Nature, recreation vie for Durant

RALEIGH -- State and federal officials will have to approve any changes to Durant Nature Park before the city could build a community center on the property.

It is another hurdle for the City Council, which is searching for alternative locations for a center to the 146-acre Horseshoe Farm Park off U.S. 401.

The city's Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board endorsed a master plan for the park, which called for a focus on nature education, with an environmental education center, river launch and other amenities.

But it also recommended building a recreation center, similar in size and activities to the community center at Laurel Hills Park which includes a gym, meeting space and rooms for working out, aerobics and dance. It also recommended two outdoor basketball courts at Horseshoe Farm.

That recommendation has sparked controversy. An overwhelming majority of people who spoke at public meetings called for a nature focus at Horseshoe Farm.

So the council is looking for another spot for a community center they say is needed in the area. The city's public works committee plans to focus on Durant Nature Park, off Durant Road in North Raleigh.

Seeking alternatives

Both the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the National Park Service would have to sign off on any changes to Durant because the city bought the 237 acres, in part, with funding from a federal grant aimed at helping communities buy land and develop outdoor recreation.

John Poole, grants program manager for the state Division of Parks and Recreation, said city officials would have to show that:

* they have evaluated and rejected all alternative spots for the center;

* the building will be compatible with the outdoor recreation at the park;

* hiking, biking, nature observation and other outdoor pastimes are still the focus at Durant;

* and that the public supports the plans.

Poole said most community centers are approved if they meet those criteria and there is enough land to accommodate the construction.

Durant isn't the only location that council members are considering. Another is the North Wake Landfill, also off Durant Road and scheduled to close in 2008. A master plan for that property proposes a park, community center and elementary school, though no money is set aside for the projects. About $1.2 million is available for the planning and initial development of Horseshoe Farm Park.

"That would be the site they should consider," said Poole, especially because that land was not purchased with the federal grant.

Unpopular idea

Opposition to the center at Durant Nature Park is building.

The park, once home to Camp Durant, a Boy Scout camp, has changed little since the city purchased it in 1979. It may be best known for its Halloween Trail and city summer camps.

The park includes miles of trails; Campbell Lodge, a popular site for weddings, parties and other rentals; fishing; and a nature preserve.

John Connors, who has helped lead opposition to a recreation center and basketball courts at Horseshoe Farm, was hired as the city's first naturalist in 1979 and developed much of the programming for Durant. Connors now works at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences and as an adjunct instructor at N.C. State University.

Connors said gym space and basketball courts don't belong at either Horseshoe Farm or Durant Nature Park.

"It's a bad, bad idea," said Connors of the proposal for Durant. "If they really need athletic facilities ... there's the Wake County landfill."

Sonya Bankston, a retiree who lives in the Hunter's Knoll neighborhood next to Durant, says the park should be kept as it is. She wondered if Durant was even close enough to serve the area around Horseshoe Farm. The park is about five miles from Durant.

"You have to be careful about developing everything," she said.

The public works committee is scheduled to hear a report on Durant Nature Park in October.

Council members are facing opposition to the center at Horseshoe Farm and Durant, along with the need for more community center space in North Raleigh. Community centers that serve the Horseshoe Farm area are at capacity, according to city officials.

"It's very clear there is a need there," said council member Tommy Craven, who is on the committee.

Durant is centrally located with infrastructure, such as roads, water and sewer already in place, said Jessie Taliaferro, the committee chairwoman.

"It's certainly worth looking at," she said.