Durham City Council Regular Meeting - December 19, 2023
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Durham City Council Regular Meeting - December 19, 2023
The Durham City Council held a regular meeting on December 19, 2023, at 7:00 PM. The meeting included a consent agenda, public hearings, and discussions on the ShotSpotter contract extension, multiple zoning map changes, and unified development ordinance (UDO) text amendments. Key decisions included denial of the ShotSpotter extension, approval of several zoning and UDO changes, and adoption of the FY2024-2025 budget development schedule.
Consent Calendar
- Approved consent agenda items except for items #5 (FY2024-2025 budget development schedule) and #6 (ARPA project Be Connected Durham), which were pulled for separate consideration. Items approved included approval of minutes, appointments, annual financial report, contracts, and other routine matters.
- Later in the meeting, item #5 was adopted unanimously after public comment, and item #6 was also adopted unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- ShotSpotter Contract Extension (Item 11): Numerous residents spoke in opposition. Key speakers:
- Willie Brown (sanitation worker) expressed mixed feelings but noted the need for better funding and safety for city workers.
- Victor Kiza (United for a Fair Economy) urged stopping ShotSpotter funding, redirecting to worker wages and community investments.
- Nicole Droplook (behavioral health co-worker) argued ShotSpotter fails to reduce crime and called for funding worker and community needs.
- Leslie St. Dre, Maya Genem, Nadine Burr, Manju Rajindrin, Stella Adams, Nandi Smith, Danielle Purifoy, Blue Miller, Leah Whitehead, and Liv Lynn all spoke against ShotSpotter, citing ineffectiveness, false alerts, over-policing of Black and brown communities, and calling for investment in alternative programs like the HART program and a $25 minimum wage. Several also called for a ceasefire resolution in Gaza.
- Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan (Item 22):
- Seth Hurley (Durham School of the Arts student) spoke in favor of increased funding for public housing and affordable housing.
- Stella Adams urged using CDBG funds for naturally occurring affordable housing and increasing the affordable housing bond.
- Conservation Subdivisions (Item 21):
- Katie Ross (attorney) argued against the text amendment, urging the council to wait for the Court of Appeals ruling on a related lawsuit.
- Robin Bearfoot (Preserve Rural Durham) opposed, citing environmental damage from existing conservation subdivisions and questioning enforcement of blasting regulations.
Discussion Items
- ShotSpotter Contract Extension (Item 11): Staff requested a three-month extension to allow the Wilson Center to complete its evaluation. Council debate centered on the pilot's results vs. concerns about surveillance and cost. Councilmember Mark-Anthony Middleton supported the extension, citing 70% of ShotSpotter alerts had no corresponding 911 call and that the technology has saved lives. Councilmembers Caballero, Baker, Freeman, and Wrist opposed, preferring to wait for the independent evaluation and questioning the program's effectiveness and costs. The motion failed 4-2 (yes: Middleton, Williams; no: Baker, Caballero, Freeman, Wrist). The program will go dark immediately after the meeting.
- Zoning Map Change Page Road Greenwood (Item 17): Staff presented a request to annex and rezone two parcels for up to 70 townhouse units. Applicant doubled the affordable housing trust fund contribution to $35,000. Council debated consistency with the comprehensive plan. Motions to annex and rezone passed 4-2 (Baker and Freeman opposed); the consistency statement passed unanimously.
- Zoning Map Change Rose of Sharon Road (Item 18): Unanimous approval after developer increased proffers for Durham Public Schools and the dedicated housing fund, plus added a wider multi-use path and curb ramps.
- UDO Text Amendment Omnibus 18 (Item 19): Changes included increased notification distance (from 600 ft to 1,000 ft), clarifying daycare definitions, removing special use permit requirement for schools, and technical corrections. Unanimous approval.
- UDO Text Amendment Pedestrian Mall (Item 20): Increased maximum width of pedestrian malls from 50 ft to 75 ft, and up to 100 ft with additional amenities. Unanimous approval.
- UDO Text Amendment Conservation Subdivisions (Item 21): Clarified purpose statement to remove ambiguous language following a lawsuit. Staff argued the current text is unworkable. Attorney Curtis Massey explained the change aligns with long-standing practice. Council approved 5-1 (Freeman opposed) after debate. Councilmember Freeman expressed concern that the amendments might not go far enough to protect environmentally sensitive areas.
- ARPA Project Be Connected Durham (Item 6): Approved unanimously, authorizing a $350,000 grant agreement for equitable engagement in the Fayetteville Street corridor.
- FY2024-2025 Budget Development Schedule (Item 5): Adopted unanimously after public comment.
Key Outcomes
- ShotSpotter contract extension denied (motion failed 4-2). The program will go dark; no funding for a three-month extension.
- Page Road Greenwood annexation and rezoning approved (4-2 on two motions, unanimous on consistency statement).
- Rose of Sharon Road rezoning approved (unanimous).
- UDO Omnibus 18 adopted (unanimous).
- Pedestrian mall text amendment adopted (unanimous).
- Conservation subdivision text amendment adopted (5-1).
- FY2024-2025 Budget Development Schedule adopted (unanimous).
- ARPA grant for Be Connected Durham approved (unanimous).
- Council noted that a pay study for city workers is underway to inform wage decisions.
Meeting Transcript
Two minutes to air, one minute to the start of the live stream. One minute to air. The live stream has started. This is your last verbal cue. And uh we are here tonight to call this meeting to order at seven o'clock PM on the eighteenth day of December twenty twenty three. Welcome all of you all here in person and online. If we will please join me in a moment of silence. So we're gonna have an active agenda tonight. Councilmember Baker. Councilmember Caballero. Here. Councilmember Freeman. Present. Recording in progress. Councilmember Wist. Here. Thank you, uh Madam Clerk for that. I am here. Um at this time I'll acknowledge my colleagues on the council for any comments. We'll start at my left. Councilmember Freeman. Thank you. I just wanted to share in a very um great organization. I try to continue to keep bringing these uh singing rooster chocolates. Uh it's a Haitian collective. They do uh reinvest this these dollars into the social enterprise in Haiti, and I did want to share that with you each of you, so you should all have one in the clerk, and I'm gonna make sure they get some more because I've undercounted, so but uh I didn't want to just make sure I share that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the calories. And happy holidays to everyone. Thank thank you for the calories, Councilmember Freeman. You're very welcome. You can go work them off afterwards councilmember. May I approach him? Sir. All right, thank you all so much. All right, at this time we will uh at this time we'll recognize the manager for any priority items. Good evening, Mayor Williams, Mayor Pro Tim Middleton, and members of the Durham City Council. I have a few priority items for you this evening. Agenda item number 19, which is UDO text amendment omnibus 18. Two presentations have been added uh and will be presented this evening. They are attachment six and seven, agenda item number twenty, UDO text amendment pedestrian mall. A presentation has been added. That will be agenda item number six, and agenda item number twenty-one, UDO text amendment conservation subdivisions, a presentation has been added. That is attachment number seven. Uh agenda item number twenty two, fiscal year twenty-four twenty-five annual action plan public needs hearing. A correction has been made to the title, changing it from fiscal year 2023-2024 to fiscal year year 2024-2025. Those are my priority items this evening. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Manager, Madam Attorney.
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