Several residents called on the Chapel Hill Town Council last week to preserve varying amount of the Greene Tract as Chapel Hill’s governing body considers the future of the undeveloped plot of land adjacent to the Rogers Road community.

During the meeting, Mayor Pam Hemminger announced that staff had been working on scheduling a special session for a Greene Tract resolution and mentioned several possible dates in mid-July.

Public comments saw Abel Hastings, a member of Friends of the Greene Tract, submit a petition asking the council to keep 80 percent of the tract for forest preservation and parkland use.

“The remaining 20 percent should be used for housing,” Hastings said. “To do this, I think the Town Council should formally align on a target for the right amount of both housing and preservation in order to meet multiple community interests.”

Greene Tract proposal in February 2019 Orange County Commissioners packet.

Hastings said he wanted to be clear that the Friends of the Greene Tract supported housing development on that land, but they want the town to commit to preserving 80 percent of the green space there.

“Without the Greene Tract, Chapel Hill will find itself severely lacking in green space in the future,” Hasting said.

Hastings said the potential development of UNC’s property at Carolina North Forest means Chapel Hill cannot rely on the university land for green space. Hastings also pointed to the Greene Tract’s importance to the town’s storm water retention plan and its climate change goals.

This petition comes after residents at a recent town council meeting asked for officials to act soon on a Greene Tract resolution that would signal a step toward land development.

The 164-acre plot  is currently jointly-owned by Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Orange County. Town Aldermen in Carrboro and county commissioners passed resolutions last February that set a preliminary agreement on re-configuring ownership of the Green Tract in a step toward development in the area. However, a vote by Chapel Hill Town Council on a similar resolution has been delayed. That vote could come during a special meeting this summer.

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