Council approves Page Corners: 160 affordable units at 60% AMI under development agreement; UDO change allows tree-coverage flexibility

Durham City Council on Thursday approved a privately initiated text amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance and then unanimously approved the Page Corners development agreement, annexation and zoning that will allow a 160-unit all-affordable apartment project on Page Road.

Lede: The council first amended the UDO to allow statutory development agreements to alter the tree coverage and tree-protection rules, then adopted ordinances and a development agreement that will permit a four-story, elevator-served apartment community of 160 units restricted to households at or below 60% of area median income for 30 years.

Nut graf: The two actions are linked. City staff said the text amendment is needed because tree-coverage rules jump from 7% in urban/compact tiers to 20% in suburban areas; the developer argued the 20% requirement — when coupled with required stormwater, road dedications and state-required parking ratios — would make a 100% affordable 4% LIHTC project infeasible on the roughly 7.6-acre site. Council approved both measures after staff presentations and a multi-part public presentation by the applicant.

What the council approved: The UDO text amendment (an amendment to Section 3.26) allows development agreements to include modifications to UDO Section 8.3 (tree coverage and protection) when the city approves a statutory development agreement. The Page Corners statutory development agreement allows the developer to provide a minimum of 7% tree coverage (the compact neighborhood tier level), reduce required open space to 15% (from 20%), increase a permitted fence height from 4 to 6 feet and to adjust a buffer along an adjacent AT&T/frontier parcel to allow single-phase, cost-effective construction. In exchange the developer commits to: 160 income-restricted apartment units at 60% AMI (30-year affordability), at least two recreational amenities, native trees for new plantings and two electric vehicle chargers. The applicant also secured a reduction in the parking ratio from a typical 1.75 spaces per unit to 1.5 spaces per unit to make the financing work for a 4% low-income housing tax-credit application.

Applicant and public comment: The project team (Lincoln Avenue Communities, represented by attorney Patrick Biker and developer Brian Maloney, and Tim Sivers of the engineering team) emphasized the site constraints: right-of-way dedications for multiuse-paths, large stormwater-control footprints, building footprints for elevators and required parking — all of which the developer said substantially reduce area available for tree coverage and open space on a 7.6-acre parcel. The applicant said Lincoln Avenue will be the long-term owner and will provide on-site management and resident services.

Staff context and legal framework: Planner Robin Schultz and staff explained statutory development agreements are legislative instruments (North Carolina Gen. Stat. ch. 160D) that allow tailored modifications to development standards if council approves a development agreement, and that each agreement requires a public hearing and an ordinance.

Council reaction and rationale: Council members repeatedly noted the project's policy value — 160 affordable units at 60% AMI in a part of the city with little affordable housing — while also expressing concern about tree cover and open space trade-offs. Members asked technical questions about buffers, fence design and whether nearby property owners would still be protected by buffers if an intervening vacant parcel were redeveloped. The applicant and staff explained how buffers, building envelopes and tree replacements were negotiated.

Outcome and next steps: Council voted unanimously to adopt the UDO text amendment and to approve the Page Corners annexation, zoning map change and statutory development agreement. The developer will proceed with site-plan review and submit financing applications (the 4% LIHTC application is time-sensitive). Staff will incorporate the terms of the development agreement into the city’s permit review and monitor compliance with the 30-year affordability commitment.

Why it matters: The deal is an example of using statutory development agreements to achieve policy goals — in this case, a large number of deeply affordable units — but it also highlights trade-offs between tree and open-space standards and housing capacity. Developers and councilmembers said they expect to continue using development agreements for tailored outcomes in constrained urban and suburban sites.