Eastern Durham came a step closer to having a new large-scale housing development Monday night, as a divided Durham City Council approved the rezoning of 678 acres for the project despite significant opposition from nearby residents.
The council voted 8-4 in favor of the Village Creek subdivision, which is slated to include 1,347 single-family homes, 1,012 townhouses and 328 apartments in a rural area in eastern Durham.
That decision disappointed more than 100 eastern Durham residents who attended the meeting to oppose the development.
One opponent, the Rev. Dale Brooks, presented a petition with 700 signatures asking the council to reject the rezoning.
The project, which would take about 10 years to complete, sparked debate on a question that Durham has long struggled with: When do the benefits of growth outweigh the burden that increased development places on schools, roads, the environment and the rest of the city's infrastructure?
Council member Erick Larson said the development would help achieve one of the key tenets of smart growth, "putting people where the jobs are and putting jobs where the people are."
Larson said the subdivision would place residential housing close to the Research Triangle Park, a major source of jobs, thereby reducing the amount of traffic generated by RTP commuters who live on the other side of the city.
Council member Dan Hill agreed that residential development in the area was necessary.
"I understand that the neighbors don't want the development," Hill said. "I don't want it either.... But we've got people that need to live there."
The project could also encourage further growth in eastern Durham because the residents could support nearby commercial development, several potential developers told the council.
But opponents pointed to the development's costs. The project would add 812 new students to the area's already-overcrowded schools and triple the traffic on nearby Sherron Road, according to estimates by city planners.
Council member Brenda Burnette also suggested that the increased population density could lead to more crime in the area. "People are coming here, but they are adversely affecting our quality of life," Burnette said.
Construction on the project would also include mass grading, which opponents said would disrupt the ecosystem of Lick Creek. The development would be built along the creek, and would endanger rare plants and animals like the four-toed salamander and the Carolina darter, they said.
"My neighbors and I see this as a win-lose situation. The developer and those connected with the developer are the winners," Brooks said, drawing loud applause.
"The schoolchildren, the environment, the wildlife, the commuters... and the neighborhood itself are the losers."
But representatives for the development company, Triad Homes, offered to extend the buffer zone around the creek beyond the legally required size, saying that step would further protect the most fragile areas of the ecosystem.
And they offered to donate 28 acres as a site for a new elementary school--although Durham Public Schools would still have to raise the money to build the school.
Triad Homes would also pay to bring water and sewer lines into the area.
As is often the case, the council received opposing recommendations from the joint city-county zoning committee and the city planning department. The zoning committee unanimously recommended that the council deny the development request, and the planning department supported the rezoning.
In addition to Larson and Hill, council members Lewis Cheek, Mayor Pro Tem Howard Clement, Mary Jacobs, Angela Langley, Thomas Stith and Mayor Nick Tennyson voted in favor of the rezoning.
Burnette, Tamra Edwards, Floyd McKissick and Jackie Wagstaff voted against the motion. Pamela Blyth was absent.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.