[Durham INC] public hearing on 6/6/16 - demonstrate responsibility to the community, not the developer

[Melissa Rooney Writing]

Dear Durham City Council members. I know that you are sincere in your desire to do what is best for Durham, but I also know how gray are the situations that you confront.

In this regard, I wholeheartedly agree with  Mr. Lebkes (below) and so many other Durham neighbors’ concerns, over the years, with regard to encroaching development. Contrary to what many believe, I am not against development; I am just against rapid development in which the short-term financial benefits to developers, their employees and local gov't tax coffers trump all other concerns. People want to move here because of Durham’s well-planned (at least more than other municipalities) development, which results largely from hard-won community input. Please make it an inseparable part of your job to ensure that local gov’t decisions, particularly those requiring changes to long-standing government commitments (i.e., the Comprehensive Plan and the Unified Development Ordinance), consider your constituents’ long-term, community-based concerns (financial, environmental and otherwise) before the  short-term $-based concerns of developers. 

And if you are going to make your decisions based on developers’ promises of jobs to those Durham residents requiring them, then please ensure committed elements are obtained, to the full extent of the law, toward this end.

Sincerely,
Melissa (Rooney) 


Melissa B. Rooney, Ph.D.
Durham, NC
919.699.9881
melissarooneywriting at gmail.com
www.melissarooneywriting.com

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: don lebkes <dll-sjl at frontier.com>
> Date: May 30, 2016 at 11:23:40 AM EDT
> To: inc-list at lists.deltaforce.net, yahoogroups <pac3 at yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [Durham INC] write and attend the City Council public hearing on 6/6/16
> 
> 
> 
> Neighbors, and Neighborhoods of Durham
> 
> Please WRITE A LETTER OR EMAIL to City Council members expressing YOUR CONCERNS about the proposed Pulte development.  Since the April 4 City Council meeting Pulte Homes has made some small additional commitments. They have done this without any input from our community.  Our Community has now felt that we needed to retain an attorney to help us protect our area of Durham.   We need a BIG LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN and a BIG TURNOUT AT THE JUNE 6 CITY COUNCIL MEETING to have a chance of defeating the rezoning to allow Pulte Homes' proposal.
> 
> The City Council on 4/4/2016 has voted to accept the recommendations of their Planning Commission and not approve the change in the future land use map. This zoning proposal,  Z1500031, is inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan  and the Unified Development Ordinance, as the Planning Department will state in their report.  This zoning case  has failed at the Planning Commission.   Because of these reasons alone it should fail at the City Council.. 
>  
> 
> The concerns residents have expressed are: 
> 
> -inconsistency with the Durham Comprehensive Plan  
> -poor transition between our neighborhood and the development
> -potential flooding in our neighborhood
> -design inconsistent with the surrounding neighborhood
> -increased water, air, and noise pollution due to clear cutting and loss of trees
> -traffic congestion and safety
> 
> Please write about the issues that most concern and affect you.
> 
> Although you may have written the Council members before the April 4 meeting, the City Council has been busy with other issues and we need to remind them of our concerns.  The developers will try to persuade City Council members that their minimal modifications are enough, and we have to persuade them that many of our concerns have not been addressed.
> 
> City Council names and contact information:  
> 
> You can ADDRESS LETTERS to City Council members at 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, NC 27701, or you can get home addresses for some Council members at the City Council Members page:   http://durhamnc.gov/1396/Council-Members <http://durhamnc.gov/1396/Council-Members>
> 
> EMAIL
> 
> Mayor Bill Bell, bill.bell at durhamnc.gov <mailto:bill.bell at durhamnc.gov>
> Mayor Pro-tem Cora Cole-McFadden, cora.cole-mcfadden at durhamnc.gov <mailto:cora.cole-mcfadden at durhamnc.gov>
> Council Member Eddie Davis, eddie.davis at durhamnc.gov <mailto:eddie.davis at durhamnc.gov>
> Council Member Jillian Johnson, jillian.johnson at durhamnc.gov <mailto:jillian.johnson at durhamnc.gov>
> Council Member Don Moffitt, don.moffitt at durhamnc.gov <mailto:don.moffitt at durhamnc.gov>
> Council Member Charlie Reece, charlie.reece at durhamnc.gov <mailto:charlie.reece at durhamnc.gov>
> Council Member Steve Schewel, steve.schewel at durhamnc.gov <mailto:steve.schewel at durhamnc.gov>
> 
> You can now email all Council members at council at durhamnc.gov <http://durhamnc.gov/>
> 
> Thank you for your assistance,
> Don Lebkes
> Colony Park
> -- 
>  
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Durham INC Mailing List
> inc-list at lists.deltaforce.net
> http://lists.deltaforce.net/mailman/listinfo/inc-list

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