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The Legion Site Should Be a Community Park
A perspective from Virginia Gray
Here is what the Town Council should consider before voting on the Legion property:
First, Michael Parker’s petition says you must sell off up to nine acres along Legion Road to fund the park. This is unwise and does not take a long-term view of what is in the best interest of the Town of Chapel Hill. The Legion site of 36.2 acres is the last large open space in the Town; it is in the only part of the Town that does not have a Community Park.
In 2021 the Council adopted a Climate Action and Response Plan. It recommended protecting open spaces and enhancing green infrastructure, citing the immense value of urban tree canopy and stream buffers, as well as grass and vegetation. The Legion property has wooded land, meadows, and a pond; they protect the habitat for more than 80 species of birds, a variety of plants, and animals. The Legion site is essential to meeting our climate action goals. Council members please think ahead twenty years when your grandchildren say to you, “I can’t live here. It is too hot. Why didn’t you do something about this when you were on the Town Council?”
The Parker petition argues that land at the front of the property must be sold off to commercial interests to help fund the park. But the Town has several sources of funding: taxes were raised this year, millions of ARPA funds are available, and it can issue a Parks bond. No other Town Park has had to fund itself by selling off land.
Second, the conceptual map by Town staff shows that the beautiful and popular pond will be removed, replaced by a much smaller stormwater basin. This idea seems to be based on a misunderstanding of the pond’s role in drainage of the site. In fact, water flows into the pond from three directions on the property and from the spring that is thought to feed the pond. What happens if the pond is removed? Flooding. A responsible Council will engage an independent storm water consultant to analyze the possible damage from removing the pond.
Third, what about all the reassurances from various Council members that they too want a “world class” or “first class” park? The park they are talking about is a “pocket park.” Consider the math: the Legion site is 36.2 acres. From that subtract the 8.6 acres of RCD land and another 1.3 acres of steeply sloped land, which leaves 26.3 acres of useable land. If, as the staff’s conceptual map shows, nine acres were sold off in the front and 4.5 acres were allocated to affordable housing, that leaves 12.8 acres for the “world class park.” Does anyone believe that will be a great park?
Or would 36.2 acres make a better park? If the Council is serious about a new park, don’t carve it up for other uses. If the Council is serious about mitigating the effects of climate change, then don’t drain the pond. If the Council believes in environmental justice, don’t treat the neighborhoods around the Legion site differently from how you have treated more well-off residents living by other large parks such as Southern Community Park and Cedar Falls Park. Why doesn’t Council insist that all the parks who want to be upgraded or refurbished, sell off part of their land to pay for the improvements they are demanding? Why doesn’t Council insist that all large parks, some much larger than the Legion site, erect affordable housing? Why is it that Council treats the Legion site so differently from other parks?
“Viewpoints” on Chapelboro is a recurring series of community-submitted opinion columns. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work or reporting of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com.
