The private Jordan Lake survey did not pass

This is a quick description of what I heard at the public hearing.

After over two hours of public comments and discussion by the Board, Joe Bowser motioned that the surveys paid for by Neal Hunter be accepted. I think his long motion also said there should never have been a hearing and everything is fine, which is the position of the current developer, Southern Durham Development. Chairman Michael Page seconded. The Commissioners split, as everyone expected. Brenda Howerton did not vote and wanted a clarification.

Ellen Reckhow offered an alternate motion to follow the lawful procedure established in the Unified Development Ordinance. Becky Heron seconded. Howerton, Reckhow, and Heron voted for the alternate proposal, while Page and Bowser voted against. This means that the private survey has to go through review. Afterward there were some more arguments and shouting and Reckhow suggested that only the most contentious part of the survey, along the channel of New Hope Creek, be resurveyed. There was a verbal promise of funds from Chatham County, and someone said Durham should ask Chapel Hill and OWASA to contribute.

There were probably more than 100 people there during the hearing. Some amazingly bad things were said by the public and officials. Donald Hughes basically said Durham doesn't normally drink from Jordan Lake, so we don't have to care about it [see comments - apparently this is not what he meant]. Neal Hunter, who commissioned the two private surveys said his rights were being attacked, as did other 751 South supporters. Reckhow brought up the around 320 properties impacted by this decision, and what the UDO requires in that case. The Commissioners were clearly told what the law is and that they could be sued, though the County Attorney said they were at risk of lawsuits whichever way they vote.

Bowser implied that Reckhow and the City Manager hadn't done their jobs and were at fault for this dispute. The initial fault lies with unlawful actions by former Planning Director Frank Duke, and his staff, who Neal Hunter says approved of all of this. Bowser's response to comments by a Chatham County Commissioner were that Durham has a larger buffer around the Lake than Chatham (1 mile instead of 1/2 a mile). She then asked if Durham buffers ephemeral streams like Chatham does (Durham does not).

The City Manager [actually I think the Planning Director said this] claims that the development, might not impact water quality. If it is built, it might not be possible to see its impact on the Lake itself, but I expect to see a lot of silt running off. It is impossible to conceive that water leaving the site during and after construction won't be more polluted, with loads of silt, oil from roads, fertilizer and pesticide, and fecal coliform bacteria. I think some people argued that the "conservation" development will be so smart and compact that it will not harm the environment at all. Many people argued that Durham needs jobs, taxes, schools, and fire and police stations (at the site, which is isolated at the edge of the County) and can't afford to protect the environment and turn back on "progress." Education was opposed to conservation. Melissa Rooney spoke of all the retail and office sites near the site that have been vacant for a long time and don't provide the promised jobs. Bowser brought up the example of Southpoint as a good development, opposed by opponents of progress. He said he without development Durham faced disaster, though he also said he would not harm the environment and had twice walked around the site. At one point Heron said that these "speculators" took a risk in buying the land.

There was also the issue of whether the licensed surveyors were being accused of unprofessionalism. After expert testimony to the contrary, it was claimed that there was no reason to doubt that the surveyors found the edge of the Lake, which is what the hearing was about, not whether to build 751 South (that is still to come).

After the vote Dr. Lavonia [Allison] argued with Howerton, saying Howerton is on her way out of office. Howerton retorted that she has years left.

Even Kentington Heights came up, apparently because many people from there turned out to support the private survey.

Up until the vote I expected it to go 3-2 the other way and was thinking of who would sue about this if the State Environmental Management Commission did not act. This was a victory, but it was very close and I think it is far from over. A faction seems willing to do anything for developers in Durham, and these are the people running the County government. This mirrors the Scott Mill decision about two years ago.

Hopefully there will be more details in the May issues of the Chatham County Line and Triangle Free Press. There will surely be a lot of media coverage in the morning, but they will leave out the sharp edges that were exposed in that meeting. This is clearly an economic and class struggle, but it is hidden under race. The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People allied with the developers, the Friends of Durham, the Chamber of Commerce, and other rightist and bourgeois forces. On the other side were environmentalists, the Inter-Neighborhood Council, neighborhood associations, Democratic groups, and the Durham People's Alliance. I'm glad the opposition won, but I'm disgusted by the County government. After this meeting, the Scott Mill dispute, and the weak actions taken against developers who violate laws, the County government doesn't seem very trustworthy.