City approves 545 more homes, townhouses in booming part of southeast Durham

Homes and townhomes are headed to two more swaths of undeveloped land in southeast Durham after a pair of tense votes in City Hall ran late into the night Monday.

The City Council voted to annex 111 acres into the city, which will allow the two communities of up to 545 units to connect to city water and sewer.

Southeast Durham has seen thousands of new homes pop up in the past two years, and a group of residents have formed the group Preserve Rural Durham to fight the trend.

The area is home to extremely erosive red soil, and Preserve Rural Durham says development is impairing Lick Creek, which flows into Falls Lake, a source of Raleigh’s drinking water. They complain about dynamite blasting, tree clearing, traffic problems, plus question the capacity of first responders and schools to accommodate the newcomers.

“Issues now are stemming from such a huge amount of land being disturbed at one time,” said Pam Williams, one of the group’s most active members.

City Council member Jillian Johnson said residents need to produce hard evidence that back up their claims about the waterways.

“Y’all have given me no actual hard evidence that this creek is being harmed by development activity. We don’t have test results. We don’t have water quality monitoring,” Johnson said. “We are not at a place in Durham right now where we can afford to halt development activity.”

Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton said Durham’s need for housing will win out until evidence of harm emerges.

“I’m just going to say it — there is some NIMBYism going on in this debate. ‘Not in my backyard,’” Middleton said. “We throw whatever we want against the wall and see what sticks.”

Mayor Elaine O’Neal voted against the developments, as she told The News & Observer in December she would until experts sort out the environmental impact.

“Folk I know that live in Durham, we’re not afraid of development. We’ve seen it. We live it. It just needs to be done in an equitable manner and in a manner that listens when folks start saying there might be a problem,” O’Neal said. “Until we figure it out, my vote will be no.”

Council member DeDreana Freeman also has consistently voted against the annexations, citing the cumulative environmental impacts.

“It’s not hard for me ever. I’m going to put water and air and land first in every instance, because humans can’t exist without it,” Freeman said.

New townhouses, single-family homes

The sites of the two future communities are only about a mile apart and are nearly completely surrounded by housing developments.

The largest new development — known as Mica Ridge — is owned by Lennar, which for the past decade has been the country’s second largest homebuilder behind D.R. Horton, according to Builder.

They can build up to 420 homes on nearly 90 acres between U.S. 70 and Mineral Springs Road. Attorney Nil Ghosh said about 70% will be townhouses and the remainder detached single-family homes.

That annexation passed 4-3, with Middleton and Johnson joined in the majority by Javiera Caballero and Leonardo Williams.

The other development allows for 125 townhomes on a jagged assemblage of 21 acres between Sherron Road and Mockingbird Lane. It’s owned by Charlotte-based Hopper Communities.

“We know there’s a need for density,” said Pam Porter, president of TMTLA who designed the project. “We’re trying to balance the need for housing and what’s going to work.”

Porter estimated price tags would be range from the mid-$200 thousands to low-$300 thousands.

It passed 5-2, with Monique Holsey-Hyman joining the majority.