[Durham INC] FW: Durham Mixed Use Update

[Pat Carstensen]

The key thing to look at is http://durhamnc.gov/ich/cb/ccpd/Documents/Mixed%20Use%20Update/5.VMU%20building%20type.pdf.  It proposes adding a new "thing" to the UDO, a vertically mixed use building type.  In theory it is a great idea -- the kind of urban place where people live upstairs and meet friends who walked over or took the train to hang out in the street-side dining area.  Now how much street-side dining anyone will want to do next to a street with a 60' right of way might be a question some people would ask. How much traffic it generates might also be a concern.  I would be interesting in reactions from specific neighborhoods: do we want this kind of thing along the new Alston Avenue?  in the 751 assemblage? in the commercial corners of older neighborhoods?
The "achieving the goals" explores the "planning toolbox" for getting things like getting appealing development, but pretty clearly the "planning toolbox" will only go so far.  In particular, one of the goals is having our built environment evolve rather than erode, and in my opinion anyhow, a lot of the evolving is unpredicted and depends a lot on what the people in the area make of it.
On the location chart, the thing that most surprises me is how much of Fayetteville Road is "highly suitable."  The draft comprehensive plan has some language about getting away from strip malls, and this looks like a lot of strips of development.  Finally the danger of this kind of map is that some land-owners will get even more unrealistic about what their land is worth, making both stupid proposals in the white spaces on this map (land is cheap) and idiotic proposals in the blue parts (where they are desperate to come up with Something that justifies what they paid for the land).
Regards, pat

Subject: Durham Mixed Use Update
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:43:06 -0500
From: Amy.Wolff at durhamnc.gov
To: mixeduse at durhamnc.gov



Hello! Thank you all for your interest Durham’s Mixed Use Update project. We held the second in a series of public outreach sessions on October 20, 2011 at Southwest Branch Library. The purpose of the open house was to touch base with the public and provide a forum for staff to present the status of the project. This also allowed us an opportunity to continue our dialogue with you and take comments on the concepts that staff will be using to create a draft proposal. Since the meeting, the City of Durham has been in the process of migrating to a new website. I’m happy to present to you the Mixed Use Update webpage and announce this launch as well. The materials from the October 20, 2011 open house, along with all previous materials, can be found here: http://durhamnc.gov/ich/cb/ccpd/Pages/Mixed-Use-Update.aspx Staff will be using the concepts presented to create the draft proposal over the next couple of months. We anticipate having focus group conversations about our draft beginning in January. Once we can schedule this I will extend an invitation.  Thank you for your continued engagement!  Amy WolffSenior PlannerCity-County Planning Department, City of Durham101 City Hall Plaza, Ground FloorDurham, NC 27701P: 919-560-4137, ext. 28235F: 919-560-4641 Amy.Wolff at DurhamNC.govwww.DurhamNC.gov E-mail correspondence to and from this sender may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and can be disclosed to third parties.  		 	   		  
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