The ArtsCenter’s years-long goal of a new home in Carrboro hangs on stormwater rule

Tammy Grubb
·4 min read

It’s not a question of whether the ArtsCenter can build its new home in Carrboro, but whether the town should bend its stormwater rules to make it happen, Town Council members say.

“I think there’s this buzz going around town that Carrboro’s going to deny this permit over stormwater, and we keep hearing that, and that’s the wrong buzz,” council member Jacqueline Gist said. “The buzz should be Carrboro’s trying to figure out a way to make this work.”

Carrboro’s Town Council held a public hearing Feb. 23 to consider plans for a two-story, 12,600-square-foot building at 315 Jones Ferry Road. It would replace the nonprofit arts agency’s longtime home in a former Piggly Wiggly store at 300 E. Main St.

The council is scheduled to talk about the $5.5 million project again March 9.

The ArtsCenter spent two years looking for suitable land in Carrboro before securing a contract for the current site, said Dan Jewell, with project consultant Coulter Jewell Thames.

The “very challenged piece of property” meets two of the town’s three stormwater requirements — for controlling peak runoff and for water quality treatment — but exceeds the annual runoff volume limit, Jewell said. The requested rule change would apply to only a few other sites in Carrboro, he said.

The town’s approval of the project “is critical to allow that to happen and in fact is likely critical to whether they can remain in Carrboro or not,” Jewell said. “The ArtsCenter has been in Carrboro for over 40 years and would like to stay here for another 40 more.”

He noted that the anticipated cost and available funding have made the building smaller, and the parking lot encroaches less on a stream buffer covering roughly half the 1.36-acre site. A sanitary sewer easement also crosses part of the site.

Roughly half of the 315 Jones Ferry Road site is covered by a stream and stream buffers. ArtsCenter officials have said they want the project to work with its environment and incorporate it into the arts.
Roughly half of the 315 Jones Ferry Road site is covered by a stream and stream buffers. ArtsCenter officials have said they want the project to work with its environment and incorporate it into the arts.

The plan would preserve over 30% of the tree cover and provide 39 parking spaces. After-hours and overflow parking could be available at the Orange Water and Sewer Authority across the street and public parking lots about a mile away, officials have said.

The project will include some permeable pavers that let water through to the soil, as well as underground stormwater storage and sand filter systems.

A green roof or a blue roof that holds rain, releasing it over time, is not possible, project engineer Preston Royster said, because it would add a “great amount of weight” and another $300,000 to the project’s budget.

The town’s Stormwater Advisory Board recommended giving the ArtsCenter an exception through a variance instead of amending town rules.

The concern is that this decision could set a precedent, stormwater board member Michael Paul said. Uncontrolled water volume and a full stream channel “causes the greatest amount of erosion in the channel,” he said.

“You may not have the peaks, but if you keep the volume up for too long, it causes erosion and irreparable damage to the stream,” Paul said.

The front face of The ArtsCenter’s new two-story building would feature rows of big glass windows that let in light and views of the woods as shown in this architect’s drawing.
The front face of The ArtsCenter’s new two-story building would feature rows of big glass windows that let in light and views of the woods as shown in this architect’s drawing.

Council, business response

The council leaned toward a waiver. Council member Susan Romaine also asked staff to look into whether the town could use its stormwater revenues to help make needed improvements or add a green roof.

“The ArtsCenter has made it really clear over the last couple of years or so that they really want to stay in Carrboro, and they clearly feel connected to the residents, the businesses, local government,” she said, “but I think we need to be really honest that we need the ArtsCenter, too.”

It’s a balance between social and environmental values, council member Sammy Slade said.

“I hear the stormwater utility very clearly pointing out that changing text amendment to allow for the ArtsCenter to build on this property would be the wrong way to go, and would be watering down our ordinance at a time when we should be improving it and making it stronger,” he said.

Member of the Carrboro Business Alliance and town Economic Sustainability Committee also voiced support for the project at the February meeting. David Jessee, a local businessman and town committee member, said he’s been “a huge fan” of the ArtsCenter for years.

“At the end of the day, I’m just remembering all the times I’ve come to town and brought my kids to classes, and then found other reasons to hang around town and seen other people in town. I’ve seen restaurants emptying out because they were going to go to a show at the ArtsCenter,” Jessee said.