TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL NORTH CAROLINA MEMORANDUM TO: Planning Commission FROM: Mary Jane Nirdlinger, Planning & Sustainability Gene Poveromo, Development Manager Eric Feld, Community Sustainability Planner II SUBJECT: Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment – Airport Hazard District Overlay Regulations Recommended Action • That the Planning Commission receives the information and resident comments associated with tonight’s agenda item. Explanation of Recommendation • The Land Use Management Ordinance (LUMO) requires the Planning Commission to forward a recommendation to the Council on proposed text amendments. This item is tentatively scheduled for an October 19, 2015 Public Hearing. Background • The Town received an application from Hawthorn Development LLC (attached) proposing an amendment to the Airport Hazard District. The application is associated with a proposed development at 700 N Estes Dr. (presented as a Concept Plan to the Town Council at the April 20, 2015 Business Meeting1 and the May 4, 2015 Work Session.2) • At the June 22, 2015 Business Meeting3 Whit Rummel, who owns the lot at 700 N. Estes Dr., asked the Council to also consider amending the Airport Hazard District on an adjacent lot at 710 N Estes Dr. In response to the petition, the Council directed staff to consider the Airport Hazard Zone on Mr. Rummel’s property, as well as an adjoining site to the east, 850 N Estes Dr. Context with Key Issue • We anticipate receiving a Special Use Permit application for a proposed retirement community development (800 N Estes Dr.), as described by the Concept Plan presented 1 http://chapelhillpublic.novusagenda.com/Bluesheet.aspx?itemid=3176&meetingid=336 2 http://chapelhillpublic.novusagenda.com/Bluesheet.aspx?itemid=3206&meetingid=338 3 http://chapelhill.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&clip_id=2430&meta_id=99429 to the Council earlier this year. In order for the Council to consider the Special Use Permit, it would be necessary for the Council to amend the Airport Hazard District. We are not aware of any pending or future development proposals for the 710 or 850 N Estes Dr. sites. Next Steps • Following tonight’s meeting, staff will collect feedback received and return to Planning Commission on September 15, 2015 with additional information, including possible options responding to the application to amend the Airport Hazard District and Council’s request for an analysis of the overlay zone. Fiscal Note • No fiscal impact is determined at this time. Attachments • Staff memorandum • Application from Hawthorn Development, LLC • Questions from July 23, 2015 Public Information Meeting • Emails with questions from residents • Historical documents provided by residents • 1981 Ordinance creating Airport Hazard District • 1981 Council minutes discussing Airport Hazard District MEMORANDUM TO: Planning Commission FROM: Mary Jane Nirdlinger, Planning & Sustainability Gene Poveromo, Development Manager Eric Feld, Community Sustainability Planner II SUBJECT: Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment – Airport Hazard District Overlay Zone Regulations DATE: August 18, 2015 PURPOSE Tonight, the Commission will begin to consider if the standards and restriction associated with the Airport Hazard District overlay zone should be amended. AIRPORT HAZARD ZONE (700, 710, 850 N. Estes Dr.) The property under consideration is currently zoned Residential-2. This zoning district allows a maximum floor area of .093, a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet, and a maximum building height of 50 feet. The airport hazard overlay zone imposes floor area ratios and minimum lot size that are more restrictive than the underlying zoning district. For example, the overlay zone allows a maximum floor area ratio of .018 and minimum lot size of 500,000 square feet (approximately 11.5 acres). The airport hazard zone does not include a maximum height standard. As best as we currently understand FAA regulations, except for a portion of the 850 N Estes Dr. site, located adjacent to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., the R-2 zoning district height limit of 50 feet is stricter that the height limits prescribed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. Following the airport hazard overlay district restrictions, a property owner could construct a 9,000 square foot building (single family home, duplex; or multi-family, daycare, place of worship with Site Plan Review approval) on an 11.5 acre lot. With any proposed application, staff would require FAA review on the proposed building height. BACKGROUND Horace Williams Airport Quick Facts • Horace Williams Airport (IGX), located at 1001 Estes Drive, is a public use airport owned and operated by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. • Air traffic at IGX is closed to aircraft 12,500 pounds or greater. • IGX prohibits aircraft which create more than 85 decibels measured sound level at 100 feet altitude (comparable to the sound intensity of city traffic from inside of a car) • Hours of operation are Monday through Sunday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. • Dimensions of the runway are 4,005 feet long by 75 feet wide. • The maximum total number of aircraft based at IGX cannot exceed 50. • There are no limitations to number of daily arrivals and departures at IGX. History of the Horace Williams Airport (IGX) The following provides an abbreviated timeline of key events in the history of IGX: • 1928: Charlie Lee Martindale builds the Chapel Hill Airport on 50 acres. One of the first airfields in North Carolina, the Chapel Hill Airport offers air shows and pilot training. • 1940: Chapel Hill Airport (also known as Martindale Airport) purchased by the UNC and renamed Horace Williams Airport for the professor who donated acreage for expansion of the airport. Airport becomes a Navy pre-flight school for more than 20,000 personnel, including Gerald Ford and George W. Bush. • 1941: Original Martindale hanger burned and replaced. • 1946: Horace Williams Airport decommissioned. Airport becomes a civilian facility. • 1961: Carolina Flying Club founded. • 1968: Horace Williams Airport begins housing Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) UNC Air Operations for doctors to provide medical training throughout North Carolina. • 1981: Airport Hazard District established as part of the Chapel Hill Zoning Ordinance. • 1989: Airport runway extended to 4,000 feet. In response to resident concerns, Chancellor Fordham agrees to phase out non-University use. • 2002: UNC Board of Trustees announces that it will close the airport for the future Carolina North campus. North Carolina General Assembly delays closing for at least three more years. • 2009: Carolina North Development Agreement approved by the Town Council. Long range plans identify replacing the airport with a north campus facility and buildings. • 2011: AHEC shifts base operations from Horace Williams Airport to Raleigh Durham International Airport. History of the Airport Hazard District The Council formally created the Airport Hazard District overlay zone with enactment of the Chapel Hill Zoning Ordinance (ordinance #81-O-34) on May 11, 1981. To date, we have not identified information in the official Town record to explain the justification for enacting the established minimum gross land area requirement and maximum floor area ratio allowance. Minutes from the February 23, 1981 Regular Council Meeting recall that a developer agreed to leave space for the airport hazard zone in exchange for greater density in the developed area at Coker Hills West. Ongoing Airport Operations Throughout its history, the IGX has seen schools and neighborhoods develop nearby along Estes Drive. Given its proximity to these uses, there have been community conversations regarding noise, safety, and environmental sustainability leading some neighbors to petition for the airport’s closure. As a University of North Carolina facility, closure of the airport requires an act of the North Carolina General Assembly. Although the University has planned to close IGX since 2002 to provide space for the new Carolina North campus, the General Assembly has not yet set a date for the airport’s closure. Federal Aviation Administration Guidelines The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) establishes standards for determining obstructions to air navigation that may affect the safe and efficient use of navigable airspace, as well as the operation of existing facilities (e.g. Horace Williams Airport). The standards (found in Part 77 of the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations4) apply to any object of natural growth (e.g. trees), permanent and temporary construction or alteration, and equipment. These standards also require that development applicants proposing construction or alteration within 20,000 feet of the runway at IGX contact the FAA to determine whether the proposed height is likely to pose a hazard to air navigation. North Carolina General Statute North Carolina General Statute 63-31 provides for adoption of municipal airport zoning regulations as follows: “In adopting or revising any such zoning regulations, the political subdivision shall consider, among other things, the character of the flying operations expected to be conducted at the airport, the nature of the terrain, the height of existing structures and trees above the level of the airport, the possibility of lowering or removing existing obstructions, and the views of the agency of the federal government charged with the fostering of civil aeronautics, as to the aerial approaches necessary to safe flying operations at the airport.”