Joint Meeting Reviews Church Rezoning, Housing, and Safety on Old Lystra
The Orange County Board of Commissioners joins the Chapel Hill Town Council for a rare joint hearing on rezoning 1641 Old Lystra Road for a new church campus with up to ten homes, including deeply affordable units tied to Peewee Homes. Speakers connect the project to Chapel Hill’s civil rights legacy while raising concerns about Wave Road traffic, dark skies, and future development impacts. 24mins
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Original Meeting
Tuesday, September 15th, 2026
2843.173633
BOCC Joint Planning Public Hearing with the Town of Chapel Hill - September 15, 2026
In This Video
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Perdita Holtz with Orange County’s Planning department provided an overview of the joint planning agreement, the rural buffer and transition areas near Chapel Hill, and the rezoning process that required the joint public hearing for the Old Lystra Road parcel.
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Josh Mayo with the town’s Planning department outlined the conditional rezoning request for 1641 Old Lystra Road to allow a place of worship and up to ten homes, explained its alignment with Chapel Hill’s planning policies, and recommended approval by both the Town Council and County Commissioners.
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A speaker for the Holy Trinity Anglican Church project described the phased development plan for the sanctuary, classroom and administrative space, affordable and market-rate housing, access and parking design, environmental considerations, and stormwater mitigation for the Old Lystra Road site.
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Andre Allen, president of the Lincoln High Association Alumni, reflected on Lincoln High School’s history and expressed appreciation for Holy Trinity’s civil rights, community outreach, and affordable housing efforts while supporting the church’s plans for a permanent location.
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A speaker with experience developing Peewee Homes at a local church described the collaborative model of congregations, nonprofits, and government needed to create deeply affordable housing and urged support for Holy Trinity’s plan to pair its new worship space with housing for people at risk of homelessness.
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Eli Goldstein Picard, speaking as a Pee Wee Homes resident and board member, shared how stable housing through the program transformed their mental health and life prospects and urged support for Holy Trinity Anglican’s rezoning to create additional Pee Wee Homes units.
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A speaker who lived on Wave Road for many years supported the church project but warned that the narrow, steep, poorly sighted road already had dangerous speeding and could become a shortcut to area businesses, raising serious safety concerns about increased traffic.
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Michelle Iger, a Wave Road homeowner, echoed safety concerns and asked for a permanent gate at the hilltop, urged stronger landscape buffers and limits on deforestation, questioned zoning that could allow larger future housing structures, and noted the lack of upgraded utilities and sidewalks with the proposed development.
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