A controversial plan for constructing an apartment building in a neighborhood of single family homes met strong opposition from Durham homeowners at Monday night's City Council meeting.
Residents clashed over various rules governing the review of new property developments, and a protracted discussion afterward among City Council members revealed deep divisions that resulted in a 4-3 vote approving the plan for the Cole Mill Road apartments.
At a council meeting last fall, Planning Director Frank Duke recommended the plan for approval after his commission determined that it met all technical requirements for the zoning area. However, in response to residents' opposition, the council then sent the plan to the city's Appearance Commission, which formulated recommendations designed to help weave the apartments into the neighborhood.
At last night's meeting, Will Anderson, developer Bobby Haywood's lawyer, presented the revised plan, which included changes such as architectural modifications, smaller-scale lighting and increased screening for trash and parking areas in the form of trees and shrubs.
However, Cole Mill residents were present again in full force, prepared to voice fresh opposition to the new plan. They noted that the plan was reviewed under regulations - known as the Neighborhood Commercial Ordinance-that will soon be replaced by the newer Uniform Development Ordinance. Many residents believe that under these revised rules, the plan could not be approved.
Homeowners' reasons for concern also included traffic congestion, the building's remaining contrast to neighborhood homes and stormwater runoff.
Resident Bernice Wheeler cited the stormwater runoff that would ensue as a result of less land for water drainage. "Most of [the residents] have had to add flood insurance to their homeowners' policy," she said, adding that even more water would drain onto properties if the apartment complex and parking lot, both being impermeable surfaces, were built on the site.
"People move out here for open space," said resident Sonia Allen. "We are against high-density housing."
Former council member Matt Yarborough also spoke out against the planned apartments. He detailed previous areas of development where stormwater runoff had subsequently become a major problem. "This project is an indictment of the lack of foresight of the city's staff and planning commission," Yarborough said.
Whether or not the site plan met the council's own standards became the topic of a long discussion after the public hearing, with some council members citing their consciences and others their oath to uphold the law.
Duke, citing the plan's technical approval, said that the one-acre site was not big enough to be considered for further stormwater runoff considerations. However, a speaker from the Public Works Department explained that any increase in impervious surface, however minute, would hurt the area in terms of flooding, prompting Mayor Bill Bell's hesitancy to move for an approval vote.
"If it makes [the situation] any worse, I don't want to support it," Bell said.
Taylor Blakely, Haywood's landscape architect, explained that Haywood was willing to install storage pipes below the parking lot to hold and help drain runoff water. This led to a split on the council, causing some to side with approval of the plan with this new condition while the other members remained concerned.
City Attorney Henry Blinder said density, compatibility and environmental considerations were part of the zoning process but not approval for a site plan. Given this procedural rule and Haywood's willingness to lower environmental impact, some council members were more inclined to approve the plan.
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