Durham council rejects Sheffield Farms annexation after hourslong hearing

Durham — The City Council on Monday refused a developer’s request to annex and rezone a 218.5-acre tract along Farrington Mill Road, rejecting an ordinance that would have allowed up to 702 homes and a three‑mile developer‑funded sewer extension.

The council voted 5–2 after a public hearing that ran more than four hours and included detailed testimony from planning staff, the developer’s representatives and more than two dozen residents. Mayor Leonardo Williams and Mayor Pro Tem Middleton voted yes; five council members voted no.

The proposal from MI Homes would have annexed the property known locally as Sheffield Farms, rezoned it to a Planned Development Residential district permitting up to 702 dwelling units (a mix of single‑family, townhouses and optional apartments), and authorized a utility extension agreement to install a pump station and roughly three miles of force main to the South Durham water reclamation facility. Developers pledged to finance the public sewer work, which they estimated at about $10 million, and to provide a minimum of 5% of units as for‑sale homes restricted at 80% of area median income for 30 years.

Planning staff told the council the site is partly mapped as Recreation and Open Space on the place‑type map because of Natural Heritage Program inventories and floodplain; staff recommended changes to the place‑type mapping if the zoning were approved. The staff report also found…