[Durham INC] DRAFT August Minutes

[Pat Carstensen]

Thanks to Scott Carter for providing INC minutes.  Regards, pat






August Delegate Meeting of the InterNeighborhood Council of Durham NIS Conference Room, Golden Belt August 25, 2015    Attending the meeting were: Neighborhoods Colony Park:   Don Lebkes Duke Park:   Bill Anderson Long Meadow:   Pakis Bessias Morehead Hill :  Rochelle Araujo Northgate Park:   Debra Hawkins Old North Durham:  John Martin Old West Durham:  Vicky Welch, Dan Welch, John Schelp Trinity Park:   Philip Azar Villas at Culp Arbor:  Cathy Abernathy, Lisa Brach Woodcroft:   Scott Carter, Jose Miguel Sandoval Watts Hospital Hillandale:   Molly Stanifer  Visitors  Lynwood D. Best - City of Durham, NIS Bob Chapman – Cornwallis Heights   Call to Order and Housekeeping President Philip Azar opened the meeting at 7:05.  Members introduced themselves.   Philip confirmed that we had a quorum with 11 neighborhoods represented.  There were no adjustments to the agenda.  Bill Anderson moved to approve the July minutes, Vicky Welch seconded and delegates voted to approve.     With our regular secretary Pat Cartstensen not available for the meeting, Philip asked for a volunteer to take minutes, and Scott Carter volunteered.   There was no Treasurer report.     Old Business  The resolution titled “Overarching Resolution Regarding Rail Siting Process” was discussed lightly.   Bill Anderson moved and Vicky Welch seconded to approve this resolution.   It was approved unanimously with one abstention.     The resolution titled “Resolution for a more inclusive, in-depth process for public involvement in planning Compact Neighborhoods and Compact Design Districts with higher density development zoning around proposed light rail stations in Durham” was discussed.   John Schelp said that he worked on the Compact Design District designation for 9th Street along with strong representation from others in his neighborhood, and due to the level of detail specified in a CDD it requires a lot of time and energy from the neighborhood stakeholders to create the best outcome.   He compared 9th Street to several of the downtown highrise apartment buildings that have been recently built, where the height and setback transitions are more severe.   John Martin commented that the objective is to create higher density and not just higher population and sprawl, which has been the trend in recent decades.   Philip Azar proposed a small amendment to the resolution in the “be it resolved” clause #4 to address his concern that the resolution needed to be collaborative with the Planning Department.   His change was to add the phrase “Work in a determined and genuine manner to” at the start of this clause.   Though the author of the resolution was not present, Molly Stanifer accepted this as a friendly amendment.    We also discussed a proposal to form an INC Neighborhood Advocate committee to help neighborhoods advocate for themselves in situations where Planning is soliciting input.    This would enable these neighborhoods to take advantage of experience in other neighborhoods like WHH and OWD with the 9th St Compact District.     After this discussion, Bill Anderson moved and Vicky Welch seconded the approval of the amended resolution.   It was approved with 10 yes’s and one abstention.     Committee Reports  Wireless Cell Facilities.    Philip Azar reported that Planning is working on a cleanup draft of the next version of the UDO and is incorporating 2 of the 3 issues that had been raised by INC but were not included in the recently updated version.   This is good news.   Pocket Neighborhoods – Bill Anderson.     Bill reported that his committee has had a couple of meetings, and as word has gotten around there are several individuals or groups who have asked to participate.   One of the participants is Bob Chapman who developed the Trinity Heights neighborhood and is a local expert on Pocked Neighborhoods.   Bob provided some history and outlined the objectives of this type of development to help create high-quality density on infill lots.    Pocket Neighborhoods strive to be “neighbor centric”, with emphasis on a front porch and common front yard, typically with 12-15 units.   With current zoning, this type of development is not currently allowed in Durham.   Bill says that his committee will likely bring forward a resolution to the next meeting.     Outreach and Membership.    Most of the committee focus has been on the upcoming candidates forurm.   Don Lebkes reported that the city council candidates forum is currently planned for October 14 at City Hall from 7-9pm.   This will be after the primary but before the general election, so the number of candidates will be reduced from 13 to about half.   Don is seeking a moderator for this forum since John Martin is not available.     Nominating Committee.    John Martin said the nominating committee has created a slate of candidates:     President – DeDreana Freeman, VP – Peter Katz, Secretary – Pat Carstensen, Treasurer – Susan Sewell, Past President – Philip Azar, Communications – Pakis Bessias, At Large – Dick Ford and Jose Miguel Sandoval.    Nominations are still open and interested people are invited to come forward.   The election will be held at the September meeting.     New Business None.     Neighborhood Reports    Northgate Park.   Debra Hawkins reported that their monthly food truck rodeo will be held on Thursday 5-8pm in the park, and will include a free concert by the Piedmont Lowlanders.    Colony Park.     Don Lebkes reported that the Planning Commission had voted 10-1 against the proposed development that had strong neighborhood objections.  The developer has withdrawn their current application.    Rochelle Araujo reported that the Light Rail Environmental Impact Statement will be released on Friday with a 45 day comment period.    There are two public hearings scheduled on 9/29 in Chapel Hill and 10/1 in Durham.     A motion to adjourn was made by Bill Anderson and seconded by John Martin.   All approved and the meeting was adjourned at 8:29pm.       		 	   		   		 	   		  
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