Durham City Council decides to delay SCAD vote, again
In a series of unexpected actions, Durham City Council votes unanimously to push off the public hearing on the highly controversial text amendment from May 1st to most likely an August timeframe.
Before Mayor Elaine O’Neal began her State of the City address at Monday night’s City Council meeting, Councilmember Javiera Caballero requested an excused absence that would span the next five council meetings so she can be present for an out-of-state family emergency. Her request was granted by Council, and for a moment, it seemed as if she would miss the highly-anticipated vote on the 50-page text amendment to the City’s development code, named “Simplifying Codes for more Affordable Development” (SCAD) by its applicants. The SCAD amendments were written and submitted by developers and, per existing City rules, are eligible to be discussed in a public hearing and then voted on by Council following the $3,838 application fee paid by the applicant, developer Jim Anthony of Raleigh. The INDY Week had reported that multiple critics of the text amendment likened it to “letting the fox in the henhouse,” considering that the City’s development code exists explicitly to regulate property development, the very business of developers.
A few speakers later in last night’s meeting, Councilmember Leonardo Williams identified Councilmember Caballero’s email to colleagues announcing her upcoming absence as his “tipping point” to ultimately asking that the SCAD amendment hearing be delayed for a second time. He elaborated that the discussion in the community was still “unsettled” between proponents and opponents of the extensive, privately-derived piece of legislation before quickly noting, “Personally, I am ready to go.” Interestingly, at the March 20 Council Meeting, Councilmember Williams had previously voted against delaying the vote to May 1 after some of his colleagues asked for a continuation to allow the Planning Department to make a line-by-line review of the 50-pages of ordinance revisions. At the March 20 meeting, Mayor Pro Tempore Mark-Anthony Middleton joined Mayor O’Neal and Councilmembers DeDreana Freeman and Monique Holsey-Hyman in a 4-3 vote to initially delay the public hearing until May 1, expressly to give City planning staff a chance to prepare a review of the proposed amendments and their potential effects on the community. Councilmembers Caballero and Jillian Johnson had joined Councilmember Williams to vote to hold the public hearing on the spot at the March 20th meeting without a staff review of the amendments.
After Councilmember Williams announced his reformed perspective on the urgency of the SCAD vote, Mayor O’Neal explained that the SCAD amendments have been the subject of a two-part series of public meetings where community members can learn about and discuss the extensive proposals. Partners Against Crime District #1 (PAC-1) hosted the first session this past Saturday and will host a second discussion this coming Saturday April 22 from 10am to 12 noon at the Holton Center at 401 North Driver Street; Durham, NC 27703. Saturday’s meeting will feature the Planning Department explaining their detailed analysis of the SCAD amendment.
Mayor O’Neal then declared, “I do think it is incumbent for all seven of us to be here whenever we hear [SCAD].”
Council summoned Planning Director Sara Young to gather a recommendation from staff for the timing of a possible rescheduled SCAD vote. Ms. Young identified a very full upcoming docket of planning-related cases and recommended that a rescheduled SCAD public hearing occur after Council’s summer recess. Council returns to their regular twice-monthly meeting schedule on August 7th.
Councilmember Freeman made the formal motion to refer the public hearing back to staff to give staff the opportunity to formally reschedule the public hearing. Councilmember Williams seconded the motion. It passed unanimously, 6-0. Mayor Pro Tempore Middleton was absent for the meeting. (Note: a text amendment requires a majority vote to pass, meaning an amendment would not be adopted in a 3-3 tie.)
After tonight’s unexpected changes, all indications are that we have another roughly four months before Council hears and votes on the SCAD amendment. Municipal elections are scheduled this fall, with the primary on October 10, 2023 and the general on November 7, 2023. The candidate filing period for Mayor and three at-large Council seats is expected to open in early July, meaning SCAD is very likely to become a campaign issue this year. The current at-large seats are held by Javiera Caballero, Monique Holsey-Hyman and Jillian Johnson.
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