AGENDA ITEM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ITEM TITLE
title
Authorize the Town Manager to Execute a Brownfields Agreement with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for the Police Station Property Located at 828 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.
presenter
RESPONSIBLE STAFF, TITLE, DEPARTMENT
John Richardson, Community Sustainability Manager, Town Manager’s Office
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council adopt the resolution authorizing the Town Manager to execute a Brownfields Agreement with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) for the Police Station property located at 828 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.
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BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
On December 30, 2024, the NC Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) sent a Brownfields Agreement that they have signed. Town staff have reviewed the agreement and are asking Council to consider authorizing the Town Manager to sign the agreement.
Up to this point, this is what we’ve communicated about the agreement on the 828 web page:
“The Brownfields Agreement outlines what future uses NCDEQ will allow on the property, as well as remediation measures for those uses. The draft agreement doesn’t make any decisions about the future of the property - that’s what Council, staff, and community will do together once the agreement is finalized.”
In addition to NCDEQ’s public meeting about the draft Brownfields Agreement on September 18, 2024, the Town held seven public meetings since 2021 about remediation and redevelopment of the property.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
By signing the agreement, the Town commits to ongoing monitoring and reporting to the NCDEQ. We estimate that this would cost $8,000 or less annually, and there is already funding in the annual budget to cover these costs.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The resolution below authorizes the Town Manager to enter into the attached Brownfields Agreement with the NCDEQ for the Police Station property located at 828 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Signing the Brownfields Agreement gives the Town the ability to proceed with state-guided remediation, and it also allows the Town to decide what form of remediation is best for our community.
Later this spring, as part of a local decision-making process about the future of the property, staff proposes to conduct a series of activities to include what is outlined below. We welcome feedback from Council.
March 13 Communications launch: staff begins communicating about the calendar of meetings and the different ways that the community can participate in this process, including Our Town weekly e-newsletter and Engage Chapel Hill digital engagement site.
April 16 Council Work Session focused on options for 828 site and associated trade-offs, risks, etc. The framework for the discussion will be the model for public meetings and discussions.
April 21 Public meeting: Staff will use the “consult” framework from the IAP2 Spectrum to engage the community on options for 828 site and associated trade-offs, risks, etc. The consultation engagement method keeps the community informed, listens to and acknowledges concerns and aspirations, and provides feedback on how public input influenced the final decision-paying particular attention to residents and businesses located closest to the property that will be most impacted by the decision.
April/May Staff will engage with under-engaged community members located closest to the 828 site, in alignment the “consult” framework from the IAP2 and the Town’s equitable engagement strategy.
May/June Staff will provide Council with information gathered as well as additional information from consultant, staff, etc. in order for Council to consider a way forward.
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution
IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation
Brownfields Agreement with NCDEQ
Note: Per NCDEQ, a final version of the agreement would be amended to change the Town Manager’s name on the signature pages (10-11, 35) and will include the final version of the plat (Exhibit B).
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXECUTE A BROWNFIELDS AGREEMENT WITH THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY FOR THE CHAPEL HILL POLICE STATION PROPERTY LOCATED AT 828 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD (2025-03-12/R-7)
WHEREAS, the Town acquired property at 828 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in 1981 and built a police station; and
WHEREAS, coal ash material was placed on the property before the Town purchased it; and
WHEREAS, the Town conducted Phase 1 & 2 Environmental Site Assessments of the Police Station property in 2013 as part of an asset study; and
WHEREAS, the Town conducted Phase 1 & 2 Remedial Investigations from 2015-2017 to learn the full extent of the coal ash contamination on the property; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, the Council passed a resolution authorizing the Town Manager to apply for a non-binding determination of NC Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) Brownfields Program eligibility and to take additional steps for remediation at the police station property in conjunction with trail improvements; and
WHEREAS, in October of 2019, the NCDEQ notified the Town that the police station site project was eligible for the Brownfields Program; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, the Town completed phase 1 remediation by removing and managing exposed coal combustion products along Bolin Creek Trail as part of the trail improvement project; and
WHEREAS, the Council contemplated a public-private partnership and Brownfields Agreement for the site that would have included a mixture of uses including a municipal services center and housing, staff recommended that housing not be considered for the site and this is reflected in the latest version of the Brownfields Agreement; and
WHEREAS, from 2021 to 2025, the Town, under the guidance of the state, completed and updated various studies and reports including a risk assessment, options and costs for remediation, and an environmental management plan for the property that are all posted on the Town’s project web page; and
WHEREAS, in May of 2024, the EPA responded to a petitioner who requested a Preliminary Assessment by recommending that future site activities continue to be conducted under the purview of the NC Brownfields Program; and
WHEREAS, a Brownfields Agreement gives the Town the ability to proceed with state-guided remediation, it also allows the Town to decide what form of remediation is best for our community; and
WHEREAS, in September of 2024, the NCDEQ held a public meeting to share information and receive public comments about the draft Brownfields Agreement; and
WHEREAS, in December of 2024, the NCDEQ staff sent Town staff a signed copy of the attached Brownfields Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Brownfields Agreement would allow the Town to work with NCDEQ to remediate the site and redevelop the property for a municipal services center, recreational space, transit access, and parking, it does not allow housing on the property, nor does it make any decisions about the future of the property; and
WHEREAS, a final decision about site remediation and future uses of the property will be made by the Town Council in consultation with the community and Town staff, with the goals of upholding public safety and environmental stewardship.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council authorizes the Town Manager to execute a Brownfields Agreement with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for the Chapel Hill Police Station property located at 828 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
This the 12th day of March, 2025.
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