INC NEWS - column & letter: Take it easy on fast growth; don't reduce citizen involvement (Durham News)

[John Schelp]

Column: Don't let growth crowd out city's sense of
identity 
By Carl Kenney, Durham News, 24 May 2008

People often ask me, "What is so special about
Durham?" The question comes after I proudly rant about
the unique brand those in the Bull City have come to
love and appreciate. There's a distinctive vibe that
distinguishes Durham from any other place.

I haven't felt it anywhere else. Not in Raleigh. Not
in Chapel Hill or Charlotte. Not in the "Show Me"
state. Yes, I was born in Missouri, graduated from the
University of Missouri and will be a Missouri Tigers
fan until the day I die. As much as I feel a chill
when I see the arch, reminding me that St. Louie is
the gateway to the West, I have chosen to pitch my
tent in Durham.

Durham has a groove that reminds me of Count Basie and
Coltrane. Raleigh feels like Mozart. Chapel Hill has
that Woodstock-hippie culture with a twist of suburban
privilege. Tie-dye shirts have been exchanged for
white shirts, blue suits and ties. The people have
gotten older, but they still carry that '60s
can't-we-all-just-get-along spirit.

Oh Durham! Home of cool jazz and lazy blues;
revolutionary theorists and aspiring entrepreneurs
with old stories of human struggles conquered by a
dream. There's no place like Durham. It's where the
old meets the new and diverse people strike blows to
pave the way for a better day.

It's that special brand that keeps me planted in
Durham. Please, please, please don't take that special
brand away.

Hello, members of the City Council, County Commission
and the mystery City Manager to be named sometime in
the unforeseeable future: Don't forsake the
quintessence of my beloved Durham by transforming my
home into a carbon copy of some other community over
yonder.

What does that mean? Slow the massive growth. Take a
look at how Durham is beginning to look and feel like
-- someone hold my hand -- Raleigh. There's nothing
wrong with Raleigh. It's a nice place with wonderful
people. Some of my best friends live in Raleigh.
According to many of the national lists, it is one of
the best places to live in America. I celebrate that,
but I don't want to live in Raleigh.

I love drinking coffee on Ninth Street at the Bean
Trader and chatting with my friends at Mad Hatter's.
There's nothing like taking a stroll near Brightleaf
Square and getting a bite to eat at Alivia's, Another
Thyme, Pop's, The Federal or one of the other options
over there.

Get the point. These are homegrown businesses in an
area with an idiosyncratic appeal. I get tired of the
same ole, same ole that can be found in typical city,
U.S. of A. I don't want a Wal-Mart and Target on every
corner surrounded by the normal cast of national
chains. I'd rather buy my books at the Regulator
versus adding to the Barnes & Noble fortune.

This is what makes a community special. It's the
businesses and people who bring that peculiar flavor
not found anywhere else. Give me communities like
Trinity Park, Forest Hills, Hope Valley and special
places like Walltown, Bragtown and Hayti over some
prefab apartment community to be dropped into the
neighborhood nearest you. Take a close look. They all
look the same.

Growth and change can be good. But they also can be
the catalyst that slowly confiscates that special
brand that makes places like Durham so special. Our
quest to become bigger and better could ultimately
deprive us of the things we love most about our
community.

So, get this, future City Manager: When you assume
your position, get to know us before you step onto the
growth land mine. Take some time to listen to citizens
talk about what they love about Durham. They will talk
about the arts, the people and history. Embrace the
best of who we are before making the mistake of
forcing us to become something we don't like.

There's no need to change what you love so much. Give
us a little bit more of what we like, and please,
please, please don't force us into becoming a replica
of the place you came from.


(Carl Kenney is pastor of Compassion Ministries of
Durham and author of the novel "Preacha Man." 

****

Letter: Don't remove Planning Commission's power of
deferral
By Wendy Jacobs, Durham News, 24 May 2008 

Recent proposals to remove the Durham Planning
Commission's power to postpone approval of development
projects are misguided.

The Planning Commission is involved in a small
fraction of the projects that go through the
development review process. We see only rezonings,
plan amendments, text amendments and special plans.
Most proposals go through a purely administrative
process and are reviewed by planning department staff.

In 2007, out of the 41 rezoning and plan amendment
cases on our agenda, the commission deferred only
seven. In six of those cases, the applicants
themselves were involved in the request for the
deferral.

The Planning Commission uses the power to grant
deferrals only after careful consideration of the
circumstances. In each situation the deferral has an
important result: It may allow staff to adequately
examine a revised development plan, lead to an
applicant's decision to withdraw a proposal or give
neighbors and developers the opportunity to come to a
consensus. The cases then move forward to the elected
officials ready for their consideration.

Commission members are not administrators or
legislators. We are ordinary citizens who try our best
to evaluate projects with the long-term interests of
the community in mind.

Unlike our elected officials, who have many complex
issues to deal with, we have the benefit of being able
to focus on these rezonings, plan amendments, text
amendments and special plans. We try to give all
parties involved a chance to make their case and voice
their concerns.

The vital role of citizens in making critical land-use
decisions that affect our community should not be
limited by removing the Planning Commission's power of
deferral.

Wendy Jacobs

(Wendy Jacobs is a member of the Durham Planning
Commission.)