MLK Rezoning Is a ‘Shotgun Wedding’ Between Town of Chapel Hill and Unscrupulous Developer
Submitted by Christopher Bowers
On the eve of a vote to approve – or not – a terrible rezoning plan that will reshape the northern part of Chapel Hill and the MLK Blvd region forever, we want to go on the record on all the reasons this is a colossal failure of the town on many fronts. Council has talked for years about protecting low-income residents without following through, opening us up to just the sort of exploitation this opportunistic developer is taking advantage of. The town council has abdicated its responsibility through inaction. It hasn’t shown leadership to tackle this issue head on. As a result, the owner of this property stands to make a huge profit from this rezoning to a much more intense use than its current zoning allows.
Chapel Hill Mobile Home Park Caught at Center of Rezoning Proposals
The Chapel Hill Town Council will consider a redevelopment project along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at its meeting on Wednesday.
The proposed 1200 MLK project is the redevelopment of the existing Tar Heel Mobile Home Park and the non-operational Marathon Service Station, on the east side of Martin Luther King Boulevard, across from the Northfield Drive intersection. The project is proposing to redevelop the existing gas station site with a new, larger 5,700 square foot facility along with a 100,000 square foot self-storage building.
The site consists of two parcels, totaling 13.9 acres, with the old Marathon Service Station at the front of the site and approximately 73 existing mobile home units at the rear.
The project would redevelop the nonoperational Marathon Service Station and the Tar Heel Mobile Home Park by building a new gas station, convenience store and a multi-story self-storage building. Council members agreed that the project didn't align with the Town's land use goals and voiced other concerns, but their votes came down to whether or not they felt it was the best way to protect the park's residents.
Chapel Hill Town Council begins planning for 30 years of future land use dailytarheel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailytarheel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.