Durham City Council unanimously approved the Walltown Small Area Plan on August 18, but sharp disagreement emerged over whether the plan can actually control what developers do. Council Member Nate Baker proposed requiring current zoning restrictions to stay in place until a developer submits a rezoning request, giving residents more leverage. The motion was withdrawn after another council member objected that zoning rules belong in the city's development ordinance, not an advisory plan. Mayor Pro-Tempore Mark-Anthony Middleton delivered a blunt message to frustrated residents: plans have no power to stop developers, but the city does have power to spend public money on community priorities like business incubation and capital building. Middleton called for a "historic groundbreaking municipal-level reparations plan" to support neighborhoods. Community members including Audrey Mitchell from the Walltown Community Association worried that the upcoming rewrite of the city's development rules would let developers build without public hearings.
In better news for affordability, council unanimously approved two housing projects. Fagatville Flats will deliver 220 apartments with 100% income-restricted affordability—meaning all units serve households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income—without requesting city subsidies. A second project at South Austin Avenue will add 200 apartments with 40 percent affordability. However, residents at that second site raised serious traffic and neighborhood concerns. Dr. Jim Akre, who has run a dental office next door for 20 years, testified that during evening hours when trains stop traffic, "nobody moves, you sit there for at least 20, 25 minutes." Sarah Moier warned that placing affordable housing on a gridlocked street without sidewalks contradicts the goal of providing quality of life, noting the dangerous railroad crossing and incompatibility with historic 1928 homes nearby. Council Member Chelsea Cook pressed the developer on whether they could expand affordability to 100 percent or extend the commitment beyond 20 years, but the developer declined both requests.
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