[Durham INC] Fwd: Update on Northgate Mall Site Plan + Walltown Call to Action

Tue Sep 7 19:00:49 EDT 2021

Dear Walltown neighbors and Durham residents,

Thank you for your continued engagement with the Walltown Community
Association's (WCA) efforts to preserve the wealth of longtime homeowners
in our neighborhood and to facilitate an equitable, community-driven
redevelopment of Northgate Mall.

*Below you will find updates and a call to action on the urgent need for
property tax relief, opportunities for historic investment in Black-led
organizations and initiatives, and the latest news regarding the
redevelopment of Northgate Mall.* Each of these are interconnected and
determines whether the City Council will fuel either the displacement or
equitable development of Walltown and other historic Black communities in
Durham.

*Call To Action*
*The single most important action you can take today is to email City
Council (council at durhamnc.gov <council at durhamnc.gov>) with the following*:

   - *Include Walltown in the Longtime Homeowner Grant Program
   <https://durhamnc.gov/3236/Longtime-Homeowner-Grant-Program>*
      - The City must *immediately *include Walltown in its property tax
      relief program for the current year and allow 60 days for eligible
      residents to apply. Given the broad support of this request earlier this
      summer, Walltown's eligibility under current program requirements, and
      risks of displacement due to rising property taxes that are now
due, it is
      disappointing that the City has not yet acted to provide this relief.
   - *Invest 45% of American Rescue Plan funds
   <https://durhamnc.gov/4529/American-Rescue-Plan> in Black-led Projects*
      - The City must support the Back in the Black petition
      <https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/back-in-black-45-of-arpa-to-black-led-projects?source=rawlink&utm_source=rawlink&share=896ebf58-87ae-480e-8fb4-c690a990e568>
to
      use American Rescue Plan funds to equitably invest in Black-led
communities
      and organizations, inclusive of a proposal
      <https://bit.ly/together-we-thrive> the Walltown Community
      Association submitted in conjunction with Bragtown, Merrick Moore, and
      DataWorks to support equitable development in our neighborhoods.
   - *Honor the demands of Walltown and other neighborhoods surrounding
   Northgate Mall*
      - The site plan submitted by developer Northwood Ravin ignores and
      contradicts the input provided by the Northgate Mall Neighborhood
      Council
      <https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60172f212e514a5b86eda855/t/608401f56a87341dd3dacf40/1619264025196/Northgate+Mall+Redevelopment+Survey+Report+%284.24.2021%29.pdf>,
      which is supported by thousands of Durhamites. Given that the City failed
      to explore rezoning the property so that Northwood Ravin would have to
      comply with achieving BOTH high density and public goods, the City must
      affirm our demands to (1) refuse to provide any special accommodations or
      benefits to Northwood as they roll out their site plan for Phase
One of the
      development, and (2) reject any proposal from Northwood to rezone the
      property in a way that would increase the building height allowed
      (currently set at 50 feet for the CC and CG designation).

Thank you for your continued support of Walltown and for taking action to
contact the City Council at this time. The sections that follow provide
more detailed information on each of the above.

*Property Tax Relief for Longtime Walltown Homeowners*
In June, many of you emailed the City Council and showed up to the annual
budget hearing to advocate for property tax relief in Walltown. In
response, the City Council requested a presentation from City staff on what
it would take to expand the current Longtime Homeowners Grant Program (LHGP)
<https://durhamnc.gov/3236/Longtime-Homeowner-Grant-Program>--which only
covers three neighborhoods--into something that could be provided to all
eligible residents. The Community Development Department provided the
following memo
<https://cityordinances.durhamnc.gov/OnBaseAgendaOnline/Documents/ViewDocument/WS-Published%20Attachment%20-%2014850%20-%20MEMO%20-%201%20-%20LHGP%20MEMO%20-%209_7_2021.pdf?meetingId=474&documentType=Agenda&itemId=23354&publishId=101324&isSection=false>
 and PowerPoint
<https://cityordinances.durhamnc.gov/OnBaseAgendaOnline/Documents/ViewDocument/WS-Published%20Attachment%20-%2014850%20-%20PRESENTATION%20-%202%20-%20LHGP%20PRESENTATION%20-%209_7.pdf?meetingId=474&documentType=Agenda&itemId=23354&publishId=101325&isSection=false>
at
the August 19th work session (you can watch the presentation and ensuing
discussion by council members here)
<https://durham.granicus.com/player/clip/2737?meta_id=398754>.

While the intention to address the issue is appreciated, under the current
timeline, an actual proposal to expand the program city-wide will not be
presented until November and a decision will likely take much longer (by
then we will have a new mayor and new council members). This is an
insufficient (and way too slow) response to the case for including Walltown
that we made to the City Council via email in June
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lVFJ2kumFr5a2j5Wf3dL0XEn1mC4yjscQB90N7Gm9yE/edit?usp=sharing>
(also
see attached *WCA Black Wealth + Property Tax Analysis Memo*). Mayor
Schewel said as much in the work session discussion above and *we are
asking you to email the City Council and let them know that Walltown can't
wait!!*

*Making the case for Walltown's access to property tax grants:*

   - The City's participation in Walltown's revitalization (over $2M
   invested through Self-Help in the 1990s and 2000s) predates--and in some
   ways functioned as a model for--the City of Durham's revitalization efforts
   in the Southside, Northeast Central Durham (NECD), and Southwest Central
   Durham (SWCD) target areas, which are currently included in the LHGP.

*Support Walltown and Black Communities in Durham through American Rescue
Plan Funding*
As the WCA continues to resist the displacing power of gentrification, we
recognize that *economic opportunity for Black residents requires
deliberate investment in Black communities and Black-led organizations.* This
is especially critical during the current pandemic and economic recession.

   - Did you know that between February and April 2020 (the first two
   months of COVID), Black-owned businesses declined by 41% compared with a
   17% decline among White-owned businesses
   <https://www.forbes.com/sites/pedrodacosta/2020/08/10/the-covid-19-crisis-has-wiped-out-nearly-half-of-black-small-businesses/?sh=118e88034310>
   ?

*To augment recovery efforts, the City and County of Durham will be
receiving over 100 million dollars ($50M and $62M, respectively) from the
American Rescue Plan Act.* The City has laid out a process for allocating
it's funds here <https://durhamnc.gov/4529/American-Rescue-Plan>.

In order to demand an equitable distribution of ARPA funds, several
Black-led nonprofits and community organizations have formed the Back in
the Black Coalition for Equitable Funding. *The coalition is demanding that
45% of Durham's City and County ARPA funds be distributed to Black-led
non-profits, businesses and organizations. Help Back in the Black CLOSE THE
RACIAL WEALTH GAP in Durham by SIGNING THIS PETITION
<https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/back-in-black-45-of-arpa-to-black-led-projects?source=rawlink&utm_source=rawlink&share=896ebf58-87ae-480e-8fb4-c690a990e568>.*

   - One example of the kind of projects Back in the Black seeks to fund is
   a proposal the Walltown Community Association submitted in conjunction with
   Bragtown, Merrick Moore, and DataWorks. *Together We Thrive:
   Community-Driven Planning for Prosperous Futures *aims to support: a
   3-year planning process grounded in collective research, community
   education, agency partnerships (businesses, government, university,
   nonprofit), and resident engagement; the creation of a formal plan
   outlining how equitable neighborhood development can produce prosperous
   futures in Durham; and the establishment of a fund for the implementation
   of key goals identified in our plan. Read the full proposal
   <https://bit.ly/together-we-thrive>.

*Initial Site Plan for Northgate Mall Submitted*
The developer, Northwood Ravin (NR), recently submitted their preliminary
plat for the redevelopment of Northgate Mall (you can view it here
<https://durhamdsc.app.box.com/s/031gtoyrhvpshswewtc4jw78ujit28xr/file/845733056544>
). *There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the design that integrates the*
*principles
or features proposed by the Northgate Mall Neighborhood Council*
<https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60172f212e514a5b86eda855/t/608401f56a87341dd3dacf40/1619264025196/Northgate+Mall+Redevelopment+Survey+Report+%284.24.2021%29.pdf>.
Under the current zoning on the property, NR can pursue this plan as long
as they build no higher than 50 feet, which they intend to do. NR has
stated that this is merely Phase One of the redevelopment and that they
will be open to negotiating around community benefits in Phase Two when
they plan to request a zoning change to increase the height limits. The
challenge is that this preliminary plan undermines the ability to deliver
on community benefits in the future given certain features.

The one key aspect about Phase One that we pushed NR on was enhancing
connection to the surrounding neighborhoods through greenspace that would
open up along Guess Road and, in turn, making the property more accessible
and safe for pedestrian traffic. However, *NRs preliminary plat proposes a
centralized green space that will be surrounded by office, retail and
residential buildings--essentially a private, commercial park for those
that can afford to live and shop there (insert Midtown Green at Raleigh's
North Hills
<https://visitnorthhills.com/directory/midtown-green-apartments/>)*.
Furthermore, a walking trail encircling the property--the lone concession
NR agreed to integrate--doesn't appear on this design.

We're not alone in being underwhelmed by NRs design.

   - Erik Landfried, who is managing Durham's Transit Equity Campaign
   shared his thoughts here
   <https://twitter.com/DurhamComplete/status/1433987137427361793>.
   - The design team from NC State and the Coalition for Affordable Housing
   & Transit that helped us put together our community-centered alternatives
   sent this letter
   <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DcIbrsdp7_NDQ3JTYiu3H3G5DNgYR-JOI1SK9sjVKUU/edit?usp=sharing>
to
   the City Council.

The key theme that stands out is that not only did NR not seek to connect
the property to the community, but they have actually planned to build
several retaining walls along Club Blvd and Guess Rd. *Durham
residents asked for GREATER PUBLIC ACCESS, and Northwood Ravin responded by
giving us WALLS!!!*

On behalf of the Walltown Community Association,
-- 
Brandon J. Williams
he/him/his
919.308.3900
www.walltown.net
"From beatboxers to beat breakers, like the yellow brick road we go where
the beat takes us..."
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