The Chapel Hill Town Council may still be on summer break, but staff and citizens have been busy! There are so many projects related to planning and development happening in Chapel Hill these days that it's hard to keep up:
- The Central West Focus Area Steering Committee has been hard at work, and will put a draft plan to the public on September 10, withpossible adoption by the Council in November.
- This week, there was a meeting to introduce a draft plan of land use changes to the Ephesus/Fordham focus area.
- There were a series of advisory board restructuring meetings throughout July and August to develop the charge and scope of work for each of the 5 proposed development review boards.
- The Obey Creek Compass Committee started meeting in July. I haven't been following this closely, but the Town has a blog post about the work the committee has been doing so far.
And while all of this is going on, the Town announced the launch of the Land Use Managment Ordinance (LUMO) rewrite last week. From their press release:
The Town of Chapel Hill will host a series of LUMO Update events beginning in September. Phase 1 topic areas include: Stormwater/Resource Conservation District, Parking Lot Landscaping, Bed and Breakfasts, and the Sign Ordinance. Future focus area coding for Ephesus Church/Fordham and general reformatting/reorganization of the LUMO document are also included in Phase 1.Sep. 11: Council Work Session: Lee Einsweiler, Principal at Code Studio and lead consultant for the LUMO Update, will present an overview of the project, highlighting key milestones and other considerations. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in Meeting Room B at the Chapel Hill Library, located at 100 Library Drive.Sep. 24: LUMO Launch Event: The Town will host a kickoff event to introduce the LUMO Update project to the community. Lead consultant, Lee Einsweiler of Code Studio, will provide an overview of the project. Town staff will begin receiving public input related to the specific topic areas under review as part of Phase 1. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall at Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Road in Chapel Hill. Additional meetings will be held Sept. 25-26 to provide more details and gather additional stakeholder input on the Phase 1 topic areas (see below).Sep. 25: LUMO Topic Area Stakeholder Meetings: The Town will host a meeting to hear from stakeholders who are interested in the Stormwater/Resource Conservation District and Parking Lot Landscaping components of the LUMO. Stakeholders are any person or persons interested in these topics, including Town advisory board and commission members who may already serve the Town in a related capacity. Lead project consultant, Lee Einsweiler of Code Studio, will provide information about the LUMO Update process and key considerations for these topic areas. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in Meeting Room B at the Chapel Hill Library, 100 Library Drive.Sep. 26: LUMO Topic Area Stakeholder Meetings: The Town will host a meeting to hear from stakeholders who are interested in the Sign Ordinance and Bed & Breakfast components of the LUMO. Stakeholders are any person or persons interested in these topics, including Town advisory board and commission members who may already serve the Town in a related capacity. Lead project consultant, Lee Einsweiler of Code Studio, will be on hand to provide information about the LUMO Update process and key considerations for these topic areas. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Meeting Room B at the Chapel Hill Library, 100 Library Drive.
The press release (oddly) doesn't mention how many phases there will be, or why these topics (Stormwater/Resource Conservation District, Parking Lot Landscaping, Bed and Breakfasts, and the Sign Ordinance) are being addressed first. I am also unsure about the piecemeal approach. While amendments are made to LUMO frequently, I was under the impression that this rewrite would be more holistic. Without knowing the timeline of the process, it is difficult to tell if this process will live up to that expectation. According to this schedule, phase 1 of the LUMO rewrite is slated for possible adoption in June 2014.
That's all the information about this (very important) process that I've been able to find. Does anyone else know more? The OP Editors plan on attending these meetings, and will share what we learn with you.