Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / July 20, 1989, edition 1 / Page 4
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, " City Council questions Gateway, North plans By CAMERON TEW Staff Writer Several Chapel Hill Town Coun cil members said Monday that the Chapel Hill Gateway and Chapel Hill North projects are not adhering to the spirit of the mixed-use zoning ordinance. In a work session, council mem bers expressed their fears to the de velopers so they can make the neces sary changes to have their projects approved. Mayor Jonathan Howes said Gateway's master-use plan was an example of ordinary strip, commer cial development. "It's not the kind' of thing we envisioned would occur when we allowed mixed-use," he said. Gateway, a 50-acre site between U.S. 15-501 and Old Durham Road, has drawn criticism from nearby resi dents who say the project will cause traffic and pollution problems. Council member Nancy Preston said she thought the land uses should be integrated, innovative and tailored to the land. "My idea of mixed-use was some people might live there, work there or even play there," Preston said. The mixed-use zoning ordinance states that 60 percent of the space must be used for office buildings and 40 percent for commercial or resi dential development. Both projects have ignored residential development in their master plans. The key issue discussed was how specific a developer should be in a master land-use plan. The ordinance provides for the developer to outline a plan of intended uses for the land. As buildings and land changes are "Shoe" is coming Aug. 31 to the DTH Rack Door Records SALE on CD's, used LP's & tapes 0 AW & Used CD's, w Posters & T-Shirts! 136 E. Rosemary Street Lower Level !CIli I'Liza near RAM Theatre M-Sal 11-6 pm 933-0019 Laserset resumes LASER PRINTERS rushes possible on Franklin Street above"Sadlack's 967-6633 Ms -' 47 V W 3 I i-J uj Lf- Uptown accommodations. Near everything. Comfort guaranteed. $59room Omni Europa Hotel One Europa Drive Chapel Hill, NC 27514 For reservations 9 19968-4900 Rate good for all UNC freshmen, students and families Save and present this ad for $59 rate in the future made, special-use permits must be approved by the council based on the conditions approved upon in the master plan. Many council members said this puts the burden on the council to make sure all concerns are addressed in the master plan stage, since the burden of proof not to allow a special-use permit falls on the town after a mas ter plan is approved. The ordinance does not require a developer to specify what type of establishments will locate on a site, but council member David Pasquini wants the council to require develop ers to be as specific as possible, so the town knows exactly what it is approving. "I don't want to see two fast-food restaurants coming off N.C. 86," Pasquini said, referring to the North project. John Callaway, developer of Gate way, has been specific in designating types and names of establishments. Establishments he has mentioned include Sears and Phar-Mor. Ron Strom, developer of North, has not been as specific as Callaway, but he has met the requirements of the mixed-use zoning ordinance. The Gateway project has been criti cized for separating its retail section from office buildings by a road that cuts through the site. Callaway said this was done in anticipation that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Caro lina might use the office space, since it is near its offices. Callaway said he could rework the design to integrate the office and commercial uses to create a "village like" atmosphere. "It is not my desire to build a strip shopping center here," Callaway said. "I'm a mediator between your needs and the needs of the users." Council members said they wanted the project to respond to Chapel Hill's needs and not national trends. "We are not trying to build a regional shop ping center," Weiner said. Mayor Howes agreed. "We would welcome national merchants, but only on our terms," he said. The two projects will be discussed in a public hearing Aug. 29 before the council votes on them. Commission sets standards for town newspaper racks By D'ANN PLETCHER Staff Writer The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Down town Commission's appearance commission, in a step to promote newspaper rack orderliness, notified newspaper publications of new rules regulating racks and penalties for rule violations Tuesday. The new rules provide detailed standards for keeping vending racks in good condition, but they do not address the more conflict-ridden is sue of whether or not the number of distribution sites and the number of racks at each site should be limited. The escalating number of news paper distribution sites and number of racks were the original complaints which prompted the organization of the appearance committeee, accord ing to Cassandra Sloop, chairwoman of the appearance commission. Sloop said the appearance com mission has discussed limiting the number of racks, but because of le galities, has decided not to go for ward with that. Jim Casey, circulation manager at the Chapel Hill bureau of the Raleigh News and Observer, said that though newspapers will cooperate with the new rules aimed at cleaning up the racks, they would not cooperate to limit the number of sites where pa pers are distributed or the number of racks at each site. But Kevin Schwartz, general manager of The Daily Tar Heel and a member of the subcommittee in charge of inspecting racks and issu ing violations, said there is a legal scenario in which the town would be able to legally limit newspaper dis tribution sites. "There has to be an overriding governmental interest in regulating racks, and this is a fairly arbitrary thing," Schwartz said. "For instance, the government may not like the way the racks look, and in this town, aes thetics overrides our first amendment rights." Schwartz said he would go along with a limited number of distribution sites, but not with any limitation on the number of racks at a given site. "It's unconstitutional to shut a publi cation off from a distribution site," he said. looking for a Place to live? We have units available for August occupancy. Call soon for the best location. Two bedroom apartments in quiet neighborhood inside the city limits on bus line, available August 1st Duplex units with and without fireplaces, available August 1st. Small pets allowed in all units. Will JAMS RENTAL 11 1 7 yCCLYS BXpCTLCYlCC 11 1801KFranklinStreet CaU 9424430 ChapelHUl .v- . v . t --
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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July 20, 1989, edition 1
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