[Durham INC] INC Meeting on Tuesday

[Pat Carstensen]

In advance of the delegate meeting next Tuesday, I am sending out the January and February DRAFT minutes (since there wasn't a quorum, the January minutes have not yet been approved, as well as the resolution on the Guess Road development.


Regards, pat


________________________________
From: INC-list <inc-list-bounces at lists.deltaforce.net> on behalf of Pat Carstensen <pats1717 at hotmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 4, 2017 7:32 AM
To: inc listserv
Subject: [Durham INC] DRAFT Feb minutes


Please let me know about any additions or corrections.  Thanks, pat


January Delegate Meeting of the InterNeighborhood Council of Durham

NIS Conference Room, Golden Belt

January 24, 2016



Attending the meeting were:
Neighborhoods

Colony Park – Don Lebkes

Cross Counties – Pat Carstensen

Downing Creek – Dick Ford

Golden Belt – DeDreana Freeman

Lockhaven Hills – Keith LePage

Morehead Hill – Rochelle Araujo

Northgate Park – Debra Hawkins

Old North Durham – John Martin, Peter Katz

Old West Durham – John Killeen

Trinity Park – Philip Azar

Tuscaloosa-Lakewood – Susan Sewell

Watts-Hillandale – Tom Miller

Woodcroft – Scott Carter



Visitors

Will Wilson – DOST

Steve Toler – Durham County Strategic Plan

Briana Khan – Durham County



Former president John Martin opened the meeting.  Those present introduced themselves.   Treasurer Susan Sewall reminded members that dues are due.   Scott Carter moved to approve the minutes, Philip Azar seconded and the motion passed.



Steve Toler and Briana Khan talked about the updating of the county’s strategic plan, which was passed in 2012; they are currently getting citizen input.  The 5 goals of the current plan (but not down to the specific strategies) are at http://dconc.gov/government/departments-a-e/county-manager/planning-and-strategizing-for-the-future.  There will be a draft probably in May, and folks can get more information from Briana (bkhan at dconc.gov<mailto:bkhan at dconc.gov>). Some feedback given:

  *   More effort needs to be done among city, county, schools, transportation, etc. strategic plans
  *   A lot of specific issues (transit, for example) probably weave through a lot of the plan areas.
  *   What is being done on tax stability?
  *   Is there feedback / scoring on how we have done on the plan since 2012?
  *   Does the plan deal with potential for drought?  Other resiliency issues?



There are a number of long-term issues that are revealed by the Guess-Latta re-zoning that would potentially be the site of a Publix grocery store.

  *   The UDO allows a change to mixed use from any of the uses in that mixed use without needing to change in the Future Land Use Plan, if the mixed use if “innovative” and “integrated.”  We are seeing a lot of “mixed use” that still looks like a strip mall plus some houses.
  *   People are lobbying for a Publix, not realizing that a re-zoning allows any commercial use, not just the desired tenant; this is a general community education issue.
  *   Publix announcement was probably premature.
  *   The neighborhoods are concerned about traffic, safety and water quality.

The meeting worked out a draft resolution, which captured the above points and which Lochaven Hills will edit.  Susan Sewell moved to endorse the resolution and Philip Azar seconded it, so we will discuss it at the next meeting.



Neighborhood and Other Reports

  *   Coffees with council on the budget are coming up.
  *   We have purchased 50 acres on Cheek Road that could create 5 athletic fields, but we need money for development.
  *   Thanks to money from DOST and the County of Durham, we will be constructing Larry Stogner Trail at Sandy Creek Park.
  *   The Durham Park Foundation is working with the Duke Park neighborhood to raise money for a Bill Anderson Memorial Pavilion at Duke Park.
  *   If you won bulbs at Keep Durham Beautiful’s give-away, please pick them up.
  *   Don Lebkes said that Pulte has found a way to build 30 houses, a huge improvement from the original plan, in the tract next to Colony Park, using a conservation subdivision.  There is still mass grading so the neighborhood is talking at stormwater about protecting downstream areas.
  *   Rochelle Araujo said the armory in Morehead Hills has been declared to be surplus property, and they have started the process of turning it over to a worthy use; there is a hierarchy of possibilities.  Perhaps Durham should have a general strategy of who needs to be involved in a response to such opportunities.
  *   Debra Hawkins said because of rumors of vendors leaving Northgate Mall, someone in the neighborhood is interested in forming a group to talk about future uses of the property.
  *   Susan Sewell said the city was considering closing some “paper streets” (ones never built), which a developer wanted to make a subdivision in what is in many ways a difficult property; Tuscaloosa-Lakewood got the action delayed a month so they can meet with the developer.
  *

February Delegate Meeting of the InterNeighborhood Council of Durham
NIS Conference Room, Golden Belt
February 28, 2017

Attending the meeting were:
Neighborhoods
Colony Park – Don Lebkes
Cross Counties – Pat Carstensen
Falconbridge – Dick Ford
Golden Belt – DeDreana Freeman
Lockhaven Hills – Keith LePage
Long Meadow – Pakis Bessias
Morehead Hill – Rochelle Araujo
Old North Durham –Peter Katz
Woodcroft – Scott Carter

Visitors
John Killeen – City of Durham, NIS
Lynwood D. Best – City of Durham, NIS
Nikki Liles – Visitor
Jousha Mack – Visitor
Ben Kittelson – City of Durham, Budget

Ben Kittelson passed out surveys on budget priority for the city.  The items are long-term investment choices.  The list and a copy of the survey (which is open until March 31st) are at: http://durhamnc.gov/3020/Budget.

DeDreana Freeman then opened the meeting and those present introduced themselves.  There was no quorum.

Two announcements about community events

  *   John Schelp’s popular West Durham hike will be April 15th.
  *   There will be a community forum on trees in late April.

There being no quorum, voting on the Lockhaven / Halvorson Resolution (see Appendix A) was postponed until March.  Several ideas were offered on how to make the resolution stronger and clearer, so a new draft may come out in a week or so.  We also may want to separate the general issue of lack of clarity on what is enough “mixture” and “innovation” in a mixed use zone and the specific development proposal.

There are still 3 Coffees with Council.  https://durhamnc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13613
CITY OF DURHAM News Media Contact: Office of Public ...<https://durhamnc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13613>
durhamnc.gov
CITY OF DURHAM Office of Public Affairs 101 CITY HALL PLAZA DURHAM, NC 27701 (919) 475 News Release http://Instagram.com/CityofDurhamNC News Media Contact:



There was some discussion of the problem of trucks on streets clearly marked “No Trucks.”




Resolution Regarding the North River Park Development

Whereas the gap between statement of intent for mixed use developments found in the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) calling for “innovative” and “integrated” and the mid-20th century proposal by Halvorson is so immense,


Whereas the addition of a sidewalk between strip mall and residential development does not create a “Mixed Use” development and is an attempt to re-introduce the failed commercial plan submitted by the property owners in 2003,


Whereas the location of the Halvorson project being within 0.2 miles of the next commercial node is in flagrant disregard of the commercial node policy (nodes to be located at > 0.5 miles) of the Durham Comprehensive Plan,


Whereas this is not the first case we have seen of applicants avoiding the publically valuable step of obtaining a change in the future land use plan by this “Mixed Use” loophole,


Whereas, as desirable as a Publix might be, the public needs to be made aware that many other commercial uses can be substituted after the “Mixed Use” application is approved by the council,



Whereas with four grocery/shopping centers within three miles there is no shortage of shopping/commercial space in the area, and the addition of another such development will dilute the customer base and lead to store closures and the loss of employment opportunities in North Durham,



Whereas there are sites such as Treyburn, Roxboro Rd./Infinity Rd. and the old WalMart site that are available for development/redevelopment that will require no change of classification and will more directly serve the developer’s targeted outlying populations,


Whereas the proposed project, even with the associated traffic improvements, will offer no improvement at the primary intersection (C to C) and will adversely affect two of the secondary intersect, ions (B to D, C to E),


Whereas stormwater runoff or accidental sewer discharge from a development of the magnitude proposed by Halvorson will have an adverse effect on the section of the Eno River just hundreds of feet downstream and flowing through the City of Durham's largest nature park, West Point on the Eno, which is the City of Durham's cleanest water quality where thousands of people swim, fish, and play at Synnot's Hole,


Whereas the Citizens of Durham, the Eno River Association members and the State of North Carolina have spent 50 years and millions of dollars protecting the water quality of the Eno River, so protecting this resource should be of utmost importance to the City of Durham,


Whereas such a commercial area immediately next to Easley Elementary School will harm the atmosphere and the safety of the children and faculty of the school,


Therefore the INC of Durham resolves:

* Governing bodies should deny the request to rezone the land.

* As the current definition and description of “Mixed Use” is quite vague, the UDO needs to more precisely define what a “Mixed Use” designation should require in order to skip the need for a change in the future land use map.






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