There is a significant lack of high-quality affordable rental housing in and around Chapel Hill. Around 49% of households in Chapel Hill are renter households. Of those households, about 58% are “rent burdened,” meaning they pay more than 30% of their income towards rent, making it difficult to pay for other necessary items. Among households earning less than 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI), 91% are rent burdened.
Because of high barriers to entry (long municipal approvals, NIMBYism, high land prices, among others), very few truly affordable communities have been constructed in Chapel Hill. Affordable housing is considered housing that primarily serves residents earning 60% of the AMI or less and is maintained as affordable for at least 30 years. In addition, Orange County has recently highlighted a specific need for more affordable housing for seniors as our population continues to age, citing a Census Bureau study conducted in 2020 projecting that one in five Americans will be 65+ by 2030. (Orange County Senior Housing Guide 2023)
Other communities in the Triangle have responded by recognizing the lack of affordable housing and the social impact this causes in their communities, and by consistently supporting and approving the construction of hundreds of new affordable housing units annually. Chapel Hill is hoping to do the same by supporting projects like Longleaf Trace.
The proposed project includes units that will be affordable to households that earn at or below 60% of Orange County’s Area Median Income (AMI) ($48,500 for a family of two). In addition, the units will be age-restricted to residents who are 55 years old or older. This age restriction is in direct response to the urgent need identified by Orange County for more affordable senior housing in the county, as existing 55+ affordable units often have waitlists as long as 1-2 years (Orange County Senior Housing Guide 2023).
Around 49% of households in Chapel Hill are renter households. Of those households, about 58% are “rent burdened,” meaning they pay more than 30% of their income towards rent, making it difficult to pay for other necessary items. To address the gap in available housing for low-income households in Chapel Hill, both rental and homeownership housing is needed.
The cost to construct single family homes in Chapel Hill often exceeds a price point that would be deemed affordable by many. In addition, home ownership often requires significant cash down payments, a monthly mortgage that is higher than alternative rental options and operating expenses like taxes, and insurance. With these added costs, homeownership may not be the best housing option for all households.
The proposed Longleaf Trace development will serve 48 households who will, without a doubt, benefit from having a safe, high-quality, and affordable home in which to reside.
The conditional zoning application is requesting the ability to develop up to 60 units. Our plan is to build 48 units. We built in some flexibility in the application to allow up to 60 units, if we deem that a viable option when finalizing construction plans and permit applications.
The level of density being proposed for the project meets the requirements for the proposed zoning district. While we have only requested approval of up to 60 units, the proposed zoning district would accommodate additional density beyond our request for 60 units. The density level of our proposal is also significantly less than the density for other multi-family projects in the surrounding area of the site.
The project will have on-site property management staff who will enforce occupancy limits based on national best practices and the Town’s housing code. This means our on-site property management staff will ensure there is not overcrowding in any of our units and will enforce all project related rules on a daily basis, including trash, recycling, and parking requirements.
We have conducted a parking study with three existing age-restricted affordable housing projects. Our study determined that throughout the day, a little over half of the parking spaces are being utilized at any one time for projects with 1 parking space per unit. Based on the findings of this study and our company’s experience, we anticipate 1 parking space per unit will be more than sufficient parking to accommodate the needs of the community.
The development will seek to provide ingress/egress from Legion Road. Site access is directly available to Legion Rd and has the potential to align with intersecting Novus Lane to the north.
The site is located in the 15-501 Focus Area of the Town’s “Shaping Our Future: A Transit and Land Use Initiative” document. The project meets the desired goals of infill development in an area with high quality public transit service. The project is proposing to supply much needed affordable housing in an opportunity rich area of town, helping promote economic opportunity, mitigating displacement of low-income town residents, promoting mobility and connectivity, and providing healthy, safe, readily available affordable housing. The project meets the desired use of multi-family housing and with an envisioned building height of 3-stories, which is consistent with the 4-story height designated for this area. Special consideration was incorporated in the plan to support the transition from multi-family to single family homes next to the site by creating a transition area through wooded area and buffering.
The site has a transit stop on the edge of the property and directly across the street with continuous sidewalks and a pedestrian crossing for future residents. There are several other transit stops within .25 miles of the site. The development’s future residents will support and benefit from the usage and relative proximity of the existing public transit.
The project is designed to have significant outdoor recreation area for residents to gather and socialize. We’ve also created walkable interconnectivity within the site and to the future park on the adjacent Town-owned land. There is a proposed greenway adjacent to the site as well as an existing Greenway network near the site that has bicycle and pedestrian access. The Lower Booker Creek Trail is also about .5 miles from the site. This project will increase usage of existing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure connected to the site and provide additional infrastructure within the site and to the Town’s adjacent property. In addition, the project plans to protect approximately 1/3 of the site, leaving significant mature tree canopy and vegetation.
Any construction firm that is selected to build the proposed project is required to abide by all municipal and state environmental standards during the entire construction phase.
All modern construction is required to have storm water design that is engineered to address storm water runoff based on local and state standards. The project will meet all Town stormwater management requirements and plans to utilize an underground stormwater management system for the site.
Our development team includes civil engineers from the North Carolina engineering firm Qunity. Our engineers have created and submitted to the Town a stormwater management plan for the project. We have consulted with the Town’s engineering and stormwater staff as well as OWASA to ensure our proposal will meet all permitting requirements.
In order to receive a permit, stormwater treatment must be provided in such a way that there is no increase, from the predevelopment condition, in flow leaving the site. This must be done for the design storms specified in the Town of Chapel Hill code. All on-site stormwater will be treated within the project limits, prior to being released. The discharge will be released outside of the Resource Conservation District Buffers.
We are currently coordinating with Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) to gain a better understanding of the gravity sewer that is available on Legion Road. The plan is for all components of the sanitary sewer service to be located on-site.
Based on Town of Chapel Hill code requirements, the development cannot discharge runoff at a rate that is higher than the predevelopment condition. The project will utilize on-site stormwater treatment in order to manage flow to meet Town requirements.
Our project is subject to the Town’s Tree Canopy regulations and will meet all Town requirements. In addition, we’re planning to leave about one third of the site undisturbed.
The project will utilize the Town’s solid waste services for collection of trash. On-site recycling will be provided.
The current proposed site amenities include an integrated community clubhouse that will house a community room, kitchenette, fitness room, reading areas, and a computer center. The project will provide a community business and education center for residents to access. We are proposing both indoor and outdoor recreation areas in the project. The indoor space will be inside the residential building.
Local nonprofit Community Home Trust is a development partner on the project and will work with interested residents on financial and homeownership counseling, among other services.
There is an over 200ft wooded buffer between the construction area of this project and the neighboring single-family homes to the back of the site. The parking is also designed to be adjacent to the neighboring property at Turnberry Lane to provide a transition area between the duplexes on that site and our building area. The project will also meet all Town regulations for buffers and setbacks.
The development team has reviewed the plan to build a pedestrian path across the intermittent stream and through the RCD buffer. We have decided to create a pedestrian access to the Town-owned site that does not cross over the intermittent stream or related resource conservation district. We are proposing to keep a 200ft wooded buffer between the development footprint of our site and the homes on Clover Drive.
The project is following the Town’s Community Priority Conditional Zoning Process. This process includes a Public Information Meeting, review by the Town’s Technical Review Team, review and recommendation by the Planning Commission, and review and decision by the Town Council. Town Council is expected to take action on the project in April or May. For additional information on the process and meeting dates, please visit https://www.townofchapelhill.org/government/departments-services/planning/active-development/longleaf-trace.
If you have any questions regarding the project, please feel free to contact Taft Mills Group at (252) 916-2691 or by email at dustin@taftmillsgroup.com. You can also submit your questions here.
The first Public Information Meeting about this project will be held via Zoom on February 15 from 5 to 6 p.m. You can find details about this and any other upcoming meetings on the Town’s website.
You can submit questions or feedback here.
We will attempt to respond to all questions directly. Questions received that have not previously been included in this FAQ section will be added for the benefit of all future visitors to the site.
How can I learn more?
The Town of Chapel Hill will host a Public Information Meeting on February 15, 2024, from 5 to 6 p.m., accessible via Zoom. Visit the Town’s project website for more details about the project and information about how to join the meeting.
If you have other questions regarding the project, please feel free to contact Taft Mills Group at (252) 916-2691 or by email at dustin@taftmillsgroup.com. You can also submit your questions to be considered for the FAQ here.
