ASU-Boone: A sit-down talk
By Frank Ruggiero
ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com

When it comes to the often strained relationship between the town of Boone and Appalachian State University, a commonly overheard solution is, “Why don’t they just sit down and talk?”

They did. And they plan to do so regularly.

The Boone Town Council hosted a special meeting Tuesday, Sept. 4, inviting university officials to discuss planned growth, master plans and university zoning.

On the table already was a proposal that would address university (U-1) zoning, which John Spear, director of Boone Development Services, made clear was drafted without knowledge of the official ASU master plans or approved construction or design standards already in effect.

The proposed provisions say that all university land uses will be permitted by right within the U-1 district and that university land use will only be permitted within U-1.

Other highlights include provisions that consider university land as a whole when computing land-use intensity (not applying to satellite properties), establish street and interior setbacks, limit building height, regulate parking, and impose storm water management regulations.

Also, new developments in U-1 zones would have to provide street trees along town-maintained streets, as well as 10 foot landscape buffers when adjacent to non-university property.

The proposal was presented to the Boone Town Council in July, but council members opted not to act on the matter until university officials could respond. They did just that, with university attorney Dayton Cole hand delivering a revised version of the proposal to town hall.

While the university disagreed on several items, including setbacks, parking, buffers and restricted land use, both parties found common ground on which they could move forward.

“We welcome this discussion,” ASU Board of Trustees chairman Jim Deal said. “It’s something the university and town should have been doing years ago before any of us were sitting here. This kind of discussion is an attempt by both of us to arrive at something that makes sense for both of us.”

Deal said both parties should approach the big picture from the perspective of working together to accomplish a common goal.

He suggested consulting an independent, third party to serve as mediator, helping town and university officials make decisions as unbiased as possible. Noting that the council has considered redrafting its Unified Development Ordinance, Deal said the university would like to help craft a modified UDO that meets both parties’ goals.

However, he took issue with the proposal that university land use would only be permitted within the U-1 district.

“We’re basically limited to what the current footprint is, or you all will have to rezone it, which creates enormous issues for everybody concerned,” he said. “If that provision was in place, we would still have a university of about 1,000 students, and we’d have a little footprint that originally existed in the middle of campus.”

As far as storm water is concerned, Deal said the university would provide for storm water runoff whenever a new building is developed.

Deal also wished to dispel rumors that circulated through town by word of mouth and Internet blogs, in that the university does not want to encroach on downtown Boone.

“Some things don’t make sense,” he said. “We don’t want to be on King Street building huge buildings that front on King Street. Are we interested in (East) Howard Street? Absolutely. It makes sense to us because it is located next to a parking garage, located next to the library, located next to the student union building.”

Mayor pro tem Lynne Mason referred to the proposal that would limit university land use to the U-1 district, saying the town has a good record of rezoning properties university. “And I think if we have a good master plan that that trend will continue, and that’s an issue we can discuss a little further,” she said. “As the town grows, as ASU grows, we need to coordinate what is happening.”

She noted that 22 percent of town property is off the tax rolls, placing an increased burden on resident taxpayers. Although the town collects 61 percent of sales tax, she said, it only gets 24 percent in return.
Mason identified the points on which both parties could agree: all university land use permitted by right within U-1; campus land to be considered as a whole, not applying to satellite tracts; building height to be limited by the town’s firefighting capability; and the planting of trees along town-maintained streets.

The real commitment between both, though, should be working together on a master plan, Mason said, similar to the method employed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Chapel Hill municipality.

Council member Dempsey Wilcox concurred, but wished to make note of some statistics. From the 1990 census, Boone’s population of 13,000 was comprised of 8,000 students.

“When we require the university to do too much or to slow them down or to meet some regulations that are … technical requirements at times, it costs thousands of our residents’ money,” he said.

Despite common misconception, he said the university does not have unlimited funding. Fees for capital expansions and other programs are paid by students’ tuition, while limited funding is offered through the state.

“I’m on the university’s side with this,” he said. “The issue of only having university uses in U-1, I think that’s terrible for the university. They need to be flexible.”

In terms of master-plan development, ASU chancellor Ken Peacock said he reports to the board of trustees, as well as the UNC Board of Governors and system president Erskine Bowles.

“So, when we sit and talk … we have to be aware of the fact that I’m not a decision-maker, and neither is the board of trustees,” Peacock said. “We’re one of 17 constituents. It’s a bigger body that helps us chart through these questions we have.”

Cindy Wallace, vice chancellor for student development, asked the council members to step back and look at students’ impact on the community. “The real dollars they contribute every single day is something I’m not really sure we have a clear value on,” she said. “It’s a gift of the heart, a gift of the mind, but it’s steady, seven days a week.”

Wallace said the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce often reports that businesses could not remain open without student employment. Nonprofit agencies would also be in a bind were it not for student volunteers, she added.

Both sides agreed to form a subcommittee, including Cole, ASU chief of staff Lorin Baumhover, Spear, town attorney Sam Furgiuele, interim vice chancellor for business affairs Greg Lovins and town manager Greg Young, that would meet regularly and move forward on the items agreed upon.