As Pittsboro continues to plan for development, town commissioners approved two conditional re-zonings earlier this month for undeveloped tracts of land among the future sites of Chatham Park neighborhoods.
At its meeting on Jan. 13, the Board of Commissioners unanimously approved more than 122 acres between U.S. Highway 64 Bypass and U.S 64 Business to be re-zoned from residential agricultural to one for mixed-use development, while a 3-2 vote approved the similar re-zoning request for a 36-acre parcel sandwiched by U.S. 64 Business and Hanks Chapel Road. Both of the re-zonings are consistent with the surrounding land use planned by Chatham Park, meaning the developers Highcroft Investors LLC will similarly bring a variety of housing types and a mix of commercial, retail and office infrastructure to the east of downtown Pittsboro.
The larger property — informally called the Womble Tract based on its prior owners — is surrounded by Chatham Park’s development district for its North Village portion of the 7,000-acre project, and had its re-zoning application submitted last October. Representing the applicant, Attorney Patrick Bradshaw said the plan is to position the mixed-use and employment infrastructure of the parcel along Chatham Park Way on its western boundary, alongside with more dense housing options. The portion of the land further from there would be less dense, while the southern most part of the property is being reserved for a public park that would connect with a planed public greenway system. In total, the conditional re-zoning request would allow up to 840 dwelling units, and a maximum of 350,000 square feet in nonresidential development.
Bradshaw added that as part of the conditional re-zoning, the developers agreed to increase the riparian buffers from 50 feet to 100 feet around the streams on the site, while increasing to a 60-foot buffer of trees along the U.S. 64 bypass.
The 36-acre Bland Tract garnered more discussion over both its density and the plan for a new fire station. The developers labeled the land, which is sandwiched by U.S. Highway 64 Business and Hanks Chapel Road, by two sections – one 6.9-acre parcel west of a 100-foot right of way for an extension to Eubanks Road and a 27.7-acre parcel to the east. Both the west parcel and road extension would be donated to the town government, and the former would be reserved for a town-operated fire station and park.
Some residents who spoke during the public hearing called for the station to be more centralized to Chatham Park, citing concerns about the proximity to their properties. But as Pittsboro Town Manager Jonathan Franklin pointed out to the commissioners, the location off U.S. 64 Business is preferable to all the involved local government divisions and it aligned with its third-party study of travel time for fire response.
“This is the first site where I think Chatham Park, [town] staff and the fire department are all on the same page with the location,” he said. “Of the [roughly] seven acres, only about three or four would actually count as the fire station. The property under the electrical lines does not count, and the property that’s going to be the park [on the west side] does not count.”
Other public commenters shared concerns about an influx of residents, traffic, and development on the land, which is within a rural community of farmland and wooded space. After holding a meeting and hearing feedback from surrounding residents, the applicants scaled back their planned density for the 27 acre parcel – adjusting to 140 residential units, compared to 515, and up to 100,000 square footage of nonresidential development.
But with that surrounding area set to be significantly altered by Chatham Park’s development – which indicates it will be near a ‘research and development’ hub and the northern edge of its South Village – the commissioners’ vote signaled their agreement that the proposed changes would align with the future of that portion of Pittsboro. The two dissenting commissioners, John Foley and John Bonitz, each maintained they believed the housing portion ought to be the original density brought by the Highcroft Investors – with Foley saying he believes it better fits with the role of the town as tasked by Chatham County, its current constituents, and future residents.
“Smart growth is what we’re charged with,” he said. “Smart growth is utilities and connectivity. That’s where Pittsboro is headed. I’d love to keep it the way it is, but that’s where we’re headed. I think the county commissioners have their opinion on it – and I concur. They look to Pittsboro for density and look to Siler City for density as well. And that’s where I’m coming from [on this vote.]”
Bonitz, meanwhile, said his concerns for more density aligned with uncertainty about whether the project matched the characteristics planned for the South Village development – as the board meeting took place before Chatham Park revealed an updated small area plan for that effort.
“But my greatest concern about all of this, with this tract,” Bonitz added, “is that there’s no offer of affordable housing – in a crisis situation for affordable housing.
“I think that most every project can contribute both public good and, in this case specifically, affordable housing contributions,” he later said in response to the applicant’s pointing to its land donation as a trade-off. “The fire department contribution is necessary notwithstanding this re-zoning – it’s necessary for Chatham Park. The Chatham Park Investors have chosen to put this on this particular piece of property, with consent and support from staff and the fire department, I understand that. [But] we still need affordable housing, and we still need connectivity, and we still need to understand how that connectivity works with the rest of the small area plan.”
Ultimately, the developers agreed to withhold the same 7.5% rate of affordable housing rate on the Bland Tract’s units like the condition for the Womble Tract – and it was included in the final vote. Bonitz, however, maintained his vote against the re-zoning.
The full Pittsboro Board of Commissioners meeting from Jan. 13 can be viewed on the town’s YouTube channel. The agenda packet can be found here.
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