Listening & Learning (November 2019– February 2020)

The first phase of community engagement for the new Comprehensive Plan and the new Transit Plan happened between November 2019 and February 2020.  We asked residents during large in-person sessions, small group discussions led by Engagement Ambassadors, and in an online survey, “What does an ideal Durham look like to you?” and “What else is on your mind about Durham?” These two questions were designed to encourage a two-way dialogue between residents and staff, reaching beyond a strategy of simply having staff gather information from the community in a one-way dialogue. We also wanted to ensure residents had opportunities to share their concerns, ideas, and questions about Durham, even if outside of the scope of these two specific plans.  

• Listening and Learning Input
• Listening and Learning Engagement Summary

Community Goals (July 2020– June 2021)

We started the process of writing a new comprehensive plan by first getting your feedback on what Durham’s future goals should be. These goals guide how the plan is written as well as decisions regarding new proposed development for zoning change and annexation applications. 

• Writing process for Community Goals and Objectives
• Draft Goals and Objectives Engagement Input
• Draft Goals and Objectives Engagement Summary
• Adopted Community Goals and Objectives

Creating the Plan

Place Type Guide, Place Type Map, & Policies (Summer 2021–Fall 2022)

The Community Goals and Objectives outline the vision of the Durham toward which we want to plan. The Place Type Guide and the Place Type Map are all about grounding that vision in the actual places of Durham.

Draft Place Type Guide & Draft Place Type Map (July 2021-February 2022)

Place Type Guide

The Place Type Guide is a list of all the types of places the community would like to see in the future, including a description of how each place will look and function for all of Durham City and County. The Place Type Guide will replace the Future Land Use Map categories from the previous Comprehensive Plan. The guide may also include information about desired features of each place type, such as land uses; development patterns; building heights and placements; more detailed uses allowed; parking location; infrastructure, like transportation and sewer service; and desired green space.  The Place Type Guide is to be used by planners, developers, City and County officials, and residents to understand the future desired physical characteristics and uses of land. The purpose of the guide is to provide detailed information and guidance to inform how development should look for certain place types as the community grows. The Place Type Guide will be used along with the Place Type Map to guide growth and development for all areas in Durham. 

Place Type Map

We are working to replace our current future land use map with a Place Type Map that will designate every property in Durham with a Place Type. The Place Type Map will serve as a geographic depiction of how the community has said it wants to look over the next several decades. For example, the map will show where the community wants houses, stores, businesses, or schools to develop, or where to protect farmland and green space. The Place Type Map is not legally binding and does not change a property owner’s rights under the existing zoning. Where the Zoning Map is legally binding and shows what is allowed to be built on a property today, the Place Type Map is a guide for future decision-making. Local government staff use it to evaluate requests for new development; to inform decisions about infrastructure investments like extending water and sewer or adding new roads, sidewalks, or bus routes; and to guide how departments and agencies plan their facilities and programs to serve Durham residents. 

• Revised Place Type Guide (2022)
• Revised Place Type Map (2022)
  
  
• Draft Place Type Guide (2021)
• Draft Place Type Map Engagement Input (2021)
• Draft Place Type Map & Guide Engagement Summary (2021)
• Technical Corrections List (2021)

Policies (August 2021-June 2022)

Policies in the Comprehensive Plan are the words that accompany the Place Type map. These policies will work towards implementation of the Community Goals and Objectives, identifying tools and strategies to work towards the outcomes residents want to see in Durham’s future. This work includes policies that apply across the County and also policies tied to a specific place type (see the Place Type Guide description above). See below for links to the draft Policies released in Summer of 2022.

• Revised Policies (Spreadsheet) (2022)
• Revised Policies (PDF) (2022)
  
  
• Draft Policies (Spreadsheet) (2021)
• Draft Policies (PDF) (2021)
• Draft Policies Engagement Summary (2021)
• Draft Policies Input Spreadsheet (2021)

Policies developed for and adopted in the Comprehensive Plan will be used in two primary ways: 

1. To review new development proposals brought before  the Planning Commission, the City Council, and the Board of County Commissioners for review and approval; and 
2. To develop and inform departmental work programs, particularly the Planning Department’s work program. 

New Development Proposals

Similar to the Place Type Map (described above), in this application, policies guide future decision-making. Planning and other City and County departmental staff review proposals for new development through rezoning requests and annexations against policies in the Comprehensive Plan for compliance. Staff use this assessment to communicate priorities and expectations to developers or applicants proposing new development, and to provide a staff report for consideration by the Planning Commission and either the City Council or the Board of County Commissioners in their decision-making on the proposal. 

Departmental Work Programs

Policies will also inform departmental work programs. Work programs identify and prioritize activities and assignments to be carried out by individuals within a city or county department. For departments outside of Planning, this could include decisions about planning infrastructure investments like extending water and sewer or adding new roads, sidewalks, or bus routes as well as information about how departments and agencies plan their facilities and programs to serve Durham residents. 

For the Planning Department, the policies inform the departmental work program in several ways. These primarily include proposing changes to the requirements for development in “by-right” applications, meaning they are allowable or permissible by law, through amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), a legally binding document which sets the rules and regulations for zoning and development. It also includes amending departmental processes and procedures for working with residents and applicants, and identifying areas of the community where further studies are needed to provide a detailed vision for how development may occur in that area. 

Focus Areas

Two focus areas have been identified for our Comprehensive Plan work. The Southeast Durham Focus Area was selected based on requests from the Planning Commission and the City Council for near-term recommendations and guidance for how development should occur in this rapidly developing area. The Bragtown Focus Area was selected in response to needs and requests coming from the Bragtown Community Association in light of increased development interest in their neighborhood and of Planning staff’s commitment to equitable engagement and equitable outcomes in this plan. 

Both of these focus areas represent the two main development challenges Durham currently faces: sprawling greenfield development (illustrated in the Southeast Durham Focus Area) and gentrifying infill development in disinvested neighborhoods (shown in the Bragtown Focus Area). 

Bragtown Focus Area

Planning processes in Durham have often ignored, marginalized, or actively harmed historically Black communities like Bragtown by primarily focusing on the needs and desires of those with power and privilege. The Bragtown community has faced a legacy of disinvestment from the City and County throughout Durham’s history, and more recently, new development pressures threaten to displace lifelong Bragtown residents. In line with the Comprehensive Plan’s focus on equity, Planning Staff is dedicating a portion of the Comprehensive Plan to working with Bragtown residents to ensure that the Bragtown community has a meaningful role in the development of the Comprehensive Plan, to intentionally engage Bragtown residents in this project, and to identify and implement ways the Comprehensive Plan can further the needs and priorities of Bragtown. A short list of these priorities and needs, as identified by the Bragtown community, include:

• “Housing that is affordable for Bragtown residents” 
• “Development that does not displace current residents” 
• “Green spaces and safe pedestrian walkways that connect Bragtown residents to destinations like parks, grocery stores, libraries, and more” 
• “Preserving areas for wildlife and plants, with a focus on environmental justice for Bragtown 
• “Involving the community in each step of the process and especially supporting Bragtown community recommendations that align with Durham’s racial equity priorities” 
• “Honoring and preserving the legacy of Bragtown”

Specifically, Planning Staff and the Bragtown Community Association are working together to ensure that Bragtown residents have an active role, with intentional support from Planning Staff, to shape a Place Type Guide, a Place Type Map, and a Policies section within the Comprehensive Plan that further the goals of the Bragtown community. The existing development patterns within Bragtown are fairly representative of the rest of Durham. So, where appropriate, these recommendations, guidelines, and policies may be applied to other communities in Durham facing similar challenges. To begin this work together, Planning staff and the Bragtown community have developed a list of Shared Values and Agreements. This work will be ongoing for the duration of the Comprehensive Plan project. 

Southeast Durham Focus Area (January 2021-September 2021)

On September 24, 2020, at the Durham City Council work session, staff from Planning, Transportation, and Water Management departments gave a presentation on development activity and infrastructure constraints in the southeastern part of Durham County, bounded roughly by US 70, Sherron Road, NC 98, and the County line. Due to a high volume of rezoning and annexation requests in this area, and the need for immediate land use guidance, Durham City Council asked the Planning Department to focus on this area of Durham first, so that it could provide interim guidance even before the full Comprehensive Plan is adopted.

The purpose of the focus area is to:

• Apply the plan’s goals and objectives to a specific area; 
• Understand what residents see as existing needs and priorities for the area; 
• Understand which land use features (e.g., types of housing, locations of new stores, environmental protections) residents want to see; and
• Recommend new future land uses, or place types, to inform zoning and annexation requests  

Below you will find links to the engagement summary for the Southeast Durham Focus Area, a spreadsheet of the engagement input, and a meeting recording for more information about the focus area.

• May 20, 2021 Community Meeting Recording
• Archived Interactive Map with Comments
• Southeast Durham Focus Area Engagement Summary 
• Southeast Durham Focus Area Engagement input
• Input on Draft Recommendations

For more detail on background of this project visit https://nc-durhamengage.civicplus.com/162/Southeast-Durham-Focus-Area