Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.
The Town Council met on October 21, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the Council Chamber. The meeting included proclamations, a park naming resolution, public comments on affordable housing displacement, consent agenda approvals, a conditional zoning approval for a church property, and a public hearing on the updated Land Use Management Ordinance (LUMO). The council also scheduled a work session for October 28 to continue LUMO discussions.
Humming Homer. Hum A lot of course, and Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Welcome to the October twenty first meeting of the Chapel Hill Town Council. We are glad to have you join us. Council members, in keeping with our newly agreed upon procedures, we will start off by approving or amending our agenda. So this evening we have two discussion items on our published agenda. First is a conditional zoning application for sixteen fifty-one Old Leicester Road. And following that, we'll open the public hearing on the updated land use management ordinance. And there have been requests to postpone appointment to the planning commission to November 18th to allow time for updates to the application packet. Council members, is everyone fine with the discussion agenda in these two changes? Second. Please move away. Move by uh Mayor Pro Temberry, seconded by Council Member Miller Fushi. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion is unanimous. Before we move into the official business of the night, we want to take a moment for a special town employee recognition. October is employee appreciation month in Chapel Hill, and one of the highlights is always the announcement of the Cal Horton Service Award, the town's highest employee honor. Last week, Town Manager Ted Voorhees announced that Karen Michael is the twenty twenty-six Cal Horton Award winner, and we are delighted to invite Karen up front. She started at the library back in nineteen ninety-eight as a summer library assistant, and this year she is celebrating twenty-eight years of service to the town. Over those years, she's helped guide the library through so many changes, two major renovations, a pandemic, and the constant evolution of what a public library can be for its community. Beyond her work here in Chapel Hill, Karen helps promote literacy more broadly, serving as a prestigious literary award committees such as the Theodore Steuss Geisel Award and the Andrew Carnegie Medal. Her colleagues describe her as empathetic, steady leader, who leads by example, supports new staff, and builds a spirit of collaboration. And our community knows her as the warm, smiling face in the kids' room. I have spent many an hour there. And I ask for a new library card every time we come because we can't keep track of ours. Yeah, and she always gives me a new one. Always ready to talk books, spark curiosity, and champion literacy for all. Karen was selected from 16 outstanding nominees across 11 departments, all nominated by their peers. These employees truly embody our mission of learning, serving, and working together. On behalf of the town council, congratulations to all our nominees and especially to Karen Michael, the 2026 Cal Thornton Award winner. All right, everybody, that brings us to our new item on our agenda, which is naming the future town park on Legion Road. Council members, you have a copy of the resolution at your seat, and we will share in reading it. Your part is highlighted in yellow. Councilmember Rivers, will you please start us off? A resolution approved in naming the future town park on Legion Road in honor of Howard N and Lillian W. Lee, and naming the road into the park in honor of Howard N. Lee. Whereas in May 1969, Howard N. Lee was elected to the position of mayor of Chapel Hill, making him the first African American person elected in a predominantly white southern city. And whereas Mayor Lee served as mayor for a period of six years, during which he built a strong interactive relationship between the university and the town. And whereas Howard Lee later became secretary of the Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources, was elected to two separate terms in the North Carolina Senate, and was named Chairman of the State Board of Education and a member of the North Carolina Utilities Commission. And whereas Lillian