[Durham INC] DRAFT February minutes

[Pat Carstensen]

A proposed resolution is included.  I put in a clause to try to capture discussion at the meeting, but someone might want to propose a better version.  Please let me know about any additions or corrections.
Regards, pat















February
Delegate Meeting of the InterNeighborhood Council of Durham

NIS Conference Room, Golden Belt

February 28, 2012

 

Attending the meeting were:

Neighborhoods

Cleveland-Holloway – Matt Dudek,
Maureen Kurtz, Natalie Spring

Colony Park – Don Lebkes

Cross Counties – Pat Carstensen

Downing Creek – Dick Ford

Duke Park – Bill Anderson, Ian
Kipp

Fairfield – Melissa Rooney

Falconbridge – Rosemarie Kitchin

Golden Belt – John Martin,
DeDreana Freeman

Long Meadow – Pakis Bessias

Northgate Park – Mike Shiflett

Old Farm – Fred Foster

Old North Durham – Peter Katz

Watts Hospital Hillandale – Tom
Miller

Woodcroft – Scott Carter

 

 

Visitors 

Jim Wise – N & O

Lynwood Best – City of Durham,
NIS

Kevin Hall – Planning
Communities, LLC (Traffic Separation Study)

 

John Martin called the meeting to order, and members
introduced themselves.  Rosemarie Kitchin moved and Bill Anderson seconded that we approve the
November and January minutes; the minutes were approved.

 

Kevin Hall talked about the Traffic Separation Study, where the “traffic” to be separated is
what is on the railroad track through town, which could be high-speed rail or
more frequent commuter rail in the future.  The options for the 18 crossing being studied are doing
nothing, closing the crossing, improving it with better marking or barriers, or
actually separating the grades of the street and the railroad.  The changes could be anywhere from
short-term (0-3 years) to long-term (7-10 years).  It is an 18-month study, kicked off with visioning workshops
in November.  Nothing is decided
yet as they are still collecting data. 
The study will consider safety (e.g., accident history), mobility and
accessibility (how much traffic there is there, for example), and social and
economic resources (funding, land-use and so on).  The one crossing people had major comments on was the Broad
Street / Swift Avenue one. John will send out the maps and comment information
to the list-serve so folks can ask their neighborhoods for their ideas and
input.

 

Don Lebkes and Dick Ford gave an update on the candidate forum, which will be March 28
at the NCCU School of Education auditorium.  There are at least 11 Democratic candidates. They are
contacting candidates to get them to commit to the date.  Bob Ashley will be the moderator; there
will be some INC questions and some from the audience.  Members are asked to make sure their
friends and neighbors come to the event. 

 

A Resolution on the Planning
Process for the Creation of Local Historic Districts (see Appendix A) was
introduced.  Golden Belt and Cleveland-Holloway both have submitted the required petitions to become
local historic districts, which would accomplish many of the things a
Neighborhood Protection Overlay would do. 
However, the Planning Department has not made the first step in this
process, and can’t say when the needed studies would begin.  Neighborhoods are requested to take the
resolution to their neighborhoods so we can vote on it in March.

 

DeDreana Freeman is the new
Transit Education Specialist with Clean Energy Durham and is looking for people
willing to be “bus buddies” for folks just trying out transit.  

 

Mike Shiflett gave a summary of
transportation activities, including a new program for buses to use the
shoulders of I-40 in congested traffic; construction on NC147, Hillandale and
Hobson; and progress on the Triangle (East End) Connector.

 

Pat Carstensen said there would
be another West Durham Neighborhood Hike this year.

 

Congratulations to Mike Shiflett
and Mike Woodard for their Human Relations Awards.

 

Bill Anderson announced that the
Durham Can You Spare a Change will get underway soon.

 

The meeting was adjourned.

 

 

 

 




Appendix
A: A Proposed Resolution on the Planning Process for the Creation of Local
Historic Districts

 

Whereas, the Durham Comprehensive Plan adopted in
2005 and currently undergoing revision says: “Durham has a wealth of historic
resources, many of which have been identified and designated on the National
Register of Historic Places, but does not have any local protection in place to
assist in the preservation of these properties. Durham should systematically
identify and designate those resources in greatest need of the protection,”
(Durham Comprehensive Plan, pp. 5-2--5-3) and

 

Whereas, the Cleveland Holloway neighborhood
submitted the required, signed property-owner petitions in June of 2010, and

 

Whereas, the Golden Belt neighborhood submitted the
required, signed property-owner petitions in October of 2010, and

 

Whereas the Historic Preservation Commission gave
initial approval to both of these petitions, and referred them to the Durham
City/County Planning Department for further review, and

 

Whereas, the Planning Department has been unable to
begin the studies necessary to designate Cleveland-Holloway and Golden Belt as
local historic districts,

 

Whereas, the Planning Department has been unable to
say with assurance when such studies might begin,

 

[Potential additional clause:  Whereas, the Planning Department needs
to be as timely and responsive to the requests of ordinary citizens as they are
to developers,]

 

Therefore, the InterNeighborhood Council of Durham
urges City and County officials to provide the necessary staff and resources to
allow the Planning Department to do these reviews, and to insure that these
citizen petitions and all future petitions for local historic districts are
acted upon in a timely and expeditious manner.

  		 	   		  
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