CHAPEL HILL - The Town Council changed a rule last week nearly tripling the size of buildings it could allow whereever it wants to promote density.

The council also decided that, for now, it wants density only near downtown.

The revised "Residential-Special Standards-Conditional" (RSSC) zoning district will allow up to 1,100 square feet of floor space on every 1,000 square feet of land, or what is called a "floor-area ratio" of 110 percent, up from 40 percent. This would, of course, require multi-story dwellings in order to provide room for parking, landscaping and buffers from neighboring properties.

The RSSC zone was created in the late 1990s and has only been used in two affordable housing projects off Rogers and Legion roads. It doesn't actually exist anywhere else but on paper. The Town Council can use it whereever it wants to promote dense development so that workers can live near their jobs and shoppers can live near shops.

After some debate Monday, the council decided the only place it wants this to happen for certain is near downtown. The council decided not to allow the new denser zoning near "neighborhood commercial/employment centers" such as Meadowmont, Southern Village, Eastgate, University Mall and Timberlyne.

"The reason this room isn't packed tonight is that a lot of folks just simply don't understand the significance of this zone," said Julie McClintock, representing Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth, prior to the council's decision to limit density to downtown.

Mayor Kevin Foy said he would be comfortable if the council had the option to use the revised zone beyond downtown, but he didn't want to scare residents in Glen Lennox, for example, which is a potential target for redevelopment because of nearby commerce at Meadowmont, Glenwood Square and the future East 54.

"We do want density in the urban core. I think we have less evidence that we want it in other places," said Foy. "I don't see any reason to stir people up."

The most immediate beneficiary of the revised zone will be Ram Development Co., which aims to build nearly 350 condos on 12.9 acres just north of downtown. In fact, community activists accused the council of changing the zone simply to smooth the way for Ram's Residences at Grove Park and one other project.

The other project is Aydan Court, 58 condos proposed for 5.8 acres east of Meadowmont on N.C. 54. Developer Carol Ann Zinn wants to build 180,000 square feet of buildings on about 255,000 square feet of land, a floor-area ratio of 70 percent. Zinn is now exploring other potential rezonings with the town's planning staff in order to enable the project.

The Aydan Court land is currently zoned for single-family homes on lots no smaller than 0.39 acre. Zinn's consultant Scott Radway said the zone would also allow multi-family dwellings with a floor-area ratio no more than 8 percent, but that would total about 19,000 square feet -- much less square footage than she could build in single-family homes.

"We can have between 13 and 17 large single family lots," said Zinn. "Those'll be like very large, expensive luxury homes. That's the alternative if we don't have Aydan Court approved."

jesse.deconto@nando.com or 932-8760