Durham city leaders want more housing near downtown. County leaders want more time.

Some Durham residents could start getting a few more neighbors soon, even if the county thinks the city is moving too fast.

Rules that allow more density near downtown will take effect Tuesday, Oct. 1. Supporters say the rules, known as Expanding Housing Choices, will help ease a growing housing crunch by permitting duplexes and accessory dwelling units on properties currently zoned for single-family homes.

The City Council adopted the rules earlier this month, mostly for the “Urban Tier,” or the neighborhoods generally within two miles of downtown.

The Durham County Board of Commissioners chose not to adopt them Monday night after a three-hour public hearing and discussion. There are about 15 lots downtown that are not covered by the city but fall under county jurisdiction. The commissioners will meet with the council next week.

“There’s just a lot of passion around this issue,” Chairwoman Wendy Jacobs. “A lot of effort and thought has been put into it. I know there are a lot of questions.”

Speakers nearly equally divided

The 31 people who spoke during Monday’s public hearing were nearly equally divided between supporters and opponents.

Developer Bob Chapman, who backs the greater density that Expanding Housing Choices could bring, doesn’t think the new riles would cause major neighborhood changes.

“Developers do whatever is easiest to permit,” he said. “EHC is not for them. It enables difficult, fine-grained development. It enables walkable urbanism, and enables building places that people love to be part of.”

Opponents fear developers packing multiple residences into what are now single-home lots. The rules would allow a house to be torn down and replaced by pair of duplexes and two accessory dwelling units. That would be six residences where once only one had been.

“The fact that blocks can be split makes it possible to divide standard lots into two or more small lots,” said Cranford Road resident Wendy Smith. “This means that one single-family home can be replaced by a duplex and an ADU on both small lots. ... That would be essentially be a triplex but the requirements associated with a triplex would not be required.”

Durham City-County Planning Director Patrick Young conceded that was possible but said he thought it would be a rare occurrence.

Commissioner Ellen Reckhow criticized the Planning Department for its lack of communication with residents about the rules and said she could not support them.

“You can’t bring citizens in at the end of the process and ask them to react to it,” she said.

Commissioner Heidi Carter wanted to adopt the rules.

“They allow flexibility for owners,” she said. “These changes make it possible in ways that are currently impossible (for duplexes and accessory dwelling units) because they’re not legal under our zoning ordinances..

Health director honored

In other business Monday, the commissioners honored Gayle Harris, Durham’s first female and black public health director. She is retiring after a 47-year career with the Durham County Department of Public Health.

“It’s going to be hard to imagine Durham County government without you,” Jacobs said. “But I am confident we’re still going to have the best public health departments in the state because of the foundation you laid. You started as a nurse and worked your way up and up and up.”

Harris has been at the forefront of HIV/AIDS prevention in Durham and was a home healthcare nurse when HIV/AIDS first emerged in Durham in the 1980s. The county recently signed on to the Fast-Track Cities Paris Declaration to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

Freelon memorial Saturday

A public memorial for architect Phil Freelon will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Durham County Human Services Building, 414 E. Main St.

Freelon, 66, died in July. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, in March 2016. That was six months ahead of the opening of one of his crowning achievements, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, The News & Observer previously reported.

His firm helped design the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in 1995. He designed the Durham Station Transportation Center at 515 W. Pettigrew St., that opened in 2008. At North Carolina Central University, his firm designed the BRITE (Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise) building.

This story was originally published September 24, 2019 at 3:30 PM.