Hillsborough Files Response to Orange County Lawsuit over Parking

The Town of Hillsborough is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Orange County government over parking at the county’s newly renovated courthouse.

The lawsuit, filed May 28 in Orange County Superior Court, names the town and the Hillsborough Board of Adjustment as defendants. The town’s response was filed June 8.

At issue is the lack of a Certificate of Occupancy for the Orange County Justice Facility. Because the county has not met the original requirements of the courthouse expansion plan’s approval or obtained approval for an alternative plan to increase parking capacity, the town cannot authorize a Certificate of Occupancy, which would allow the courthouse to be legally occupied.

In its lawsuit, the county argues it is exempt from any regulation by the town for parking. If successful, the county could be released from making parking improvements required by the town for the courthouse expansion and could be allowed to convert River Park into a parking lot without any local oversight or regulation. The park, which contains the Public Market House where the Eno River Farmers Market is held, is located along the Eno River behind the Justice Facility.

The town’s response notes that on Nov. 8, 2006, the Hillsborough Board of Adjustment approved the county’s courthouse expansion with a condition, requested specifically by Orange County. Under the condition, the town would count 125 remotely located parking spaces toward the project’s parking requirement provided that the county submit documents explaining how Justice Facility employees and other users would be transported to and from the remote parking lot.

Under N.C. General Statutes, all Board of Adjustment decisions can be appealed for review by the Superior Court within 30 days of the decision.

The town’s response states:

Plaintiff Orange County never claimed or alleged that it did not have to, and could not be made to, comply with those parking requirements until sometime after May 12, 2010.

Plaintiff Orange County proceeded with the construction of the Orange County Justice Center facility expansion project based on the conditional site plan approval it requested, which was granted by Defendant Board of Adjustment in November 2006, and accepted the benefit of that conditional site plan approval.

Plaintiff Orange County now seeks to avoid the obligation it accepted when it requested conditional site plan approval in November 2006, by reneging on its promise to use the remote parking facility at the Durham Technical Community College campus and to provide “process documents” explaining how it planned to transport employees and other users of said remote parking facility to and from the Orange County Justice Center facility.

Legally under the town’s zoning ordinance, the Justice Facility expansion — which consists of about 38,000 square feet of new building space — could not have been approved or built without sufficient off-street parking. Under the ordinance, the county is required to provide 363 off-street parking spaces for the campus. Prior to construction, the area had 198 off-street parking spaces. The site now contains 144 spaces — 219 spaces short of the required number.

“We’ve worked hard with county officials to build respectful, positive working relationships, so it’s distressing how this situation has evolved,” Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens said.

Since March, the county has offered the town four alternative parking plans. None of the plans substantially increases the number of parking spaces for the Justice Facility, with the exception of a proposal to turn most of River Park into a gravel parking lot.

The Hillsborough Board of Adjustment turned down the River Park plan because much of the proposed parking area would be in a floodplain and is archaeologically sensitive. The area also contains the Justice Facility’s geothermal system, and the plan would have to meet Historic District standards for removal of trees and for maintaining the property’s character as well. It was also noted that converting a public asset like River Park to parking is inconsistent with the county’s history of preservation.

Orange County continues to have the option of meeting the original condition for the courthouse expansion — by providing 125 remote parking spaces and a shuttle — or of proposing alternative parking plans to the Board of Adjustment.

“The ball is in the county’s court, so to speak, to propose solutions if meeting the original condition is no longer desirable,” the mayor said. “We can appreciate the design and financial challenges that any option would impose on the county, but it wouldn’t be right to simply make the obligation to add parking go away.”

Under town ordinances, only the Board of Adjustment — which issued the conditional approval in 2006 — can modify the courthouse expansion’s approval as requested by the county. The board must make decisions based on the facts presented to it in the record of proceedings before it and based on the requirements of the town’s zoning ordinance.

The town’s parking requirements, which fall under the Zoning Ordinance, are determined based on a building’s size and the number of employees/people expected to use the building. The Justice Facility’s parking requirement would increase if its courtroom spaces were calculated as an “assembly” or auditorium use rather than office use under the current requirements.

Parking requirements also are based on full usage of a building. Due to recent changes on the county’s campus, some areas are not being used to their maximum potential — some offices are vacant, and some spaces are awaiting renovation. The town maintains that parking must be available when those building spaces are occupied.

As part of a major overhaul of its zoning ordinances, Hillsborough is considering a change in parking requirements. If applied retroactively, any changes might affect the number of additional spaces required for the courthouse expansion, but extra parking capacity likely still would be required.

“We want to do the best we can to create a positive experience for everyone who works in, lives in or visits Hillsborough,” the mayor said. “The more we can get everyone on the same page about ‘how’ we do this, how we share the use of our streets and public spaces, the more successful we will be as a community.”

The town is continuing to work on a comprehensive parking strategy for the downtown area. Information is available on the town’s Web site in the plans and studies section at the bottom of the Planning Department page.

For more detailed information about the current dispute with the county, visit the town’s Web site. A link to the Justice Facility Parking FAQ page is under Community Interest on the town’s home page.