INC NEWS - DRAFT of March delegate meeting minutes

[pat carstensen]

Inter-Neighborhood Council
Making Better Neighborhoods
www.durhaminc.org
Minutes of Meeting of March 22, 2005

REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT
Ronnie Griffin, Garrett Farms
J. Clinton Rogers, Dunbarton
Lugenia Mason, River Forest
Anne Guyton, Colonial Village
Phyllis Cotton, Emorywood Orchards
Joan Miller, Emorywood Orchards
Charles Phillips, Emorywood Orchards
David Johnson, Chandler-Breedlove
Josh Parker, Trinity Park
Lynwood Best, Dept. of Housing and Community Development
Don Stauffacher, Marquis-Pierre
Bill Anderson, Duke Park
Michael Shiflett, Northgate Park
Cheryl Sweeney, NPNA
John Dagenhart, Trinity Park
Vicki Schneider, Woodlake HOA
Matt Yarbrough, DBAC
Randy Pickle, Forest Hills
Pat Carstensen, Cross County

Introductions – President Bill Anderson opened the meeting.  Members 
introduced themselves.

20th Birthday Bash – Last year we had twice as many people as expected at 
the Neighborhood Heroes event, and this year we will also be honoring past 
presidents.  We will need to do better at communicating invitations.  John 
Dagenhart took on the job of getting addresses for past presidents so we can 
invite them; Pat will send the current guess of the list to John, Anne 
Guyton, Mike Shiflett and Bill.

Multi-Modal Transportation Center – There will be a presentation about it at 
the April meeting because of concerns raised about its cost per square foot, 
maintenance cost, and fit with the downtown landscape.

Durham Businesses Against Crime – Matt Yarbrough gave a presentation on the 
history and activities of DBAC (http://www.durhampolice.com/dbac/). Some 
things to do to make Durham safer:
1. Join Citizens on Patrol (COP) – couple hours / month of driving around 
and looking
2. Join Partners  Against Crime (PACs)
3. Form / support Neighborhood Watch
4. Use Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) – Blockbuster 
is least robbed chain because of how they design their stores.  Criminals 
are looking to avoid hassles and won’t go where the environment is just too 
transparent.  Police (Eric Hester) will assess your home or business for 
CPTED.
5. Get involved in legislative efforts such as more funding for SBI labs to 
reduce turn-around times on evidence, more uniformity on bonding, and more 
judges, etc.
6. Support Eyes and Ears Program – Teach people who are routinely in 
neighborhoods (taxi drivers, postal workers, meter readers, etc.) to be more 
observant so they can report suspicious activities to the police.

Open and Green Space – There was an update on the Duke Forest / Complete the 
New Hope Creek Puzzle efforts.   The issue shows that Durham needs to think 
more systematically about preserving open space, entrances, and historic 
lands. A letter to this effect was passed (see Attachment A) and will be 
sent to council and the board of county commissioners.

Other Items
1. No-one had anything new to say about school impact fees.  Pat will send 
out a request for people to be on a committee to investigate the issue.
2. No-one was available to talk about fire station siting.
3. Update neighborhood contacts info by e-mailing neighbors at durham-cvb.com 
or calling 680-8328.  We will include this info in all agendas.
4. As of 3/11/05 we have $1044.28 in checking, $2224.46 in savings.  Randy 
has 5 checks totaling $125 to deposit.  We approved Feb. minutes and 
treasurer’s report.
5. UDO Committee needs to start meeting again.
6. CIP Update – It looks like there will be bond referendums for 
transportation (paving streets and adding sidewalks), parks, and building 
"improvements" (making up for deferred maintenance).  INC should probably 
take some action to ensure that citizen involvement in this process happens 
sooner rather than later.
7. Results-based Accounting Committees are looking at getting city / county 
scorecards on whether Durham is making progress in the right direction.  
They need more volunteers.  Committee 8 is looking at organized and active 
neighborhoods and would like INC as a partner in helping in this area.  We 
could do 1-on-1 help with new neighborhoods, skill-building workshops (e.g. 
running effective meetings), and resources on the web site.
8. The yard waste letter was acknowledged by Cora and Diane.  The rumor is 
the city has a list of possible alternatives they are moving on so we may 
need more political pressure to get appropriate citizen involvement in 
making the choices.
9. Dues are due and letters will be going out shortly.
10. Ronnie Griffin asked for support in opposing a proposed re-zoning that 
would put 284 housing units on 32.7 acres on Garrett Road.  The high density 
is supposed to be transit friendly, but is a long way from the future rail 
right-of-way and getting to the current bus lines is dangerous.  Traffic in 
the area is now bad (intersection is the 2nd most dangerous in Durham) and 
will get worse with construction of new Mud Creek bridges.  There are also 
problems from increased run-off to already flooded areas. The area also has 
historic significance (there are over 700 identified archeological sites in 
Durham but the locations are not public so most construction has a chance of 
destroying something valuable).

The meeting was adjourned.


Attachment A: Open Space Letter

To:	Mayor Bill Bell
	Durham City Council
	Commissioner Ellen Reckhow
	Durham County Board of County Commissioners

From:	Bill Anderson, President
	Inter-Neighborhood Council of Durham

Date:	15 March 2005

RE:	Preservation of Green and Open Space

On behalf of the Inter-Neighborhood Council of Durham (INC), I am writing to 
express our concern regarding the issues raised most recently by the Erwin 
Area Neighborhood Group (EANG).  Because EANG is working very diligently to 
lead the efforts to preserve land offered for sale in Duke Forest, INC has 
decided not to take a specific position on the city and county purchase of 
the land.  However, after lengthy discussion among neighborhood leaders, INC 
feels this is an important time to look at broader issues related to open 
space, green space and parks.

Many neighborhood leaders have been very supportive of the efforts of EANG 
as is the INC.  Members of INC feel that this case points to broader issues 
related to public policy for preservation of open space and green space, 
especially with historic significance.  Along these lines there has also 
been discussion about policy which will maintain new spaces among the crunch 
to maintain existing open space especially in the inner city.

The City of Durham has worked with existing resources to maintain existing 
parks and open space.  What is clear is that in the future the County 
government and City government must do a better job coordinating how and 
where new spaces will be preserved.  Durham has a rich environmental texture 
that many in this community are concerned is eroding under our noses.  The 
Comprehensive Plan talks about thinking creatively to find resources to 
acquire new open space and parks, but there is little to nothing concrete.

The Erwin area land is a perfect example of land that our policy assumes 
will always be open and green.  As our area continues to grow we can not 
pretend that open space will always be there and we can not continue to 
neglect the space we currently have.  We would like to see the city and 
county work together to develop a plan that will:
<sum> Identify areas of significance in need of preservation for open and 
green space.
<sum> Identify gateways to Durham and evaluate open space character.
<sum> Evaluate community values for open space (recreation, physical 
attractiveness, historical character) as a way to prioritize needs.
<sum> Craft policy for adoption that will enforce preservation of identified 
areas.
<sum> Develop guidelines that rate and allow purchase of major lands for 
preservation not under conservation easement (ex. Duke Forest).
INC is more than willing to work with the city on a process that will 
accomplish these goals.  Please feel free to contact me so we can move 
forward on this important issue facing our community.

Warmly,


Bill Anderson

/jmp