AGENDA ITEM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ITEM TITLE*
title
Updated Property Acquisition for NS RAPID
presenter
RESPONSIBLE STAFF, TITLE, DEPARTMENT*
Caroline Dwyer, Interim Assistant Director, Transit
STAFF RECOMMENDATION*
Staff recommend approving the resolution authorizing an update to property acquisitions needed for constructing the NS RAPID.
body
ACTION/DECISION POINTS*
To meet Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements, Council must approve a resolution authorizing property acquisition. This resolution would update the “Resolution Authorizing Property Acquisition for the Purposes of Constructing the North-South Bus Rapid Transit (NSBRT) (2025-09-24/R-2),” adopted by Council on September 25, 2025, to include additional parcels needed for the project
LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT*
NS RAPID’s construction requires acquiring 220 easements and/or rights-of-way on approximately 120 parcels along the project corridor (based on 90% design). The ability to acquire the property and property rights needed to construct NS RAPID is a baseline requirement of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program. Town Council must authorize staff’s negotiation and acquisition of property by donation, fee simple, and/or by exercising the Town’s eminent domain powers.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT*
Chapel Hill Transit has requested a $149,999,999 million Small Starts Grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to construct NS RAPID (previously known as North-South Bus Rapid Transit or NSBRT), a transformative investment in the Town’s mobility network. NS RAPID formally entered FTA Project Development in 2016, making the project eligible for an FTA Small Starts Capital Investment Grant. Since then, staff have advanced the project through major milestones including:
• Completed 30% design and selected a “Locally Preferred Alterative” for transit mode and corridor alignment in 2021.
• Completed a federally required National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review and received a Documented Categorical Exclusion (DCE) in 2023.
• Received FTA Project Ratings and funding recommendations in 2024 and 2026.
• Achieved full appropriation of NS RAPID’s federal funding share to complete design and construction.
• In partnership with Triangle West TPO, secured $7,000,000 in state funding to achieve the project’s required 20% local fund match.
• In partnership with Triangle West TPO, secured an additional $3,200,000 million in federal CMAQ funding to achieve full project funding.
• Completed 60% design.
• Nearing completion of 90% design.
• Successfully fulfilled all FTA technical requirements and received a recommendation to be awarded a grant agreement.
• Successfully submitted NS RAPID’s formal grant request to FTA, which is currently under federal review, including a required 30-day Department of Labor review period, a 10-day congressional notice and review, and final review by the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Office of the Under Secretary, the project’s final funding milestone.
NSBRT’s construction requires acquiring roughly 220 easements and/or rights-of-way on 120 parcels (based on 90% design), including temporary construction easements, permanent utility and/or drainage easements, and fee simple right-of-way acquisitions. None of the project’s acquisitions impact buildings or structures, there are no acquisitions of entire parcels, and there are no anticipated relocations of residents, tenants, or buildings.
FTA requires Project Sponsors to demonstrate their ability to acquire all property and/or property rights to construct the project, as designed. Chapel Hill Transit must demonstrate that a governing body has authorized the project’s property acquisition activities up to, and including, acquisition by condemnation (exercise of eminent domain), if necessary. This requires Town Council’s approval of the resolution authorizing acquisition. Approval of this resolution also mitigates the need for staff to bring each of the 220+ acquisitions, individually, to Town Council for consideration.
TRADEOFFS, ALTERNATIVES, IMPACTS
It is not possible to construct NS RAPID entirely within the existing right-of-way. This makes property acquisition a basic element of NS RAPID’s constructability. If Town Council does not approve NS RAPID’s property acquisition activities, staff will not be able to execute an FTA Small Starts Grant Agreement. There is no alternative funding source for the expected $149,999,999 million FTA grant.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
NS RAPID has two primary categories of property acquisition expenses: property acquisition services and the purchase of easements and/or rights-of-way from property owners. Chapel Hill Transit has entered a contract with Hearns Real Estate Services (HRES) for property acquisition firm for services. The value of this contract is approximately $2,100,000. NS RAPID’s property and easement acquisition costs are estimated to be approximately $20,000,000. This cost estimate includes both a property value multiplier and contingency budget, accounting for market volatility and negotiations with property owners. Property acquisition services and the acquisition of easements and rights of way are funded through a combination of Orange County transit sales tax revenues allocated to NS RAPID in the Orange County Transit Plan Update (2023), an $8,100,000 million FTA Project Development grant awarded to CHT in 2023, and the anticipated $149,999,999 million FTA Small Starts Capital Investment Grant.
COMPLETE COMMUNITY CONNECTION
NS RAPID is a once-in-a-generation investment that will change the ways people move around Chapel Hill, reducing dependence on single occupancy automobiles, expanding opportunities for connected, transit-oriented development, and enhancing housing and economic development. When complete in 2030, NS RAPID’s multiuse path will form the spine of Chapel Hill’s Everywhere to Everywhere Greenways network, the defining element of the Town’s Complete Community strategy. High capacity transit service strongly supports Chapel Hill’s economic development, housing affordability, transportation and mobility goals. Multifamily housing is already booming in the project corridor, in anticipation of NS RAPID.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
NS RAPID has been in development for 10 years and staff have conducted robust community outreach and engagement at multiple project phases. Staff continue to work closely with the Town’s Strategic Marketing and Communications Team and have recently launched a refreshed project branding effort. Staff will continue working across departments and through our consultants to inform, educate, and support impacted property owners, tenants, and businesses on the project corridor. This includes providing general information about the acquisition process and acquisition-related activities (i.e., surveying, staking, notifications, etc.) and clearly communicating acquisition activities, timeline and process, and property owners’ rights.
Numerous federal and state acts, statutes, and legislation also strictly govern the required communications with property owners during the acquisition process. These include:
• Uniform Relocation and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.
• North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Right of Way Manual.
• Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal.
ATTACHMENTS
• NS RAPID PROPERTY ACQUISITION_RESOLUTION
• NS RAPID PROPERTY ACQUISITION_PARCEL SCHEDULE
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