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Durham commissioners adopt UDO changes and rezone most of Research Triangle Park to new UC‑3 district
Summary
The board unanimously adopted a text amendment creating a University and College 3 (UC‑3) zoning district and rezoned roughly 5,000 acres of Research Triangle Park to UC‑3, after staff clarified that existing data centers will be grandfathered and future UDO edits will list data centers with specific limited standards.
Durham County commissioners voted unanimously on Nov. 24 to amend the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) to create a University and College 3 (UC‑3) zoning district and to rezone the bulk of Research Triangle Park (RTP) to that new district.
Robin Schultz of the county Planning and Development Department presented TC25000001, a privately initiated text amendment aimed at expanding university and college standards to allow large scientific and technical research parks to use a UC‑3 framework. Schultz told the board the UDO amendment establishes a tiered approach — an internal campus plus transitional use areas — and said a related zoning map change (Z2500025) would align with RTP covenants and come next on the agenda.
At the public hearing, Patrick Biker, an attorney representing C Square (the acquirer of Compass Data Centers), asked the board to ensure that data centers are explicitly permitted in the UC‑3 district because the term "data center" is not currently defined in Durham's UDO. "For Durham County, data centers are foundational to AI, telecommunications, the financial sector, pharmaceutical research, our health care providers, and our outstanding universities," Biker said. Planning staff responded that existing data centers are currently considered a light industrial use and will be grandfathered; the planned UDO updates will list data centers as a distinct use with limited standards such as residential buffers and noise studies.
Aaron Cain of planning then described Z2500025: a rezoning of all of RTP (about 5,000 acres, excluding the Durham County Wildlife Club parcel) from a mix of Science and Research Park, Industrial and residential categories to University and College 3. Staff stated the rezoning is consistent with the place type map and with 10 of 12 applicable comprehensive plan policies; two neighborhood meetings were held and two comments were filed opposing the proposal.
Commissioners framed the combined votes as transformational for RTP and said the changes will implement the county's comprehensive land-use plan and support a long-term vision for a mixed-use, walkable "work, live, play" environment. The board adopted the UDO amendment and the TC consistency statement, then approved the RTP rezoning (Z2500025) and its required consistency statement under North Carolina General Statute §160D‑605; each motion passed unanimously.
The staff presentation and votes do not create site‑level commitments; as a general rezoning, no development commitments were made at the time of the vote, and staff noted that subsequent development approvals and any new data center proposals will be subject to the use standards planned for the updated UDO.
