By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL – Citing concerns about buffers, building heights and flooding, a number of residents spoke in opposition to a plan for Charterwood, a mixed-use development proposed for Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, at a Chapel Hill Town Council public hearing on Monday.
The proposed project includes six buildings with up to 154 condominiums and townhomes and 73,000 square feet of office and retail space on 15.7 acres at 1641 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., just south of Weaver Dairy Road.
The tallest building is proposed to be six stories, or 78 feet tall, about the same height as Aloft Hotel in East 54. The Chapel Hill Planning Board voted 7-1 to recommend approval of the project, but only if the maximum height was reduced to 54 feet.
“Besides my concerns about safety, flooding and pollution, I worry about buffers and building heights,†said Northwoods neighborhood resident Serge Zwikker.
Zwikker said that because of the slope of the neighborhood, the buildings in the development would appear much taller than their actual height.
“Both [of the tallest] buildings would clearly tower over the homes in our neighborhood,†he said.
Several residents said the project isn’t needed, citing an abundance of nearby vacant office and retail space, as well as homes for sale. In addition, residents of Tremont Circle, which backs up to the property, said the proposed buffer between their homes and the project was too small.
Del Snow, chair of the planning board, said she was the lone planning board vote against the project because she did not believe it conformed to the town’s comprehensive plan.
“I did not feel that the principle of preserving and protecting neighborhoods was upheld,†she said.
Several council members said they too were concerned about the height of the buildings.
“I think it’s really important to consider how tall these buildings are, all of them … with regards to how they tower over the neighborhood and what they look like as you drive up MLK,†council member Laurin Easthom said.
Council member Matt Czajkowski agreed.
“Aesthetic impact is an absolutely vital element of any development like this,†he said. “I don’t see how any council … can possibly endorse this development, despite any of the other arguments against it, without a very, very clear understanding of what the visual impact will be.â€
“We can’t have another East 54,†he added.
Because neighbors have presented a valid protest petition, the project will require a three-quarters majority of council votes for approval.
A protest petition must have valid signatures of owners of 5 percent of the land area within the 100-foot buffer of the proposed rezoning. The petition presented by neighbors of the project represents owners of 43 percent of the property within that buffer.
The council will revisit the proposal at a meeting in November.