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Record of Proceedings

Chapel Hill Community Design Commission Meeting - May 27, 2025

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, May 27, 2025
BodyChapel Hill, North Carolina
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, May 27, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 14:59

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:00

Convene the meeting of uh May 27th for the community design commission.

0:07

And I'm gonna call the role starting with uh Patrick Brennan.

0:14

I am present.

0:16

And Susan Lyons.

0:18

I'm here.

0:20

You're here, and Heather Washburn.

0:22

Here.

0:23

And I'm John Weiss and I am here.

0:26

Um can I have a motion to approve the agenda?

0:31

So moved.

0:32

So moved.

0:32

Second, please.

0:34

Second.

0:35

Seconded by Heather.

0:36

All those in favor, say aye or raise your hand.

0:40

I thank you.

0:43

I assume, Anna Scott, that there's no further and either announcements or petitions since the agenda was was published, which then goes to approval of the minutes of April.

0:56

And I do have a couple of comments on the minutes.

1:01

And these aren't big deals, but in the beginning, we say that we're gonna move um uh millennium uh atlas off of the consent and then put it into old business.

1:16

And when the minutes came out, they're still in consent.

1:21

So could you just move them out of consent, Anna?

1:25

And I hope you can see in the system that does the minutes for us if we can move it from one section to the other.

1:34

I I know it's this has happened a couple of times in the past.

1:38

So with that change, then I would ask for a motion to approve the minutes.

1:44

Make a motion.

1:46

All right, we got a motion from Brent from Patrick and a second.

1:50

I can second.

1:51

All right, thank you.

1:52

All those in favor, I I so now I can have a motion to um any, yeah, you know discussion.

2:03

Any any uh uh a motion for the consent agenda to approve it.

2:08

I move to approve.

2:10

All right, I got a move to approve from Heather and a second from Susan.

2:14

So we are at the vacant seat discussion, and I'm just curious.

2:19

Are these folks are uh they're not on this uh Zoom call, are they?

2:24

Do you know Anna Scott?

2:26

No, they weren't able to join.

2:28

Um I think they had conflicts.

2:31

Okay.

2:32

So I guess what I'd like to do then is ask uh commission members if they have comments about the applications that have been that have been received, and hopefully you've had time to at least peruse them and take a look at them.

2:46

Actually, John, just to interrupt you.

2:48

I do see one of the applicants is here as an attendee.

2:52

I can promote him to a panelist.

2:55

Um if you want to see in case we have a question.

2:59

It's James.

3:01

James Farrell.

3:03

Yes.

3:03

Yeah, okay, good.

3:05

Thank you.

3:05

I can do that too, Anna, if you prefer.

3:08

Okay.

3:08

Yeah.

3:09

Um I think I did it correctly.

3:13

Okay.

3:14

Yeah, I see his name is up, and I see Camille is is visiting us again, which is nice to see.

3:20

Welcome again.

3:22

Um Anna Scott, do you have anything else to mention about about the applications?

3:30

I don't um if you want to discuss the applications, um anything you've got to do.

3:36

Yeah, I'd like to have just get input from folks and see if they have any thoughts uh either way.

3:42

Um you can just discuss and eventually make a recommendation to council.

3:50

And we vote on that, right?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Summary of Proceedings

Chapel Hill Community Design Commission Meeting - May 27, 2025

The Community Design Commission (CDC) met virtually on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at 6:30 PM. All four members were present: Chair John Weis, Vice-Chair Susan Lyons, Patrick Brennan, and Heather Washburn. The meeting lasted approximately 46 minutes, adjourning at 6:16 PM. Key actions included approval of the agenda, minutes, consent agenda, and a unanimous recommendation to forward three applicants to the Town Council for vacant seats.

Consent Calendar

  • 600 Market Street Sign Plan [25-0254]: The Commission approved the submitted sign plan without discussion, as part of the consent agenda. The motion to approve the consent agenda was made by Heather Washburn, seconded by Vice-Chair Susan Lyons, and passed unanimously.

Approval of Minutes

  • April Minutes [25-0253]: The Commission approved the April minutes as amended. The amendment directed staff to move the Millennium Atlas item from the consent agenda to new business in the minutes. The motion was made by Patrick Brennan, seconded by Heather Washburn, and carried unanimously.

New Business

  • Vacant Seat Discussion [25-0255]: The Commission reviewed applications to fill three current vacant seats (with two additional seats to become vacant after the June meeting). Three applicants were discussed:
    • Cortland Bar Tosic: Expressed a priority for the Housing Commission but also applied for the CDC. Commissioner Heather Washburn noted their strong focus on affordable housing and inquired whether the applicant understood the CDC's scope.
    • James Farrell: Currently serving on the Board of Adjustment, Mr. Farrell joined the meeting via Zoom and confirmed his understanding of the CDC's mission (aesthetics, character, community growth). Vice-Chair Susan Lyons expressed support.
    • Kelsey Brinkley: Chair John Weis noted that her application indicated an MBA but did not specify the institution or confirm graduation from UNC. Staff had no additional information. Despite this, all commissioners supported forwarding her application.
    • Chair Weis also noted that a fourth potential applicant had expressed interest; staff clarified that the current recruitment cycle would close after this meeting, with rolling applications accepted for remaining vacancies.
  • Commission Size Discussion: Council member Camille (attending as a guest) clarified that the CDC's maximum size is seven members. With four current members and three members (including John Weis and Susan Lyons) departing after June, five seats would be open. If the three applicants are appointed by Council, two seats would remain unfilled.

Key Outcomes

  • Agenda approved unanimously.
  • April minutes approved as amended.
  • Consent agenda approved unanimously.
  • Applicant recommendations: A motion by Vice-Chair Lyons, seconded by Washburn, to forward all three applicants (Cortland Bar Tosic, James Farrell, Kelsey Brinkley) to the Town Council for appointment was approved unanimously.
  • Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 6:16 PM on a motion by Washburn, seconded by Brennan.

Meeting Transcript

Convene the meeting of uh May 27th for the community design commission. And I'm gonna call the role starting with uh Patrick Brennan. I am present. And Susan Lyons. I'm here. You're here, and Heather Washburn. Here. And I'm John Weiss and I am here. Um can I have a motion to approve the agenda? So moved. So moved. Second, please. Second. Seconded by Heather. All those in favor, say aye or raise your hand. I thank you. I assume, Anna Scott, that there's no further and either announcements or petitions since the agenda was was published, which then goes to approval of the minutes of April. And I do have a couple of comments on the minutes. And these aren't big deals, but in the beginning, we say that we're gonna move um uh millennium uh atlas off of the consent and then put it into old business. And when the minutes came out, they're still in consent. So could you just move them out of consent, Anna? And I hope you can see in the system that does the minutes for us if we can move it from one section to the other. I I know it's this has happened a couple of times in the past. So with that change, then I would ask for a motion to approve the minutes. Make a motion. All right, we got a motion from Brent from Patrick and a second. I can second. All right, thank you. All those in favor, I I so now I can have a motion to um any, yeah, you know discussion. Any any uh uh a motion for the consent agenda to approve it. I move to approve. All right, I got a move to approve from Heather and a second from Susan. So we are at the vacant seat discussion, and I'm just curious. Are these folks are uh they're not on this uh Zoom call, are they? Do you know Anna Scott? No, they weren't able to join. Um I think they had conflicts. Okay. So I guess what I'd like to do then is ask uh commission members if they have comments about the applications that have been that have been received, and hopefully you've had time to at least peruse them and take a look at them. Actually, John, just to interrupt you. I do see one of the applicants is here as an attendee. I can promote him to a panelist. Um if you want to see in case we have a question. It's James. James Farrell. Yes. Yeah, okay, good. Thank you. I can do that too, Anna, if you prefer. Okay.

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