In a growing city like Durham, some of the most debated issues are planning and zoning decisions. Right now, at the top of that list are the proposed revisions to Durham’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). Under the white-hot spotlight of election season, the UDO rewrite took on outsize significance, with some critics suggesting that, if approved, the proposed changes to the UDO would mean huge handouts to for-profit developers and result in citizens losing the right to public hearings to weigh in on proposed rezonings. So, what’s the reality?
What is the UDO, and why is Durham considering changes to the UDO?
The UDO is a legally binding set of rules regulating how physical development of land is allowed to occur in both the city and county. Changing the UDO is an important first step to implement the vision and actions in our new Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan), which passed in October 2023 with the approval of the planning commission, city council, and county commissioners. The vision in our plan includes a number of key objectives residents overwhelmingly support, including increasing density within an urban growth boundary (UGB), prioritizing housing affordability and diversity in all places, and supporting a more walkable and bikeable city.
What would the proposed changes to the UDO do?
Create new zoning districts. All comprehensive plans include both general guidance on how land should be used in the future (in Durham, these are called Place Type Maps) and a zoning map, which divides land into specific districts with detailed rules for current development. The revised UDO would create all-new zoning districts, resulting in a rezoning of the entire county. This would proactively change the zoning of many, but not all, parcels. All of this is necessary to align the new Zoning Map with the Comp Plan’s Place Type Map.
Increase allowable density in certain districts. In order to implement the Comp Plan, the proposed changes to the UDO would increase the allowable density in most residential zoning districts across the city and county (and within the UGB), while aligning higher-density development within areas designated as Transit Opportunity Areas. This means, compared to the old zoning districts, the proposed zoning districts could increase residential units by 47% (from approximately 136,000 to over 200,000). For example, the old RS-10 (Residential Suburban) district allowed four units per acre, while the new, comparable R-D (Residential Neighborhood) district would allow eight units per acre. But not all zoning districts, including some rural districts, would allow increased density.
Increasing density in most residential zoning districts is good because it helps us meet the goals of the Comp Plan by decreasing sprawling single-family development and concentrating growth and mixed-use development within the UGB. It also creates the conditions necessary for private and nonprofit developers to build housing, which will increase the supply of residential units and stabilize housing costs. It’s worth noting that dense, infill housing often creates housing opportunities for households that make too much money to qualify for housing subsidies but too little to afford other market-rate housing. All of this is critical in Durham County. Based on a recent study commissioned by the N.C. Chamber Foundation, we currently have a supply gap of 32,992 rental and for-sale units.
Cut red tape and lower housing costs. Most Durham residents aren’t against growth—they just want good, smart growth. To get there, we need clear, fair rules that allow good development without endless special approvals. Time is money, and by removing the uncertainty, time, and financial burden of a rezoning process, the new UDO helps achieve the Comp Plan’s vision. Allowing more by-right development may sound unnerving to some, but housing experts at think tanks like the Urban Institute recommend this approach as one important way to increase housing affordability. That’s because going through a rezoning can cost $150,000 and take as long as 18 months. Those costs get passed on to home buyers. What’s more, local builders—who know our city and care about its future—typically cannot take on that kind of risk. That leaves the field to big national, publicly traded companies. Ironically, some council members who say they’re “anti-corporate” are creating just the opposite—a system that pushes out local builders and invites larger developers.
What would the proposed changes to the UDO not do?
Changes to the UDO would not eliminate rezonings nor make all development “by right.” Rezonings are an important part of the planning and zoning process. Any effort to alter what is intended for a zoning district should be reviewed by a democratically elected body. Staff expect that the number of rezonings will decline, but only slightly, after the adoption of the new UDO. There still are many situations that would require a hearing, including all future development of unincorporated (county) land inside the UGB that needs water and sewer service from the city. Moreover, any suggestion that all development would be “by right,” meaning all property could be developed without special approval, is patently incorrect. The new UDO would still classify all properties into zoning districts with detailed rules for development. The allowable density would increase in most residential districts, but this would help align the interests of private developers, large and small (who build the vast majority of housing in this country), with the Comp Plan’s vision of denser development in Durham within the UGB. Any proposal that falls outside the rules in a particular zoning district would require a public hearing.
Changes to the UDO would not automatically make all housing affordable. Estimates from our regional transit planning organization predict that the population of Durham County will grow by 50% between 2020 and 2055 to a total of more than 460,000 people. To house all of those people, we will need housing of all types. Recent data from the Durham Chamber’s Housing Data Platform that shows a leveling off of median rents in Durham over the past year points to the importance of increasing housing supply to meet demand. But solutions based on increasing housing supply (i.e., increased zoning capacity) cannot replace other interventions needed to ensure housing affordability. As a community, we will need to continue to support investments in affordable housing, such as financial assistance to cost-burdened renters, downpayment assistance for first-time homeowners, future affordable housing bonds, the creation of a Housing Trust Fund, and more.
The new UDO is a tool to help us achieve the shared goals of our new Comp Plan. Overblown and false rhetoric about the new UDO signaling the end of land use regulations in Durham and the end of public hearings on development plays on fears about growth and change in Durham and distracts from the real challenges of managing growth in a rapidly growing region. Interested residents still have time to engage in the UDO rewrite process before the final votes from our public bodies. Check out www.engagedurham.com for more info.
Carl Rist is an at-large Durham City Council Member serving in his first term. Prior to joining the council, he spent almost 30-years working for the DC-based nonprofit, Prosperity Now, on issues of economic opportunity, financial security and wealth-building.
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