In a heated meeting that lasted four and a half hours Monday night, City Council members and Durham residents gathered to discuss issues including property rights, housing, transportation and safety.
The subject of eminent domain authority-an issue that has gained national recognition recently with the Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London-dominated the first part of the meeting. Eminent domain authority is the process by which the government can take away private property without the owner's consent if the property is taken for "public use."
Council member Thomas Stith proposed a resolution that would explicitly state that the city of Durham condemns eminent domain. He said the policy has allowed situations like the displacement of 6,000 residents to create a yachting complex, which he noted was justified by the economic benefits of the project.
Mayor Bill Bell said such a resolution could prohibit renovating a blighted area, even if one of the effects of the renovation would be economic improvement. Stith argued that this was not a relevant scenario.
"You're mixing apples and oranges," Stith said. "It's just not fair to be taking away someone's home they've been in for 25, 30, 50 years."
Stith's comments drew applause from the audience, and the Council resolved to review the issue at its Thursday work session.
Another major topic addressed was safety in residential areas and business districts like downtown. Diane Rogers, a member of the C.C. Spaulding Community Association, spoke about the lack of proper lighting and security on roads like Roxboro Street. "All the people in the community are asking for is a fair deal," she said. "If I'm paying my taxes, and you're paying your taxes, why do your streets have lights and not mine?"
Rogers also said that the children in her neighborhood have to wait for the schoolbus in the rain because there are no awnings at their bus stops. City manager Patrick Baker promised change and apologized for the lack of action in the past. "From this point on, hold me accountable," he said.
Busses, in particular those of the Durham Area Transit Authority, were another hot topic at the meeting. Construction in downtown Durham, which is slated to continue for at least another year and a half, has forced the rerouting of busses and the elimination of several key bus stops.
"I've been coming [to City Council meetings] for 51 years.... I've walked a million miles in 51 years, but now I'm hurting with arthritis," said Durham resident Bill Johnson. "I'm totally dependent on DATA. There needs to be some way for people like me to get down here without having to walk."
Other citizens advocated for an increased police presence throughout the city; the Council said the number of added police officers would be available after the Council's Thursday work session.
Durham resident Denise Hester addressed the Council several times during the meeting to speak out against the city's current focus on housing as outlined in the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report, which she said places too much emphasis on renting and not enough on homeownership.
She also said it was ineffective in its goal to increase the number of Durham residents who own homes. Hester said the "Fayetteville Street Plan" will market homeownership and is key to decreasing the unemployment and crime rates. Hester and other members of the Fayetteville Street group will come before the council in November to propose that their plan be put in place of CAPER.
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