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...
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