Durham’s New UDO: Mixed-Use and the 15 Minute City

How neighborhood commercial can boost local businesses and help communities thrive

Durham is rewriting its entire Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), a critical moment to determine how zoning can help promote thriving neighborhoods. This post is part of a series examining specific aspects of the proposed code and how we can make small changes that have meaningful positive impacts in the real world.

Other Posts in the Series

• Supporting Small-Scale Affordable Housing (Coming Soon)

• How We Encourage Sprawl Without Meaning To (Coming Soon)

• Small Details Have Big Impacts (Coming Soon)

In its current form, the UDO excludes many important community and commercial uses. We have a mandate from our Comprehensive Plan adopted by City Council to work towards a 15-minute city, where amenities and daily needs are no more than a 15-minute walk or bike ride away. It isn’t sustainable to continue creating sprawling development patterns by not integrating a wide variety of uses.

One of the greatest joys of my day is packing up a wagon and walking my twins to their daycare, a mere 500 ft away from our house. The daycare is in a beautiful single-family home built in the 1920s and converted into 3 classrooms. I am so lucky to have that local business in my neighborhood, and the neighborhood is lucky too. On our walks to the daycare, we have met and created relationships with neighbors that we otherwise never would have even spoken to. During the day, the teachers take the kids on excursions in the neighborhood, passing by houses and waving, visiting a local coffee shop and brightening people’s days. On Halloween, the daycare has a costume parade through the neighborhood. Having the daycare so close to me is so much more than just a convenience. It creates community.

I’m lucky. If my daycare formed their business today, they would have to jump through the hoops of obtaining a special use permit on top of all state regulations. What might our communities look like if we didn’t overburden local daycare facilities? What if we allowed therapists, yoga studios, lawyers, nonprofit offices, and art galleries? What if we allowed people to start co-working offices with their neighbors, strengthening bonds within the community? What if we allowed people to open small grocery stores to serve their communities’ needs? Our communities would be more convenient and have more amenities, and they would also be stronger and more connected.

It would also give community members a path toward creating new businesses and opportunities for themselves, serving the community that they know best. Allowing these uses in residential districts specifically helps budding local business owners because they don’t have to compete with larger businesses for real estate. Large businesses are not interested in locating within residential communities. Let’s advocate for zoning rules that actively encourage small, neighborhood-based businesses.

During the pandemic, I learned about a new CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. The local farmers would create pre-made boxes of produce and chose an intersection in my neighborhood to distribute those boxes, rain or shine. I don’t know if that CSA program still operates today, but I haven’t heard about it in a while. What if we allowed small grocery uses in the neighborhood? Maybe a neighbor could have rented garage space to that CSA program once a week, or more. How would it have changed the opportunity for those farmers if they were able to add refrigeration, a register for sales, space to partner with other farmers that grow different produce? Maybe the operation would have stayed small, or maybe it would have grown. Either way, it would have a greater chance at success. It could have permanently enhanced and served the community. If it were allowed signage, I and other neighbors, would know if it were still in operation. We could grow its support. We have a major problem with food deserts in Durham. Because of current zoning, community members are barred from solving that problem from within.

I am sure residents will have many valid concerns about allowing nonresidential uses into their neighborhoods. From parking to late-night noise, these worries should not be dismissed. But they should be addressed directly, not by blocking all community and commercial uses from the neighborhoods. Have a parking problem? Regulate parking on the block, making certain areas only available to residents. Don’t want late-night noise? Put restrictions on what times of day businesses in R-D can operate. Evaluate each concern directly and implement targeted regulations to manage impacts effectively. If we address concerns by disallowing all amenities, then we cut off our nose to spite our face!

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📢 Advocacy Alert 📢

Because Durham is currently rewriting its zoning code, you can help shape it!

The City of Durham and Code Studio are actively working on the new UDO, which will decide what kinds of homes, businesses, and community spaces are allowed in every neighborhood. This is your chance to say yes to the kind of future you want to see.

There are upcoming public meetings virtual and in-person in May and June.

Details at EngageDurham.com: https://engagedurham.com/211/Upcoming-Engagement

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Dave Olverson is an incremental developer and zoning advocate in Durham, NC. He has an econ undergrad degree from Duke and a planning degree from the University of North Carolina. In 2021, he got his GC license and works specifically on infill projects in Durham.