Agenda Item Executive Summary
ITEM TITLE
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Greene Tract - Community Engagement, September 22, 2024 Plan, and Next Steps
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RESPONSIBLE STAFF, TITLE, DEPARTMENT
Judy Johnson, Assistant Planning Director, Planning Department
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Adopt Resolution A receiving and endorsing the September 22, 2024 Plan for the 107-acre portion of the Greene Tract in joint ownership.
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ACTION/DECISION POINTS
The September 22, 2024 Plan, attachment #1, is the result of the 2024 community engagement efforts to produce a plan created and supported by the community, with the goal of developing affordable housing and other appropriate uses on the property. The September 22, 2024 plan contains diverse housing types, opportunities for flex spaces, transportation network, public amenities, school site, and joint nature preserve.
LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT
The staff and consultant team will present summaries of the work to date at meetings of the three local governments:
• October 1, 2024 at the Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting
• October 9, 2024 at the Town of Chapel Hill Town Council meeting
• October 15, 2024 at the Town of Carrboro Town Council meeting
Each board will consider a similar action to receiving and endorsing the September 22, 2024 Plan and begin the next phase of the project including financial feasibility analysis and entitlement from the Town of Chapel Hill.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
The Greene Tract, in Chapel Hill’s extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ), is located east of the Rogers Road neighborhood. Of the 164-acre parcel, 107 acres is owned jointly by Orange County and the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The three jurisdictions have invested significant efforts over the past 20 plus years supporting the goals of the Rogers and Eubanks Road neighborhood.
In late 2023, Orange County contracted with Gensler <http://server3.co.orange.nc.us:8088/WebLink/0/doc/71238/Page1.aspx> to provide community engagement services for a Greene Tract Master Plan. In early 2024, the County contracted with Thomas & Hutton <http://server3.co.orange.nc.us:8088/WebLink/0,0/doc/71690/Page1.aspx> to provide design services for a Greene Tract Master Plan. These contracts were entered into with the support of the joint property owners, the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, which have paid 43 percent and 14 percent, respectively, of the contract costs. The two consultant teams and staffs of the three local governments have been working together with the community throughout 2024 to create a plan for development of the Greene Tract.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The September 22, 2024 Plan effort included the following activities:
• Three (3) well attended community workshops
o April 14, June 9, and September 22
• Monthly Engagement Team meetings. (Engagement Team includes residents of the Rogers-Eubanks community)
• Monthly Newsletters
• Stakeholder Interviews
• Community Engagement Insights Report
Historic and additional information can be found at this link: <https://www.orangecountync.gov/3070/Greene-Tract>.
NEXT STEPS
With a community-supported plan near completion, determining the financial feasibility analysis of the September 22, 2024 Plan is the next step. To this end, Orange County, with the support of the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, entered into a contract with the Development Finance Initiative (DFI) at the UNC School of Government in September 2024. DFI will conduct several iterations of the financial feasibility analysis, at varying levels of affordability, so that informed decisions can be made by the property owners (the three local governments) regarding development of the property. The contract with Thomas & Hutton was also amended and extended to provide any necessary modifications to the September 22, 2024 Plan that result from the financial feasibility analysis. DFI will also eventually market the project to private sector developers (both non-profit and for-profit) who would construct the plan.
Additionally, the entitlement process (zoning approval) with the Town of Chapel Hill will begin shortly. The zoning approval process will be achieved via a Development Agreement. Annexation of the property into the Chapel Hill town limits will also occur. The timeline in Attachment 2 includes the upcoming proposed schedule.
Attachments
• Resolution A - receives and endorses the September 22, 2024 Plan and next steps
• September 22, 2024 Plan
• Timeline
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