Durham City Council unanimously approves rezoning requests, issues proclamation observing World AIDS Day

Durham City Council unanimously passed two rezoning requests and issued a proclamation observing World AIDS Day during its Monday meeting. 

Rezoning requests

In a 7-0 decision, the council approved a request by Vivo Living to rezone 3.59 acres of land at 1920 Ivy Creek Blvd. from “commercial general” and “office and institutional” with a development plan to “planned development residential.” The change will enable developers to convert a vacant hotel on the property into 128 residential units.

Tarek Shaer, the applicant representing Vivo Living, noted that 20% of the units would be designated for low-income residents at 60% of the area median income.

Although all City Council members voted in support of the request, some raised concerns that affordable units would be of lower quality, particularly due to the presence of mold.

“For us in Durham, affordable housing does not mean substandard housing,” said Mayor Pro Tempore Mark-Anthony Middleton. “Affordable does not mean different.”

Shaer promised to ensure that affordable units would be indistinguishable from and integrated with market-rate units.

“It’s an even and equitable distribution of units throughout the building … every person has the opportunity and the right to live in a great unit,” he said.

Council Member Chelsea Cook reiterated a concern regarding background checks and credit reports that had been discussed in a previous meeting. She felt that fees could have a disproportionate impact on people of color and low-income applicants.

In addition, the council unanimously approved a statutory vested rights determination for 2.83 acres at 1400 Merrion Ave., extending the validity of the current site plan by Davis Development for five years and preserving it from city rezoning. They also unanimously closed 2,899 feet of a cul-de-sac at the end of Victory Lane.

In other business

At the beginning of the meeting, the council issued a proclamation observing World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.

The proclamation stated that Durham County ranks fourth in North Carolina for the number of residents who have contracted HIV and recognized the racial and housing disparities among people with the disease. 

Hayley Cunningham, an infectious diseases physician caring for patients living with HIV, highlighted the issue on behalf of the Coalition to End the HIV Epidemic in Durham. She explained that while HIV does not yet have a cure, if diagnosed early, it can be treated with medication.

“We have excellent medication access programs to make these treatments affordable,” Cunningham said. “Despite this, many Durham residents living with HIV are not getting appropriate treatment due to discrimination, stigma, lack of transportation and affordable housing.”