Assessment of Land Use and Economic Development Effects FY 2021
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Chapel Hill, North Carolina: North–South Bus Rapid Transit p. 1 Assessment of Land Use and Economic Development Effects FY 2021 North-South Bus Rapid Transit Project Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina Lead Agency: Chapel Hill Transit Project Status: Small Starts Project Development Date of entry into PD: November 2016 A. RATINGS RECOMMENDED RATINGS LAND USE – Medium-Low ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFECTS – Medium • Existing Land Use – Medium-Low • Plans and Policies – Medium-Low • Performance and Impacts – Medium • Affordable Housing – Medium-High RECOMMENDED SUBFACTOR RATINGS LAND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFECTS USE Plans and Policies Performance and Afford. Impacts Housing Existing Growth Corr. Zoning Tools to Perf. of Potential Afford. Land Use Mgmt. Policies Regs. Implement Policies Impact Housing FY 2021 2 N/A 2 2 2 3 3 4 FY 2021 Assessment of Land Use and Economic Development Effects Final Assessment, November 2019 Chapel Hill, North Carolina: North–South Bus Rapid Transit p. 2 B1. SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS: LAND USE I. EXISTING LAND USE a. Existing Land Use • The project’s station areas have an average population density of 3,916 persons per square mile, which corresponds to a MEDIUM-LOW rating. An estimated 37,011 employees would be served by a one seat ride, corresponding to a LOW rating based on FTA thresholds. • Land within the station areas is primarily in residential use (46%), university use (15%), and commercial and institutional uses (11%). • Sidewalk availability varies along the corridor, with some gaps in connectivity towards the northern and southern termini, and continuous sidewalks in the station areas in downtown Chapel Hill. • The existing parking supply in the Central Business District (CBD) is 3,362 spaces, which equals 0.15 spaces per employee. This corresponds to a HIGH rating per FTA thresholds. The average daily parking cost in the CBD ranges from $10-$14, which corresponds to a MEDIUM rating. • The ratio of the affordable housing in the corridor to the affordable housing in the county is 1.52, which corresponds to a MEDIUM rating per FTA thresholds. B2. SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFECTS I. TRANSIT-SUPPORTIVE PLANS AND POLICIES a. Growth Management • N/A b. Transit-Supportive Corridor Policies • The Chapel Hill 2020 Comprehensive Plan highlights the need for coordinating land use with transit planning. This includes identifying transit-oriented corridors for higher-density urbanized development, reviewing parking standards to support transit and walking, and implementing performance metrics to measure successful implementation of development projects and new transit service. • There are two small area plans that support transit-oriented development (TOD) through the implementation of high-quality transit, improved pedestrian connections at transit hubs, and increasing affordable housing in downtown Chapel Hill. • The 2010 Downtown Development Framework and Action Plan focuses on keeping the downtown area compact and walkable with new development opportunities and multimodal connections, while keeping the area compact, connected, anchored, and green. • While plans exist to support TOD, they generally do not include implementation techniques or mechanisms that can lead to meeting the goals outlined in the plans. Additionally, there is no legislative framework or requirement accompanying these plans. The submission receives a MEDIUM-LOW rating for this element. FY 2021 Assessment of Land Use and Economic Development Effects Final Assessment, November 2019 Chapel Hill, North Carolina: North–South Bus Rapid Transit p. 1 c. Supportive Zoning Regulations Near Transit Stations • Within the project corridor, 46% of the land is zoned residential, 30% of which is low density residential. • The zoning code contains three districts that provide opportunities for transit-supportive development: mixed-use districts, Town Center (TC) districts, and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) districts. Other zoning districts allow for mixed commercial and residential uses. • The Town of Chapel Hill is currently updating the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) and Land Use Management Ordinance (LUMO) to increase corridor and station area development. • While transit-supportive zoning regulations exist within the corridor, there are limited implementation mechanisms to promote these zoning districts. Mixed use and TOD zoning districts exist, but there are no examples of TOD districts along the corridor, and limited examples of mixed- use districts. While the zoning designations at station areas support a mix of uses, they generally still allow for low floor area ratio (FAR) densities, and do not stipulate lot coverage minimums or maximum. The submission receives a MEDIUM-LOW for this element. d. Tools to Implement Land Use Policies • The Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG) created the Land Use – Community – Infrastructure Development (LUCID) initiative to develop a coordinated land use planning approach among local governments. LUCID works to deepen understanding of the key components of walkable, compact, and mixed-use TOD. • As outlined in Chapel Hill 2020, the Town provides bonuses for mixed-use development, as well as for affordable housing. The Town is authorized to utilize a synthetic tax increment finance (TIF) district to help fund parking options and infrastructure improvements. In a synthetic TIF, a local government borrows funds, which it plans to repay with funds derived from taxes on increased property values near the project, or from revenues derived from increased private sector economic activity in the vicinity. • There are limited regulatory and financial incentives to promote development. Some effort has been made to coordinate among jurisdictions, but the submission provides little information about outreach to the public or developers. The submission receives a MEDIUM-LOW rating for this element. II. PERFORMANCE AND IMPACTS OF POLICIES a. Performance of Land Use Policies • There are recent developments in Chapel Hill that support transit. Roughly 2,000 housing units, 182,600 square feet of commercial and retail space, and 160,000 square feet of office space have been constructed in recent years. Two of these developments have applied to increase height outside of their zoning districts, while one was financed through a public-private partnership, and one is owned by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Four of these developments, totaling almost 900 residential units, were within the project corridor. • Within the station areas, there are projects in the planning phase or under development, including nine projects that are transit-oriented, mixed-use, and include housing. • There is evidence that a significant number of transit-supportive developments have been built or are planned. Based on the limited multi-use zoning districts that exist in Chapel Hill, the Town has done an adequate job of ensuring that these zones are utilized. The submission receives a MEDIUM rating for this element. FY 2021 Assessment of Land Use and Economic Development Effects Final Assessment, November 2019 Chapel Hill, North Carolina: North–South Bus Rapid Transit p. 2 b. Potential Impact of Transit Investment on Regional Land Use • Currently, eight percent of the corridor consists of vacant land that could be developed. Additionally, many station areas have land that is currently underutilized and has the potential for higher density development. Similarly, there are opportunities to develop surface parking lots into mixed use developments. • The population is anticipated to grow 27% in the station areas, 22% in the town of Chapel Hill, and 31% in the metro area by 2040. Also by 2040, 46% of the town’s population and 54% of the town’s jobs will be located in the station areas. • A summary of commercial market trends shows that multifamily residential, office, and retail have historically been healthy markets. Across these three submarkets, there have been relatively low vacancy rates and continuing interest to develop these types of properties. The submission receives a MEDIUM rating for this element. III. TOOLS TO MAINTAIN OR INCREASE SHARE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING a. Tools to Maintain or Increase Share of Affordable Housing • The Housing Needs and Market Assessment conducted in 2017 identified that future affordable housing efforts need to be targeted at renter households earning 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) or less, and homeownership programs should be targeted at 80% AMI. • Chapel Hill has several legislative tools to guide the development and provision of affordable housing, including an inclusionary zoning ordinance, density bonus, and affordable housing investment plan. • The Town of Chapel Hill has several plans in place for the planning and implementation of affordable housing, including Chapel Hill 2020, the Chapel Hill Affordable Housing Plan, and a Rental Strategy. • Financial support for affordable housing in Chapel Hill comes from the Town’s Affordable Housing Fund and Affordable Housing Development Reserve, as well as CDBG funds. • In 2019, the town exceeded its affordable housing goals and developed a public facing dashboard to track the progress towards affordable housing goals. • There are seven new developments along the corridor that will support affordable housing by either providing units or payments in lieu of development. • The Town of Chapel Hill has multiple legislative and community-based affordable housing initiatives that are performing well, including an inclusionary