Durham City Council Work Session - October 20, 2023
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Durham City Council Work Session - October 20, 2023
The Durham City Council held a work session on October 20, 2023, under the gavel of Mayor Pro Tem Middleton, with Mayor O'Neill and Councilmember Holsey Hyman excused. The agenda included priority items, a presentation on the Falls Lake nutrient management strategy, discussion on the redevelopment of 505 West Chapel Hill Street, and a preliminary conversation on a potential infrastructure bond. Several public comments were heard, and the council approved a resolution modifying the Durham-Chapel Hill annexation boundary.
Consent Calendar
- Items 1-5, 8-9, 11-12, 14, 16-19, and 25 were approved as part of the consent calendar. These included appointments to various boards and commissions, a performance audit, mutual aid agreement, ARPA project, bid report, utility bond, change order for cemetery expansion, and an affordable housing loan commitment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Antonio Smith (city employee and resident) spoke on behalf of urban communities, criticizing the city for neglecting historically Black neighborhoods, shuttering recreation centers, and prioritizing development over the people who made Durham. He urged the council to invest in existing communities.
- Walter Jackson (Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People) spoke on item 5 (underutilized business compliance audit), arguing that city departments gave lip service to the EBOP and SLBE programs, failed to use key minority business resources, and cited the 505 project as an example of zero MWBE requirements. He supported the audit's recommendations and called for review of RFQs/RFPs.
- Heather Rodriguez (pastor, Duke Memorial United Methodist Church) speaking for a coalition of six organizations (including Durham CAN, Coalition on Affordable Housing and Transit, Durham Committee, People's Alliance, NAACP) urged the council to rework the 505 West Chapel Hill RFP to prioritize affordable housing (above 80 units) and affordable retail/office space, criticizing the draft for calling for a hotel and high-end office space.
- Rick Carson (same coalition) echoed the call, asking the council to direct staff to reduce the minimum commercial space from 250,000 to 100,000 square feet, require a minimum percentage of affordable units at 60% AMI in perpetuity, and prioritize a grocery store and nonprofit office space.
- Ann Rebeck (same coalition) framed the decision as a chance for affordable housing to win in Durham, noting that the market approach has been winning too often.
- Trisha Smar (resident) spoke on the infrastructure bond item, supporting a bond to fund sidewalk gaps (especially on county/NCDOT roads) and noting that neighboring cities have passed similar bonds.
Discussion Items
- UNRBA Falls Lake Nutrient Management Strategy (Item 17): Forrest Westall, Executive Director of the Upper Neuse River Basin Association, presented 16 consensus principles for a revised strategy. He explained that Stage 2 requirements are unachievable and unnecessary because the lake meets its designated uses. He urged the council to adopt a resolution supporting the principles, noting that the city has been a key partner. Council members expressed support for regional cooperation and indicated willingness to adopt the principles when formally presented.
- 505 West Chapel Hill Street Redevelopment (Item 13): Staff presented the draft RFP for the redevelopment of the last significant publicly owned downtown parcel. The draft called for 250,000 square feet of commercial space (including potential lab/hotel) and a minimum of 80 affordable housing units. Council debated flexibility, with some members (Councilmember Johnson) concerned that the high commercial minimum could stifle housing and community priorities, while others (Mayor Pro Tem Middleton and staff) cautioned against reopening the public engagement process prematurely. The council agreed to keep the commercial minimum flexible and prioritize affordable housing scoring, and to allow phasing. The item was placed on GBA for further discussion on November 6.
- Infrastructure Bond (Item 7): Councilmember Caballero initiated a discussion on pursuing a general obligation bond for infrastructure (e.g., sidewalks, greenways). Finance Director Tim Flora explained the six-month process required to get a bond on the ballot, noting that council would need to pass a resolution by June 2024 for a November 2024 vote. Councilmember Freeman cautioned about high interest rates (currently around 7%) and suggested previous years would have been more favorable. The item was set for further consideration during the budget process.
Key Outcomes
- Annexation Boundary Modification: The council voted unanimously to suspend the rules and adopt a resolution authorizing an amendment to the consent order with Chapel Hill, modifying the annexation boundary to allow a 75-80 unit affordable housing development (25% at 30% AMI, 75% at 60% AMI). This was the first step in a multi-step process.
- City Manager's Priority Items: Approved unanimously, including recognition of Parks and Recreation's CAPRA accreditation and removal of erroneous agenda items.
- Councilmember Holsey Hyman's Excused Absence: Approved unanimously.
- Agenda Settlement: The consent calendar and GBA items were settled as presented, with item 13 (505) placed on GBA for further discussion.
- Upcoming: The council will discuss the 505 RFP further on November 6, and the infrastructure bond conversation will continue in the budget process.
Note: The official meeting date provided is October 20, 2023, though the raw transcript references October 19. This summary uses the date specified in the instruction.
Meeting Transcript
One minute to a broadcast, we are now streaming. Recording in progress. Two citizens matters. He may not be here. He I had heard in advance he was coming. He's a blind person. Good afternoon. If the chamber would be in order, we are ready to begin. It's October 19th. It is one o'clock PM. I'd like to call this meeting of the Durham City Council a work session officially to order for the purposes of faithfully discharging the business of the people of Durham. Uh her honor uh Mayor O'Neill is not here today. Uh obviously, and we send her uh our best wishes and regards as she's uh traveling. I will be conducting the meeting as Mayor Pro Tim uh today and let the record reflect I'll be assuming the gavel. Uh good afternoon, honorable colleagues, to everyone in the room, to everyone who may be watching on whatever platform. Uh at this time I'm gonna ask the ro the clerk to call the role. Thank you, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. Um Mayor O'Neill has requested and been granted an excused absence. Mayor Pro Tem. I'm here. Councilmember Caballero. Councilmember Freeman. Present. Councilmember Holsey Hyman has requested an excused absence today. Councilmember Johnson. And Councilmember Williams. I'm present. Thank you. Thank you so much. Uh at this time now I'm going to ask my colleagues if they have any announcements, and I'll yield. I'll look to my left first. Seeing none to my left, I'll look to my right. Any announcements. Okay, all right, then. I haven't had any either. At this time, I'm going to yield to our city manager for any priority items she may have. Good afternoon, Madam Manager. Good afternoon, Mayor Pro Tem Middleton. I do have several priority items for uh the council's consideration today. Uh the very first item I have is a recognition of the Durham Parks and Recreation uh department being re-accredited through the National Recreation and Parks Association Commission for accreditation of park and recreation agencies. CAPRA. I would like to ask uh Wade Walcott, our director, to come to the podium or come to the microphone and make a very few remarks before I continue my re my uh priority items. Thank you, Madam Manager. Good afternoon, members of council, Mayor Pro Tem, Wade Walker with Parks and Recreation Department. Thank you for this opportunity. We're just very excited uh for this opportunity to talk about the accreditation process that our department went through. It was not possible without several people uh putting this work together. We traveled to Dallas, Texas, where we are recognized as one of only fourteen communities in the state uh to be an accredited parks and recreation department. There are only two hundred and six accredited agencies in the country.
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