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Phase 3 of Durham’s rewrite of its Unified Development Ordinance has been released to the public.

The rewrite of the UDO is a two-year process that ends this year.

According to Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop, past phases have focused on zoning and allowable land use in Durham. This one is about environmental protections, subdivisions and infrastructure.

“There are a lot of pieces that have a lot to do with what kind of regulations are in place to protect environmental resources and what types of best practices are in place around development,” Samantha said.

For Samantha, the combination hits close to much of the work she’s done in Durham over the past three years: tracking sediment pollution caused by rapid development and inadequate sediment and erosion controls in Durham’s Lick Creek watershed. Mid-September, a 2023 Sound Rivers’ lawsuit against a Durham developer for ongoing sediment pollution of Martin Branch and Hurricane Creek — both tributaries of Lick Creek — was settled with requirements for the developer to pay fines, increase sediment and erosion controls and help purchase 62 acres in the Lick Creek watershed for conservation.

“It’s this type of issue, and others, that we’re going to ask to be included in the UDO:  there’s an ongoing sediment-pollution crisis in Durham, and we think the gold-standard UDO recommendations we’ve come up with, which include protecting natural resources, trees and vegetation, should be a part of the new UDO,” Samantha said. “The next meetings are November, so as I get a chance to dig into this, we’ll have more in-depth information and suggestions about what people may want to write in their comments.”

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