20 Comments
Sep 30, 2022Liked by Karen Stegman

I so appreciate this carefully written, factually based explanation of the history of this property and the potential uses being discussed. It is important to keep this type of communication going. Thank you!

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The expense in creating parks such as Southern Community Park and Community Park on Estes, is in the clearing, grading, and paving. The neighborhoods abutting this property are asking for a nature preserve, keeping trees (and the trees’ residents) and a quiet meditative space in a very noisy part of town.

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Sep 28, 2022Liked by Karen Stegman

This is such helpful, clarifying information. Thank you!

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Sep 28, 2022Liked by Karen Stegman

Thanks so much for addressing the misinformation being spread about this property.

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Sep 28, 2022Liked by Karen Stegman

Thank you, Karen. Very helpful!

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2017 is not 2022. The development in our Blue Hills and Ephesus Church Rd area is unrelenting. The roads cannot handle it. We have an elementary school that borders this property and our only open space is the Legion Property. Surely you can understand the value of having a 36 acre open space in the middle of all this building congestion.

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By Oxford Languages definition a park is a large public green area in a town used for recreation. The Legion Property IS a park. This land is teeming with wildlife, has a pond and walking paths. The land stretches to Ephesus Elementary behind it and is surrounded by low income apartments and new development. This community deserves a park as much as the wealthier neighborhoods of Southern Village and Meadowmont. Why is it always the poorer communities that get short changed? (Think Eubanks, think Northside…) The last developer who breezed through called our homes « ramshackle »at a council presentation concerning the Legion Property. Guess he wanted « upscale » not « affordable »… This land is a legacy for future generations and it must not be chipped away by greed and special interests. It must remain a park in it’s entirety.

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In 2017, a class in the UNC School of Social Work studied the American Legion discussion from a racial equity perspective, and their conclusion was that the goals of racial equity were not being met. They concluded, "The​ ​preference for​ ​use​ ​of​ ​the​ ​property​ ​for​ ​leisure​ ​activity​ ​and​ ​the​ ​dismissal​ ​of​ ​options​ ​such​ ​as​ ​building​ ​for​ ​affordable housing​ ​mostly​ ​benefits​ ​the​ ​wealthiest​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Chapel​ ​Hill​ ​community​ ​and​ ​stands​ ​to​ ​harm​ ​those​ ​in​ ​Chapel Hill​ ​who​ ​lack​ ​steady​ ​income.​ ​The​ ​inequitable​ ​distribution​ ​of​ ​assets​ ​and​ ​wealth​ ​will​ ​be​ ​perpetuated." https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4QC0RNpzGiMdkEzTUFPVktwWkE5SUYyZ2I3c2JOVDNTSkln/view?resourcekey=0-KI_I0cxPMzLBCYHi383LfA

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The affordable housing that already existed off Ephesus near Legion was torn down to make way for new development, that is, I'm sure, not nearly as affordable. Where was the racial equity conversation then?

Also, since 2017 when these students wrote this report, this part of Chapel Hill has added TONS of high density housing capacity in this exact area. Nobody is dismissing the need for affordable housing. But not every problem can be solved by endless development.

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Agreed… affordable housing was NOT a consideration in these recent projects. Legion Rd had a lot of affordable housing before these recent projects were built.

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Tell us how you propose mixed use without significant habitat damage? The construction on Legion and Ephesus Church road has been unrelenting since 2018 with NO allowance for increased traffic. No additional green space has been added to any of these projects. This is the chance to make up for that lack.

There is also the history around the veterans who have been memorialized on the property too.

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A modest child-friendly playground to accommodate the toddlers that will spill out of the Eastgate apartment, and a natural woodland for the rest of the property. No further development.

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There is no way that if you sell off up to 9 acres at the front along Legion Rd and put 4.5 acres of affordable housing in the woods by the Dance Studio (which will require clearcutting), you will have left a useable park of over 20 acres. You also have to subtract the RCD acreage. By my calculations, explained in a letter to you sent yesterday, you will have 12.8 acres for your park. I call this a pocket park, not a Community Park which is what we want.

Virginia Gray

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It’s interesting to me that this already natural area which in some people’s minds is already a park needs to be turned into a park. I know that some modifications need to be made to make trails and park amenities, but unfortunately if there is any housing development, and the pond is removed, developers will make the case that the land will need to be bulldozed and much of the natural elements will be lost. Seems to me to be counter productive. If it can be guaranteed that 20 acres of the 36 acres is left as is, with all trees and water features kept in tact, then it could be a win-win for everyone concerned. Can that be guaranteed?

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author

Hi Lynda - that is one of the questions that will need to be discussed as we move forward. From what I have heard and the input to the parks commission thus far, there are many different views on what type of park it should eventual become: some want what you are describing - a parcel focused on passive uses with minimal disruption to the natural landscape, while others are hoping to see pickleball, soccer fields, and other active uses to expand access to options for recreation in that part of town. That is an important community discussion to have and I hope that we will be able to acknowledge the range of needs in town and work together to find a balance.

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Sep 30, 2022Liked by Karen Stegman

Thanks, Karen! If enough land is kept natural, I see that both purposes can be achieved. There is so much open land already to make into soccer fields and other activities. The trees can then shade some of these activities to protect kids and adults from the hot sun. Thanks for your reply.

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The trees were planted to memorialize deceased veterans…they need to stay… the pond needs to stay to continue providing sanctuary to our threatened wildlife…development will only cause more traffic congestion at Eastgate and Ephesus Elementary school , increased vulnerability to flooding in our lower income neighborhoods…and no open space… what’s the point? All I see is the chance to re-coup money. This is not enough of a reason to destroy our children’s and town’s legacy.

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Agreed.

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One last thought.. the children…. Yes, the children… to have a little bit of wild to wander through…. The section of the gravel road into the woods and towards the dance studio. But if you have not walked this in the early Dawn as I have, you have no idea. Council members need to meet me and whomever else to walk the property at Dawn or sunset. Otherwise it’s just a map you’re looking at and a balance sheet.

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Karen, if the pond is destroyed, then any park initiative is laughable. Maintain the pond and the woods would be at least a nod to the local property owner concerns. I own property in the Meadows which abuts the edge of the Legion area.

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