[Durham INC] Council Rezoning Decision TOMORROW/Mon morning: Southpoint Trails and the Comp Plan

[Melissa Rooney]

The City Council will hear the Southpoint Trails rezoning (in the Southpoint Renaissance Center area near Jordan Lake) on Monday night. Please contact the Mayor and CC members, 

council at durhamnc.gov

and ask them to vote to support and uphold the Comprehensive Plan. I have included Steve Bocckino's letter in this regard below my signature (I referenced it in my own email to council earlier today).
Note that the developers of Southpoint Trails could 'go the conservation subdivision route' (as Frank Duke and George Stanziale once referred to it) without needing to go through a rezoning, and this would result in an increase beyond the current housing density (though not at the highest level they are hoping for).
In fact, it was George Stanziale (who is also involved in this Southpoint Trails development) who tried to 'go the conservation subdivision route' (at the recommendation of then planning director Frank Duke) in order to avoid a public hearing on the rezoning for nearby Jordan at Southpoint (back in 2007, I believe). It is because of Stanziale's manipulation of the loopholes that the EEUDO committee (Environmental Enhancements to the UDO) was formed (by the city council) to tighten and strengthen the language in the conservation subdivision section of the UDO.
Thanks for taking the time to write to the council. If you know their person email addresses, this might be a better way to go, since their meeting is Monday morning (and they may not have checked their council email addresses by then).
Thanks for caring enough to give a few minutes' time to yet another important planning/development decision.
Cheers,Melissa (Rooney)

From: steve bocckino <ncbocck at mindspring.com>
Subject: Southpoint Trails and the Comp Plan
Received: Saturday, 16 February, 2013, 2:48 PM
____________________

On Monday you will be asked to change the Comprehensive Plan for two sites in south Durham. You shouldn’t do it.

Recently some have proposed revisiting the Comprehensive Plan for the entire county, or merely singling out south Durham for special attention. A little history might be instructive.

In 1999, the Southpoint Mall rezoning eviscerated the existing plan for south Durham. Over the next few years, residents, staff, stakeholders and elected officials held exactly 50 meetings and cobbled together the “54-40 Corridor Study” for south Durham. I attended every one of those 50 meetings; they were some of the toughest and most contentious public meetings I have witnessed. At the end of the day, Kentington Heights was planned for future commercial development while the land south of Massey Chapel Road, near Jordan Lake, was reserved for low-density residential uses. Soon after the 54-40 Plan was adopted, the county started the Comprehensive Plan process.

I served on the Comprehensive Plan steering committee as a representative of the Planning Commission, along with developers, homebuilders, representatives of large employers, and elected officials. Most of the 54-40 Plan was incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan. It is worth noting that every line of the Comprehensive Plan was adopted by consensus: if a single member of the committee objected, that item could not be adopted. Needless to say, the planning process took months, and a small fortune in staff hours.

The City Council and the Board of County Commissioners adopted the Comprehensive Plan in 2005 and immediately began to erode it, chipping away with plan amendments. The elected officials have amended the plan 74 times, almost always in the direction of more intense development.

Given the enormous investment in citizen’s time and taxpayer’s money—and don’t forget the major investment we have in our houses and property—it is no surprise that many of us in south Durham are cynical about a political process that repeatedly flouts the plans.

I understand why a handful of developers want to revisit the plan. Doubtless they would send an army of highly paid consultants to every public meeting if the Council orders a new plan. But haven’t the citizens of south Durham been subjected to enough arbitrary decisions by the Council? Would a new plan be anything more than a fig leaf, justifying further high-density and commercial development?

If the Council votes to support the Comprehensive Plan, developers will bring you projects that conform to our vision. It’s that simple.

Thanks, 

Steve Bocckino





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