Monday, November 12
4:00 pm - Governmental Affairs Committee Meeting, Room 280. AGENDA: Review and Discuss City Priorities for improvements in State Transportation Programs/Funding; Discuss Strategies for Giving Input to Newly Formed State Committee on Transportation
5:00 pm - Council-Manager Dinner Briefing, Room 267
7:00 pm - Council Business Meeting, Meeting Chamber
Agenda Items:
Attached is another copy of the draft Environment Chapter of the General Development Policies for Council's reference in considering Item #9 on the November 12th business meeting agenda.
This transaction has been settled for the appraised value of $54,350.00 plus $134,550.00 as payment to the property owner, Carolina Gulf Club, Inc., for restoration of the greens. The total settlement is $188,900.00. Staff is requesting Council approval as a negotiated settlement.
Information Items:
At its November 7th meeting, the Economic Development and Planning Committee deferred action on the draft Infrastructure Chapter of the General Development Policies (GDP-I). Therefore, the adoption of the GDP-I will not appear on the November 12th City Council meeting agenda.
In particular, Committee members had the following concerns:
1) How policy is implemented – Committee members expressed concern that while policy is intended to guide decision making that it appears that staff often uses it, particularly in the conditional rezoning process, to require certain things of the developer. Committee members discussed the need to better define/limit how policy is implemented.
2) How policy becomes ordinance/regulation – Committee members expressed concern that the process for converting policy into regulations is not clear.
3) Continued infrastructure and growth discussions - Committee members noted that achieving the purpose of the GDP-I, to better link land development and the availability of infrastructure is a daunting task. After adoption of the polices, it will be important for Council to have opportunities to engage in discussions about how this could be funded and achieved.
The ED&P Committee will take the matter up again at their November 19th meeting. The Committee has asked for staff to suggest additional language for the Infrastructure GDP chapter to address these questions.
You are invited to a ceremony to unveil the Pedestrian Wayfinding Signs being installed in the Uptown area on Tuesday, November 13, 2007, at 3:00 p.m. at Trade Street and Tryon Street, N.E. corner.
Uptown is Charlotte's most pedestrian friendly center. The new wayfinding signs will help visitors, residents and employees find the most direct walking routes to major landmarks, cultural facilities and transit stations. With Center City's growing number of attractions, visitors and commuters need good directions so they can drive less around Uptown streets.
The Sign System is part of the Center City Transportation Plan adopted by City Council in 2006. For an overview of the Plan, go to
http://cdot.charmeck.org.
Implementation of infrastructure improvements in the Belmont neighborhood are in the right-of-
way acquisition phase, with bidding and award of a construction contract anticipated mid-2008.
Based on the neighborhood's input, the infrastructure includes some signage and features designed to make the intersections of Parkwood/Davidson and Parkwood/Hawthorne "gateways"
to the community. The wide sidewalk treatments at Parkwood/ Davidson were envisioned by the community as extra pedestrian area for daycare children and greenway users crossing to Cordelia Park and the Little Sugar Creek Greenway, in addition to supporting the identity of the community.
The closing of the Street Maintenance facility at the Central Yard in Belmont and construction of a new facility generated $54,000 for public art. Since there would be little public visibility at the new facility off Hoskins Road, the Public Art Commission and City staff worked to identify a use for the funds in a visible place in Belmont, and planned to incorporate the art into planned columns that are to be part of the gateways at the two intersections. The Public Art Commission Work Plan that includes this approach was approved by the City Council in June 2006.
In order to reserve as much of the funds for actual construction as possible, property owners in Belmont are being requested to donate easements and right-of-way needed to make the infrastructure improvements. The acquisitions will be completed in the first half of 2008. A construction contract will be recommended to the City Council in the summer of 2008.
Attached is the October, 2007 report for the South Corridor Light Rail Project and the Budget Summary.
