Feb 19 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Daniel Goldberg The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C.

Developer Phil Szostak believes he has something special to offer the town.

His concept plan for a 32-unit, mixed-use project at South Columbia Street and Fordham Boulevard will be "carbon zero" -- meaning it will produce all the energy it needs, on-site, via solar, wind and geothermal technologies.

"What we're doing is looking at how to make this project one of the most sustainable projects in the country," Szostak told the Town Council Monday night. He said that everybody seems to like the concept, but he's struggling to move past "an ugly wart" on the plan.

That ugly wart is that a significant portion of the lot is protected as a resource conservation district, or RCD. Szostak can't build on it because of the presence of a small stream.

However, he showed the council pictures of a stream that is "barely even a channel." The photos showed a narrow stream bed littered with bottles and cans, hidden by foliage and brush and, in some places, devoid of water.

Szostak asked the council if he should continue with the concept.

He wanted to know if there was a possibility the council members would show some flexibility regarding the RCD when the project would be brought back to them after undergoing several layers of review.

"This is something you've never done before," he said. "You've never gone against your own RCD ordinance."

Szostak acknowledged that allowing flexibility for the South Columbia project would invite similar requests from other developers.

"It's going to take courage for you to do this," he said.

Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy remarked that, according to the pictures Szostak displayed, the developer's plan to reclaim the stream by removing a pipe and cleaning up the area would leave it in better condition than it now is.

"My reaction is that the purpose of the RCD is what we are trying to achieve, not some rigid adherence to the rule," Foy said. "I don't object to what you're proposing."

Kimberly Brewer, a resident of Purefoy Road, across from Szostak's proposed development, supported the concept's "green" inclinations but said that another problem could arise in the traffic it would bring. She said the project wouldn't work unless a traffic light were installed at the intersection.

Other members of the council, including Bill Strom and Mark Kleinschmidt, encouraged Szostak to proceed with his concept.