From the Desk of the County Manager,

Greetings, Durham!

This is Sara Young, Director of the City-County’s Planning & Development Department. I am excited to share that the first full draft of the new Unified Development Ordinance, or UDO project, will be released soon. This document sets the legal framework for all land development across the City and County and is an important tool in implementing Durham’s Comprehensive Plan.

This new ordinance will be called the Land Development Code (or “LDC”). It features new zoning districts, a new zoning map, and new development standards to facilitate development that better meets the housing, transportation, and environmental protection goals from the Comprehensive Plan. A major rewrite of the development plan was done in 2005, with a series of revisions to the ordinance completed over the past several years.

After several rounds of engagement on modules of content for the New UDO (or LDC) over the last year and a half, the project is now at the beginning of the adoption process, which is anticipated to last several months. The three phases of engagement began in November 2023. This process included working with a local and national team of community-focused technical and engagement experts, city and county government and a series of discussions and engagement sessions throughout Durham that collected invaluable input from our residents and community partners. The work included two open houses with residents to kick off the new UDO and inform them about the project in February of 2024, an audit of the existing code, presentations to the Joint City-County Planning Committee, Board of County Commissioners and City Council, as well as other community engagement sessions.

There are several steps to the adoption process.

First, the adoption process requires a public hearing and an advisory recommendation by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission will hold the first public hearing on the LDC at a special meeting on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 5:30 p.m., in City Council Chambers on the Ground Floor of City Hall (101 City Hall Plaza). The Planning Commission may also discuss this project at their Tuesday, March 10, 2026, meeting. The Planning Commission must make a recommendation before the item can move forward to the governing bodies.

After the Planning Commission’s review and recommendation, both the City Council and Board of County Commissioners are required to hold public hearings before they vote on this proposal. The UDO is a City-County project, thus the City Council and Board of County Commissioners will hold a joint public hearing at a special meeting. They will then consider adoption separately at their regular meetings later this year. 

To improve access for community members at this stage of the project, Planning & Development staff are distributing paper copies of the full proposed ordinance to all public library branches. An adoption process resource web page is also available: engagedurham.com/Adoption-Process. In addition to featuring meeting dates, agendas, and recordings as they become available, this page contains information on how to participate in a public hearing and submit written comments prior to the hearings for each reviewing body. These resources help residents better understand the adoption process and encourage participation in the public hearings process.

For more information on the project background and engagement to-date, residents can attend an upcoming open office hours session with staff (EngageDurham.com/211). These informal office hours are opportunities for residents to bring questions to Planning & Development staff without requiring an appointment. Residents may also visit EngageDurham.com/NewUDO or email NewUDO@DurhamNC.gov. 

Additional Resources:

• Once the full UDO draft is available, it will post on EngageDurham.com/215. Until then, drafts of all previously released content are available on that page.
• Planning & Development staff collaborated with the technical consultant for the project, Code Studio, to create Code Connect sessions. Available in English and Spanish, these recorded sessions were designed to explain ordinance content in an accessible fashion. View them at  EngageDurham.com/235. 
• A frequently asked questions page for this project can be found at EngageDurham.com/217.

I would encourage Durham residents to get involved in the Unified Development Ordinance adoption process through the ways we’ve outlined. Your input and voices are key to its success, which will help Durham continue to thrive.

Until next week,

Claudia Hager | County Manager