Play 6 – Playbook for Morrisville

PLAY NUMBER SIX: My Thoughts on Zero Slater Road.

My thoughts on Zero Slater Road

Over the past few weeks, I have received a number of emails, regarding concerns about the rezoning of Zero Slater Road. I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you my reasons for supporting the project. The applicant, Dominion Realty has worked with our staff and council to address the concerns about overcrowded, schools, impact on our transportation infrastructure, and is investing in our Parks funds. In addition, they have agreed to work with the Town to invest in adding to our inventory of affordable housing, which I believe is consistent with our goal of being an inclusive Community.

We are all on the same team and although we may not agree on every issue, I am confident that we are stronger as a Town, when we all come together as one Morrisville community, addressing our growth challenges together.

In the midst of so many emails, social media posts sent out by HOA’s, I wanted to share with each of you unbiased, data and facts surrounding this decision.

Facts about the Rezoning
It is important to understand that the rezoning is for one parcel only. It is tempting to describe this as two projects, but that is not the reality. The acreage is one tax parcel and is owned by one entity. The seller is selling the entire acreage, not just half.

Currently, the entire acreage is zoned Medium Density Residential (MDR). The current Future Land Use Map designations for this property are Business Activity Center for the area north of Slater Road and High Density Residential for the area south of Slater Road. This is coming from the Land Use Map that Council adopted unanimously in February. For reference, the 2009 Future Land Use Map designated the entire acreage for Regional Activity Center.

The requested rezoning is consistent with the latest version of the Future Land Use Map. On the north side, the rezoning would change the current MDR zoning to Business Activity Center (BAC). The zoning conditions limit the amount of office on this site to no more than 137,500 sf.

On the south side, the rezoning would change the current MDR district to High Density Residential (HDR). The original zoning condition limited the multifamily unit count of 237 units. Based on concerns Council expressed about the amount of multifamily, the developer reduced the number of dwelling units allowed by 10% to 207, and then again finally to 199. The developer also increased the streetscape on the multifamily side by 25%.

Addressing School Concerns
Additionally, because of the expressed concern about overcrowding the school system, the developer added a condition which would limit the total number of units with more than 1 bedroom to no more than 50% of the total units. So, no more than 99 units could have 2 bedrooms. Because 1 bedroom and studio apartment units are not usually suitable for families with school-aged children, this condition greatly limits the potential impact to the school system.

Finally, the developer added a condition that 15 of the units will be offered at a rental rate which is affordable at the 80% AMI level for a period of 15 years. In the condition, the developer has made itself responsible for the continued implementation of this affordability aspect be requiring annual reporting to the Town about rental rates. While affordable housing may not be the concern of every Council member, this commitment by the developer comes at a great value to the Town. A rough estimate of the cost to develop just those 15 units is about $3.5 million.

Transportation Infrastructure Investments
The rezoning also commits to significant investments into the Town’s public infrastructure. The estimated cost of public infrastructure which this project would be providing is around $950,000.00. Just under $1 Million for infrastructure being installed. This figure includes the installation of:

• All committed road improvements
• The sidewalk on the north side of Slater Road
• The multiuse path on the south side of Slater Road
• The extension of the public water line (not the portions that serve only the project)
• The extension of the public sewer line (not the portions that serve only the project)

The developer also committed to a $15,000 contribution for the installation of a traffic light which the Traffic Impact Analysis found was not recommended for this project.

PARKS INVESTMENTS
Additionally, based on the current fee schedule, this project will contribute $446,556 to the Town’s parkland fund.

All the above fees can fairly be described as going towards public infrastructure. There are, of course, other fees associated with any project. An estimated $280K in fees to the Town or Morrisville, $850K to the Town of Cary for water and sewer, and around $10K to Wake County, plus a performance bond around $330K all will be required with this project.

Economic Impact
The estimated overall tax value of this project is around $81 Million. The annual tax bill (Wake + Morrisville) for something like that could be around $700K to $730K.

My Final Thoughts on the School Issue
I wanted to thank all of the citizens who have been so engaged and shared your concerns about overcrowded schools.

Moving forward, we can address this concern by working with the Towns of Cary, Apex and Durham, to make sure that development plans are looked at regionally and continue to advocate to the General Assembly for nor reducing class sizes without providing the public school system more money. We also need to support more School Construction Bonds at the County Level and I support the request of the Wake County School System for the County Commission to increase school funding by $28 million.

Finally, I would also be in favor of Impact Fees placed on Developers, which could ensure that Development would pay for school construction to meet the demands of rapid growth.