INC NEWS - Durham Creates Development Web Portal

[John Schelp]

City of Durham Creates Development Web Portal 
[City press release]

Site Creates Single Entry Point for Development-
Related Activities

The Durham development community now has a single
source to go to on the Web for information on local
ordinances and ordinance changes, procedures and land
use information. 

Durhamdevelopment.org is a single entry point for all
development related activities on the Web, linking
development departments, the Land Development Office,
ordinances and standardized information. 

“The purpose of this site is to assist citizens and
development professionals needing information on and
the requirements of the development process. The
portal brings all of those elements to one place,”
said T. E. Austin, a planning supervisor with the
City/County Planning Department, a part of an
initiative to review the way City departments work
with the development community. 

“From the private sector side, we hope this Web site
will make Durham ’s development process more
transparent and efficient, which will in turn make
Durham more competitive for quality economic
development,” said Patrick Byker, a real estate lawyer
with Kennedy Covington, who helped develop the portal.
“This is a step in the right direction for Durham to
be more competitive with other major cities in the
Triangle and across North Carolina for tax base
expansion.”

Development professionals and City staff studied
process review, the submittal process and customer
service and communication over a five month period.
The primary recommendation was to improve customer
service and communication by creating a development-
related portal with forms and standardized Web pages
for development related departments.

The portal contains links to ordinances; applications
and checklists; departments such as Public Works,
City/County Inspections, City/County Planning and
Durham County Engineering; submittal tips; policy
changes and contacts.

 
About the Office of Strategic Initiatives

The mission of the city manager’s Office of Strategic
Initiatives is to improve City services by maximizing
the effectiveness of our people and processes. 

About the City/County Planning Department

The Durham City/County Planning Department is involved
in many aspects of community growth, including
reviewing development plans and protecting Durham’s
natural and cultural resources. The department is
charged with implementing Durham ’s Comprehensive Plan
and Unified Development Ordinance to direct future
growth. For information, visit
www.durhamnc.gov/departments/ planning.