Durham council approves permanent closure of Cleg Drive, passes consent agenda 7-0

The Durham City Council voted 7-0 to close Cleg Drive permanently and approved a consent agenda that included a series of construction and transit contracts during its March 3, 2025 meeting.

City planner Shelissa Aris told the council the application requested permanent closure of the full right-of-way of Cleg Drive to allow recombination of the right-of-way with adjacent parcels and to permit construction of a multifamily residential development. Aris read the statutory findings the governing body must make for a street closing as listed in the staff report, quoting the relevant state statutory sections cited in that report.

Mayor Leonardo Williams opened a public hearing on the item and said no one had signed up to speak; the council closed the hearing and proceeded to a motion to close the street. Matthew Carper, appearing as a representative for the applicant, confirmed the project is a multifamily residential development with internal private drives and entrances that will be dedicated to the project and that the site must meet the Unified Development Ordinance standards at the time of site review.

The council also approved, by the same 7-0 vote, a comprehensive-plan map amendment to designate the parcels associated with the closed right-of-way as a mixed residential place type as recommended in staff materials.

The consent agenda, which the council approved 7-0 earlier in the meeting, included a range of routine items and agreements called out in the agenda packet: an agreement with RATP Dev USA Inc. for administration, operation and maintenance of fixed-route transit service (item 14), multiple construction contract awards (including Carolina Sable Works Inc. and Terraflex Group LLC listed on the agenda), and annual reports from boards and commissions. Councilor Freeman was excused by a unanimous motion earlier in the meeting; that procedural motion also passed 7-0.

Details the staff report listed for the Cleg Drive request included parcel and right-of-way identifiers and a recommendation to reconfigure the dedicated right-of-way with adjacent lots; the staff report also referenced state statutory requirements for street closings (identified in the report as sections read aloud during the meeting). The staff presentation said there is no anticipated future street connection at the site and that the proposed internal access would be reviewed under subdivision and site-review standards when the applicant submits final plans.

No members of the public spoke at the hearing. The council made the closure and map-amendment motions, each passed by recorded roll call 7-0, and the meeting proceeded to adjournion of the agenda items.

The council did not specify an effective date for the closure in the public portion of the meeting; staff materials in the packet and the ordinance language will define final recording and implementation steps.