Durham City Council votes 4-3 on updated zoning, eliminating of minimum parking requirements

After more than a year of back and forth, the Durham City Council voted to move forward with some of the controversial proposed amendments to development code.

The text amendment is titled "Simplifying Codes for Affordable Development," commonly referred to as "SCAD."

Mayor-elect Leonardo Williams, Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton, newly reelected Council Member Javiera Caballero and Council Member Jillian Johnson voted in favor. Johnson chose not to run for reelection, and her time on the city council is coming to an end.

Mayor Elaine O'Neal, who did not run for reelection, voted against the "SCAD" amendments. Council Member DeDreana Freeman and Council Member Monique Holsey-Hyman joined O'Neal, voting against the amendments. Holsey-Hyman recently lost her bid for reelection to the city council.

The motion that passed 4 to 3 moved the text amendment forward, excepting the provisions not recommended by planning staff, and excluding a new affordable housing initiative.

A farewell to minimum parking requirements, a new housing type and new rules

Monday night's vote to move forward parts of the SCAD amendment includes many changes.

One of the biggest ones is the elimination of minimum parking requirements.

In addition, places of worship can now build accessory dwelling units for anyone, not only their staff. That change has other limitations on the location of those units.

The amendment allows accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, to be larger, increasing the size from 800 square feet up to 1,000 square feet, or 1,200 square feet for multiple stories.

SCAD has created a new housing type, called a "detached rowhouse." An attachment in the agenda describes it as a "hybrid between a single-family house and a townhouse, which is compatible with established residential areas but can result in more variety of housing options and slightly higher densities."

Under the new rules, buildings may also be taller.

SCAD increases the height to 32 feet from 25 feet, which was recommended by staff: "staff recommend this change as it simply adjusts height to reflect measuring to a sloped roof apex instead of midpoint."

A lengthy process and heated debate

Jim Anthony submitted the proposed text amendment in May 2022. According to the application, the proposal was created by a group of developers, who believed changes to the code would facilitate new housing and more economic development.

Anthony wrote, "The applicant's goal is to enable more housing, better housing to be built, and more affordable housing to be built, particularly in the incremental scale."

The proposal was discussed at Planning Committee meetings in June and August of last year, and it was presented to the Planning Commission in September. That group voted to continue its public hearing to December.

The city council first considered the amendments in March, and the elected officials continued the public hearing to May. In April, council members decided to refer the item back to staff to be rescheduled. Staff attended multiple community meetings.

The city council also established a task force of interested parties that met in October.

What's next

Monday night's meeting had hours of public comment.

Proponents of SCAD argue it will lead to lower rents with more development, create walkable communities and increase urban infill and economic opportunities.

Opponents of SCAD raised concerns about displacement of minority communities, environmental impact of development and the issue of gentrification.

Opposition included the InterNeighborhood Council of Durham, which represents multiple neighborhoods and homeowners associations.

Durham city staff acknowledged that the changes may have unintended consequences, and wrote in the agenda that they should be monitored.

They are currently in the process of a re-write of the Unified Development Ordinance, and some of the provisions in SCAD that do not currently have staff support may come up again.