[Durham INC] DRAFT July minutes, August meeting

Thu Aug 17 07:10:47 EDT 2017

The fourth Tuesday comes early this month.  I am re-sending the minutes in advance of the meeting next week.

Regards, pat

________________________________
From: Pat Carstensen <pats1717 at hotmail.com>
Sent: Monday, July 31, 2017 7:22 AM
To: inc listserv
Subject: July minutes

Please let me know about additions or corrections.   Regards, pat

July Delegate Meeting of the InterNeighborhood Council of Durham
NIS Conference Room, Golden Belt
July 25, 2017

Attending the meeting were:
Neighborhoods
Colonial Village – Michael Malecek
Colony Park – Don Lebkes
Cross Counties – Pat Carstensen
Falconbridge – Jennifer Patterson
Lochaven Hills – Keith LePage
Morehead Hill – Rochelle Araujo
Northgate Park – Debra Hawkins
Old North Durham –Peter Katz, John Martin
Old West Durham – Jesus Gutierrez
Trappers Creek / Greymoss – Will Wilson
Trinity Park – Philip Azar
Woodcroft – Scott Carter

Visitors
Hannah Jacobson – Durham City/County Planning
Lynwood D. Best – City of Durham, NIS

Peter Katz opened the meeting and those present introduced themselves.  Philip Azar moved and John Martin seconded approval of the June minutes; this passed.

Hannah Jacobson, AICP Senior Planner in the Durham City-County Planning Department, gave a presentation of the Compact Neighborhood Affordable Housing Bonuses.  Because state law prohibits inclusionary zoning and previous sets of rules have not added affordable units, Planning has been talking to developers about what bonuses would create real incentives; the changes would be written into the UDO and apply to the compact tier.  Materials from the public meetings are at https://durhamnc.gov/362/Compact-Neighborhood-Affordable-Housing.  “Affordable” would mean 15% of the units, for 15 years (advocates are asking for 30), for people earning 60% of the Area Median Income (about $800/month for a household of 2 currently).   The developer would be allowed by right (that is, without Planning Commission or governing board review but with Planning Department scrutiny that the design requirements were met) density of 75 units be acre and a height of 90 feet (with 50-feet-high limits for the area closest to any single-family neighbors).  More nuanced versions would probably be included in the detailed design plans for the transit stop areas as they are developed.  Whether the full 90 feet would be used would likely depend on where the development is; some areas might not support the cost of going from “stick-built” to steel framing.  The original mandate for Planning to look at the issue said to look at compact tiers since they are where we want density (around transit makes sense).  Note that affordable units have to be “just like” the market-rate ones.  There were concerns about:

  *   Based on what is working in other communities, do these ratios make sense?
  *   The step-back of height from residential may need to look at the actual height across the street and have an angle rather than a fixed size, so there can be multiple steps.
  *   Because of economics of stick-built versus steel, developers are not currently building as big as they can, but the practical benefit may be more outside downtown are now currently lower (though what happens when the details of the transit zones are done is unclear).
  *   Could the limits be re-framed as “livable space” rather than units so that the developer can trade off the revenue from 20 compact units versus 12 big units or 6 over-sized-ego units?
  *   The biggest barrier to affordability seems to be parking.  What can we do about that?  Currently Section 10 of the UDO requires a minimum (and in some areas a maximum) parking for each kind of use, with compact areas parking set at 80% of the general requirements.  We currently allow affordable units to have fewer spots, but how the spots are allocated to units so that the affordable units are indistinguishable from the market-rate ones is not clear.
  *   What is the method for getting neighborhood input into the review that design requirements are being met?

Hannah Jacobson also gave an overview of the Angier / Driver Zoning Study.  There are a lot of opportunities emerging in the area, such as the East End Connector, the rail corridor and the stock of historic buildings.  On the other hand, the existing zoning is creating issues around infill, parking requirements (especially for neighborhood commercial which requires parking, for which there is no space), and modifications of buildings that are currently non-conforming (“grandfathered in”).  It was noted that there were no representatives from East Durham neighborhoods at the meeting.  Because of the concern that any change would accelerate gentrification, it is important to be listening to the community affected.  The area has been subdivided into 4 areas with different options.  For details, see https://durhamnc.gov/3007/Angier-Driver-Planning-and-Zoning-Study.
Angier-Driver Planning and Zoning Study | Durham, NC<https://durhamnc.gov/3007/Angier-Driver-Planning-and-Zoning-Study>
durhamnc.gov
Reviving the Angier-Driver business district is a goal shared by community members and the City. In 2014, a public works project to give the “streetscape” a fresh ...

Hannah Jacobson also mentioned that demolition permits are now on the Development Tracker (http://gisweb2.durhamnc.gov/durhammaps/developmenttracker/index.html).  Can there be a “push” notification or neighborhood delay for tear-downs?
ArcGIS Viewer for Flex<http://gisweb2.durhamnc.gov/durhammaps/developmenttracker/index.html>
gisweb2.durhamnc.gov
Esri ArcGIS viewer for Flex

Committee Reports

·      The candidate forum dates are set September 14th for mayor’s races and October 12th for city council.   If you want to volunteer to help, please let Jose know.  Also, they are collecting questions until September 7th; multiple questions around the same topic are ideal.

  *   Neighborhood Heroes 2018 and the Nominations Committee had no report.

Neighborhood Announcements and Other Reports

  *   Food Truck Rodeo at Northgate Park this Thursday from 5-8:30 – grab a great meal, nosh or dessert on your way home and forget the kitchen! Vegan, Vegetarian, Allergy-free options available in a range of cuisines. Free Live Music on the Lawn.
  *   National Night Out is Tuesday, August 1.  Afterwards, come to the Neighborhood Beer Garden at Tom and Kim Miller’s, 1110 Virginia Avenue, from 6:00 until 9:30 o’clock. Musical entertainment will be provided by Vince Simonetti and his tuba trio.  If you have lederhosen or dirndl skirts, you are encouraged to wear them.  If you have a favorite beer stein, please bring it.
  *   John Martin reported that the Steering Committee for the Durham Beltline seems to be mostly for listening and nodding, rather than offering guidance.   Philip Azar offered a resolution about transparency, seconded by John; the resolution is below and will be discussed at the next meeting.  https://durhambeltline.com/#new-page<https://durhambeltline.com/%23new-page>.
  *   Jesus Gutierrez reported on the Old West Durham neighborhood overlay.  It was observed that it is shocking how much tear-down is happening in the neighborhood.  It will take about 2 months to come up with the tools – height, for example – that will be used, and then 18 months to finish the process.  See https://durhamnc.gov/3006/Old-West-Durham-Neighborhood-Protection-

Appendix: Beltline Resolution
Whereas the community is grateful that the Durham Beltline property has been acquired, and

Whereas we would however like to have a full disclosure of any agreements or understandings between the Conservation Fund and the City, and

Whereas we are disappointed that the acquisition of the belt line has not been made more widely known through announcements to television, radio, and newspapers, and

Whereas the Beltline will be an important amenity for Durham and especially for the neighborhoods along the Beltline, and

Whereas, neighbors of the Beltline have important local and deep tacit knowledge – as Michael Polanyi said, “We know more than we can tell” – of the opportunities and complexities of the property, therefore

It is resolved that Durham neighborhoods, and especially adjoining neighborhoods, would like more transparency into the Durham Beltline process, better identification of the decision makers and decision points, and more clarity about how and what public input will happen.

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