Neighborhood Meetings and Public Notice: What the Mailers and Signs Really Mean
A homeowner guide to neighborhood meetings, mailed notices, and posted hearing signs in Durham.
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What to Do When You Get a Notice
1. Figure out which kind of notice it is: neighborhood meeting vs public hearing notice.
2. Write down the case number (from the sign or notice).
3. Ask for the clearest available plan set (site plan, development plan, elevations, access points).
4. If it’s a neighborhood meeting: ask questions early - access/traffic, buffers, trees, lighting, stormwater, building height and placement. (That’s the point of early engagement.)
5. If it’s a hearing: keep comments specific to what’s being requested (rezoning? SUP? variance?) and use the case number when emailing or speaking.
1. Figure out which kind of notice it is: neighborhood meeting vs public hearing notice.
2. Write down the case number (from the sign or notice).
3. Ask for the clearest available plan set (site plan, development plan, elevations, access points).
4. If it’s a neighborhood meeting: ask questions early - access/traffic, buffers, trees, lighting, stormwater, building height and placement. (That’s the point of early engagement.)
5. If it’s a hearing: keep comments specific to what’s being requested (rezoning? SUP? variance?) and use the case number when emailing or speaking.
If you live in South Durham long enough, you’ll eventually see one (or all) of these:
- a postcard about a “neighborhood meeting,”
- a big sign posted near a road, or
- a legal notice in the newspaper that looks like it was designed to be ignored.
They’re not the same thing, and they happen at different points in the process under Durham's Unified Development Ordinance.
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