[Durham INC] In town-gown relations, Duke administration reverts to old ways (Duke Rezoning Update -- Time to Comment!)

[John Schelp]

Dear neighbors,
Here we go again. Once again, after months of conversations with neighborhood leaders about a campus re-zoning, the Duke administration submits a re-zoning application that leaves out important critical elements requested by the neighborhood.
When Duke was facing negative headlines after they did the same thing with the Central Campus re-zoning, they promised to be better neighbors.
Clearly, that hasn't happened here and, in fact, the Duke administration is now hiding behind high-priced lawyers, further isolating themselves from their "partnership" neighborhoods.
Back in 2003, neighborhood leaders near Duke were concerned after hearing of re-zoning plans by the university administration to build any number of retail shops on Central Campus that wouldn't have to pay property taxes (since they're tax-exempt), giving them an unfair advantage over nearby shops in the West End, West Main and Ninth Street that did have to pay property taxes.
In May 2006, after three and a half years of Duke assurances that Central Campus redevelopment would not undermine nearby business districts, the university submitted a mostly blank Development Plan. In doing so, Duke officials ignored the concerns raised during dozens of discussions with community groups. Duke's nearly blank Development Plan left the impression that all those "community meetings" were nothing more than window dressing.
The Burch Avenue NA is asking folks to oppose Duke's re-zoning application as written. You can submit a brief comment on the Planning site here (by Nov 21): my social pinpoint
The time-line below outlines why this ongoing behavior of the Duke administration is so frustrating.
If Duke wants to improve town-gown relations in the future, they can't just talk the talk. They need to step up and show this is a true partnership. 
All best,
John SchelpFormer OWDNA president (15 yrs)
Time-line for Duke's Central Campus re-zoning application between the univ administration and the Duke-Durham partnership neighborhoods February 2003: 18 representatives of the twelve Duke-Durham partnership neighborhoods meet at Duke offices in the Erwin Mill building. Duke architect tells assembled that the Durham community hasn't cared what Duke has done for 75 years, why should they start now?
March 2003: Durham Planning Director, Frank Duke, sends the partnership neighborhoods representatives the following email:"At the moment [the Univ-College ordinance] does retain the language I showed the neighborhoods and Duke. Duke is actively lobbying to change it. They want to change the next to last sentence of the permitted uses section to read:
""Retail uses, such as university-related bookstores and dining facilities located within other buildings, shall be permitted, to the extent that they are designed to serve the campus population of the university and not to attract additional traffic to the campus.""
"This proposes to delete the qualifiers of "limited" retail and "on-"campus population. The effect of these changes would be that any retail designed to serve a population between the ages of 18 and 65 would be a permitted use."
"In effect, Duke is requesting the language be changed to permit a Streets of Southpoint as a permitted use on the campus."
March 2003: Watts-Hillandale president (reflecting the concerns of many neighborhoods) writes to Duke President Nan Keohane...
"I am now disappointed to learn that Duke University is asking the city for a significant change to the proposed ordinance without first informing the other stakeholders. If Duke was dissatisfied with the revised version of the proposed ordinance, Duke's representatives should have made the university's objections known to the Planning Department and the neighborhoods during the meetings which were set up for the purpose of airing such concerns."
"The change that Duke is now seeking, the elimination of limits on commercial uses within areas to be zoned UC, runs to the very heart of the ordinance and was the subject of the principal debate among the stakeholders. To permit the neighborhoods and the Planning Department to rise from the meeting table with the impression that Duke was content with the parties' compromise seems more than a little unfair. This is especially troublesome considering that Duke hosted the meetings in its own offices. Quite frankly, I feel as though Duke has dealt with us in something less than good faith. In the spirit of compromise, Watts Hospital-Hillandale agreed to forgo a number of things we wished to see included in the new UC ordinance. Evidently, Duke did not enter into the discussions motivated by that same spirit."
Spring 2003: Senior VP John Burness tries to mislead a reporter by saying what exacerbated tensions with the neighborhoods was City staff sharing information with residents. In fact, what exacerbated these tensions was the Duke Architect going behind our back to remove "limited retail" from the local ordinance. Duke's attempt to shift the blame from their own actions to City staff is not appreciated.
Spring 2003: Duke senior VP Tallman Trask states in the newspaper that someone told the neighborhoods Duke wanted three big box retail stores in a row. In fact, no one said this to us. Does Duke make such public erroneous assertions to make the neighborhoods look alarmist and uninformed? Although such calculated statements are not appreciated, it is hard to blame neighborhood residents for being suspicious when Duke goes behind closed doors and tries to effect changes in the local ordinance.
April 2003: After President Keohane receives dozens of emails opposing on-campus retail beyond the school's academic mission from the community, Duke pulls Central Campus from the new Univ-College district shortly before a City Council meeting held on April 7.
Spring 2003: Representing the partnership neighborhoods, Old West Durham president John Schelp and Tallman Trask work out Central Campus retail agreement (ie. three small restaurants, 99-room hotel with restaurant, university bookstore with coffee shop, store selling Duke clothes & accessories, bowling alley, performing arts center, and dorms).
Spring 2003: Schelp presents agreement to representatives of partnership neighborhoods at one of their many meetings in the Northgate Mall conference room. Neighborhood representatives discuss and vote to endorse the agreement. On-campus retail agreement is documented in letters to Nan Keohane and other Duke leaders, N&O, and the Herald-Sun.
Summer 2003: Duke-Durham partnership neighborhoods speak in support of Duke's rezoning plans for East Campus, West Campus and the Medical Center before the Zoning Committee, Planning Commission, and City Council. Measure passes unanimously. Duke officials repeatedly promise to tell the partnership neighborhoods when the Central Campus plans were ready.
December 2003: Chance encounter with Duke VP for capital assets at Elmo's Diner discloses that Central Campus plans are ready. When approached by neighborhood representatives asking to see the plans, more senior officials quickly change their tune, saying plans will be ready in January, then February, then March. During this delay, Duke officials meet with City officials to go over their plans.
March 2004: After months of accusing partnership neighborhoods reps of spreading "rumors" about Duke's on-campus retail plans, Tallman Trask states at a public forum in Trinity Heights that Duke is considering "general commercial" zoning category (ie. unlimited retail) for Central Campus. This action is consistent with Duke's efforts a year ago to remove "limited retail" from the ordinance and again produces tensions with tensions with partnership neighborhoods. Duke officials assure forum participants they will do better communicating Duke's plans for Central Campus.
March 2004: Duke officials start inviting new presidents of partnership neighborhoods to meetings. The exclusion of those with whom Duke had been negotiating Central Campus plans for months from this meeting raises suspicions that Duke is trying to foster divisions between the partnership neighborhoods they say they want to help.
April 2004: John Hope Franklin Center hosts campus forum asking whether Duke is isolating itself from Durham. Several students, faculty and community reps state that a self-contained retail area on campus would isolate Duke from Durham. Public Affairs rep says Duke "only wants 10,000 extra sq feet." This extra retail represents a violation of our agreement and is inconsistent with Mr. Trask's recent comments that he couldn't say how much retail Duke wanted to build. Moreover, if Duke succeeds in obtaining a general commercial zoning, which allows for unlimited retail, there is nothing that would limit Duke to 10,000 sq feet of additional retail.
April 2004: Herald-Sun editorial says Duke has raised "justifiable ire" with its plans for Central Campus and needs to win back the neighborhood's trust.
June 2004: The InterNeighborhood Council of Durham voted to endorse a statement saying INC "supports the position that the new University-College District is the most appropriate zoning designation for Duke's Central Campus. The INC also supports the list of limited retail uses that was worked out with Duke and endorsed by the partnership neighborhoods in 2003."
Despite the efforts of a Duke official at the meeting to have the last sentence of the INC statement removed, the measure was passed overwhelmingly.
December 2004: Despite assurances at the March forum to better communicate its Central Campus plans with the neighborhoods, we've heard nothing from Duke. We then read in the Duke Chronicle (11/29/04) that Duke's Board of Trustees was set to approve proposals for Central Campus. Duke officials insist the article was wrong. Duke could have set the record straight. One thing this episode shows is that Duke doesn't yet get that they need to be proactive in contacting and sharing information with its partnership neighborhoods.
The fact remains that, despite their assurances to better communicate with the partnership neighborhoods, we hadn't heard a word from Duke over nine months.
February 2005: Duke holds a meeting and has less to report than its March 2004 meeting. Partnership neighborhoods ask to participate on Duke's planning committees but Duke officials do not respond.
May 2005: Timeline on Duke's new Central Campus website ignores February 2003 meeting (initiated by Duke) with 18 representatives of 12 partnership neighborhoods to talk about campus land use plans where the community first raised concerns about Central Campus and retail. Duke's timeline ignores the many, many months of meetings among the partnership neighborhoods in 2003 -- and ignores the significant role played by partnership neighborhoods to support the re-zoning for East and West campuses and the Medical Center.

May 2005: After calling the campus retail area "Main Street," Duke officials then start calling it a "University Village." In constant spin control, school officials now start calling the area an "Academic Village."
May 2005: Duke officials finally commit to University/College zoning for Central Campus, something we in the neighborhoods have been asking for all along. Stakeholders look forward to seeing the Development Plans to see how Duke officials have addressed the numerous issues raised by different community groups. Neighbors and merchants are also looking forward to seeing the university's plans for "Limited retail uses, such as university-related bookstores and dining facilities located within other buildings, shall be permitted, to the extent that they are designed to serve the on-campus population of the university and not to attract additional traffic to the campus" (UDO text).
May 2006: After three and a half years of Duke assurances that Central Campus redevelopment would not undermine nearby business districts, the university submits a mostly blank Development Plan. In doing so, Duke officials have virtually ignored the concerns raised during dozens of discussions with community groups. Duke's nearly blank Development Plan leaves the impression that all those "community meetings" were nothing but window dressing.
Summer 2006: Stakeholders hold a series of meetings and ask Duke to place a square footage cap on their campus retail.
Summer 2006: When stakeholders ask to meet with Duke officials before the Planning Commission hearing, the university's initial response was that such a meeting wasn't necessary since there was nothing to discuss.
Oct 2006: One week before the Planning Commission vote, Duke finally submits committed elements. Their retail element would allow any number of 1/2 acre stores. Since Duke pays no property taxes on such revenue-generating enterprises, this arrangement pre-empts important revenue for local schools, libraries and social services.
Oct 2006: Duke refuses request to cap campus retail. Stakeholders ask City-County Planning Commission to vote against Duke's rezoning request.
Oct 2006: Durham Planning Commission votes to reject Duke's rezoning application.
Oct 2006: Shortly after getting voted down, Duke President Richard Brodhead tells senior university officials to stop worrying -- Duke has enough votes on City Council.
Oct 2006: Herald-Sun reports that Duke proposes sweetheart deal -- where Durham gets $2 million dollars from the university in exchange for "any other necessary approvals" related to Anderson Street, which happens to go through the very heart of Central Campus. University administrators assured Council that they'd do a better job keeping the crosswalks well marked, etc. [In 2022, the Anderson crosswalks near the visitor destination Duke Gardens are barely visible.]
Oct 2006: Stakeholders learn from Council members that Duke does not have the votes. Work continues toward a solution that both sides can support.
Jan 2007: Stakeholders and Duke officials work out binding committed elements on all twelve issues and walk into City Council chambers with an agreement. Highlights include a cap on campus retail, saving the old mill houses, limiting building heights along Erwin Road, protecting more stream bed areas and setting aside more green-space than called for in the ordinance.
On the Duke side, much of the credit goes to Provost Peter Lange (who took over after neighborhoods asked the PR office to get out of the way). In the end, we all have a vested interest in the successful redevelopment of Central Campus -- and in healthy businesses and neighborhoods in Durham. (2007)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.deltaforce.net/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20221116/f731d250/attachment.htm>