that very early on in my serving on council and remember the meeting where that report was presented. Many affordable housing community [were] also speaking and saying, ‘We weren’t even part of this conversation, we weren’t invited to the table.’ So, I think that’s important to remember about what has happened around the discussions on this [property].”
The petition by the five town council members stirred up significant community attention, with member Amy Ryan acknowledging the depth of feedback she’s received in recent weeks.
“I know everybody is very concerned about this issue and people come at it from a lot of different perspectives,” she said. “But I just want for us to not fall into the trap of pitting housing against parks and open space. Both are good for our community, and we need both for a healthy town. I think this council really appreciates that, understands it and will think thoughtfully about those issues.”
Since the town council held a work session, there were no votes on Wednesday night. Town staff will likely take the elected officials’ feedback and begin to construct a plan for the fall.
Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.
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