Alford Tract Annexation in Southeast Durham Gets August Hearing

More than 13 acres along Sherron Road in southeastern Durham are slated for voluntary annexation and rezoning to allow the construction of as many as 100 townhouses – none of them affordable housing.

The zoning request for 433 Sherron Rd. went before the Durham Planning Commission on April 9 and was opposed by a vote of 7 to 3, although city staff indicated that the development would be “revenue positive” based on cost-benefit analysis.

In written comments, planning commission members shared their positions about the proposal:

• Member Talib Graves-Manns indicated that the lack of trees made the property suitable for development, but voted no because of environmental concerns (watershed impacts) and population density along with the lack of affordable housing.
• Member Matt Kopac wrote that the applicant “did not include on-site affordable housing in their proposal,” only tried to meet minimum requirements for open space, tree coverage, and impervious surface, “and were less specific than I would have liked” regarding bicycle and pedestrian connectivity. “The project site is also in an area of SE Durham overwhelmed by development at this point.” A positive of the project, he said, is that it would bring housing diversity to the neighborhood and because the site is pre-cleared, “the impact on the tree canopy would be less.”
• Tony Sease, a member who eventually resigned from the commission in June, voted in favor of the project. He wrote that it would “add connections at two additional points to existing (or under-construction) neighborhoods, improving connectivity in the area. Would the site be suitable for neighborhood-scale activities such as civic uses and non-windshield dependent retail or services? Absolutely. But that is not the request before us, as the Place Types Map identifies this site as Mixed Residential.” He called community concerns about environmental degradation “essential” but said that “this 13-acre site that could be developd by right with a single, already plentiful housing type cannot be the project that bears the larger community burdens of solving past ills.”
• Member Zuri Williams, who voted no, wrote that environmental impacts in this region of Durham should be addressed, despite the Alford Tract adding housing stock “to the limited stock we currently have.”
• Member Kari Wouk opposed the project, citing concerns about environmental degradation, traffic, and emergency service response times. “Although this parcel is mostly treeless, adding additional impervious surface continues the damage to the watershed,” Wouk wrote. “Additionally, there was no proffer for affordable housing.”

Erica Leatham of M/I Homes of Raleigh LLC is set to represent the project during a City Council work session on Aug. 5.

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