Church has expansion plans

Orange United Methodist's growth could result in a park-and-ride lot

CHAPEL HILL -- A church that has been around for almost 180 years could be expanding, and possibly bringing with the expansion a park-and-ride lot.

The Orange United Methodist Church at 1220 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. brought its plans before the Chapel Hill Town Council on Monday night for a public hearing.

More than 60 people, wearing orange shirts or orange stickers, gathered to support the expansion. A few stood up to speak.

The church has been looking to expand for a while.

It's asking to build a 57,000-square-foot addition and 188 extra parking spaces on the 16-acre site. The construction will include a new worship space, classrooms, a youth facility and administrative offices.

Wes McClure, a member of the design team, said the current recreational field on the church's campus is more often used as parking space. The sanctuary has a capacity of 240 seats. The campus has 110 parking spaces.

There's a bus stop just north of the northern entrance drive, as well as one across Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The Planning Board requested the council to encourage the applicant to consider a park-and-ride facility at the site. The board reasoned that it's a good location for one because it's close to downtown and UNC-Chapel Hill's campus, and it's right on the bus line.

A park-and-ride lot would help the town meet its goal of increasing bus ridership, as well as mitigating traffic that would result from the future Carolina North.

Church member David Davis said there's not enough parking at the church during the week because of all the activity, such as community meetings and English as a Second Language classes.

"The neighborhood has grown up around Orange United Methodist Church," said Phil Post, the project's site designer, adding that the expansion will complement the neighborhood.

The Town Council voted to recess the public hearing until its March 17 meeting.

OTHER BUSINESS

The Chapel Hill Town Council agreed Monday to expedite the review process for a rezoning proposal from P.H. Craig, the man who owns a majority of the parking spaces at The Courtyard on West Franklin Street. Craig's concept plan requests that his parking spots be removed from the permit that binds his property to The Courtyard property so that he can allow more customers to park there than it currently allows.

Next step: The town staff will advise the council on the issue, and the council will then refer its comments to Craig.