The Process
Development plans must go through the Planning Department's process.
Plans that require rezoning
Plans that require rezoning go through the following process:
- Planning Department — application is reviewed by City & County
- Planning Commission Hearing — the first of two public hearings
- Governing Body Hearing — elected officials get the final say
Plans that fit current zoning
- Development Review Board — approval before (and during) building
- Board of Adjustment — must approve special uses
What neighbors can do
- The Protest Petition — shift the balance to neighbors
- Letters and eMails — make your concerns known
- Zoning Glossary — learn the language of rezoning
- Know Who's Who — get to know Durham's decision-makers
- Show up for Hearings — a crowd WILL sway the vote
- Be Informed — knowledgeable citizens are difficult to bulldoze
More details
The official description of the process is on the City of Durham's website: Overview of Zoning Change Process (PDF). It's dense, technical prose, written more for developers than neighbors.
Active citizens make it work
Visit our News section to learn about citizen participation in government: from Neighborhood College, to public hearings on proposed ordinances, to serving on citizens' boards.