3.2.5 Notice and Public Hearings | Durham Unified Development Ordinance

1. Notice shall be required for applications for development approval as shown in the table below.

Procedure	Published	Mailed	Posted
Comprehensive Plan Amendment	✔	✔	✔
Zoning Map Change, including an initial zoning map change	✔	✔	✔
Site Plan		✔
Minor Special Use Permit		✔	✔
Major or Transportation Special Use Permit		✔	✔
Variance		✔	✔
Appeal of Administrative Decision		✔	✔
Major Works Certificate of Appropriateness		✔	✔
Historic District Designation	✔	✔	✔
Historic Landmark Designation	✔	✔
Historic Properties Local Review Criteria Text Amendment	✔
Historic District Preservation Plan Text Amendment	✔	✔	✔
UDO or Comprehensive Plan Text Amendment	✔
Vested Rights Determination	✔	✔	✔
Rectification Report	✔
Reasonable Accommodation		✔	✔
Street Closing	✔	✔	✔
Street Renaming		✔
Annexation	✔
Statutory Development Agreement	✔	✔	✔

2. Exceptions to the table above are as follows:

a. Mailed notice for site plans shall be required only for major site plans pursuant to paragraph 3.7.3B, Major Site Plans.

b. Posting and mailing for Comprehensive Plan amendments shall be required only for amendments that change a Tier designation or place type map designation without an associated zoning map change.

c. For Appeal of Administrative Decision, posting is not required when the appeal is not site specific.

An advertisement shall be placed by the Planning Department in a local newspaper of general circulation once a week for two successive calendar weeks, the first notice being published not less than 10 days nor more than 25 days before the date fixed for the public hearing.

The director of the appropriate department or designee shall provide notification as indicated in the notification table below:

Procedure	Mailing Range
Procedure	Subject Property, if Applicable	Distance of Property From Subject Property² (ft.)
Comprehensive Plan Future Place Type Map or Tier Map Amendment	✔	1,000
Zoning Map Change, including an Initial Zoning Map Change	✔	1,000
Site Plans¹	✔	600
Board of Adjustment	✔	600
Governing Body Quasi-Judicial Hearings	✔	1,000
Historic District Designation; Neighborhood Protection Overlay	✔	100
Historic Landmark Designation and Certificate of Appropriateness (Major Works)	✔	All adjacent properties³
Historic District Preservation Plan Text Amendment	✔	All adjacent properties³
Vested Rights Determination	✔	All adjacent properties³
Annexation	✔	600
Street Closing		All adjacent properties⁴
Street Renaming		All adjacent properties
Statutory Development Agreement	✔	1,000

1Mailed notice shall be required only for major site plans pursuant to paragraph 3.7.3B, Major Site Plans.

2When the extent of the buffer falls within the right-of-way, the property adjacent to the opposing side of the right-of-way shall be included for notification.

3Properties are “adjacent” even if separated by a street, railroad, or other transportation corridor.

4Mailed notices shall comply with the standards set forth in the North Carolina General Statutes (NCGS).

(1) All mailed notification shall be performed through first class mail utilizing the County property tax listings for property ownership.

(2) Where the tax records reflect a different mailing address for an owner of the property and the actual property address, then notification shall also be mailed to the address of the property itself in addition to the property owner address, unless the property is vacant.

(3) If accurate individual mailing addresses of the residents of multifamily properties are not readily available, then the property shall be posted with a resident notice sign in the right‐of‐way immediately adjacent to the multifamily property. The resident notice sign shall be posted in accordance with paragraph 3.2.5B.3.

c. The notice shall be mailed at least 14 but not more than 25 days prior the date of the public hearing.

d. Mailed notice under this section shall not be required if a zoning map change directly affects more than 500 properties owned by a total of at least 500 different property owners, and the Planning Director or designee elects to use the following expanded published notice requirements:

(1) An advertisement of not less than one-half page may be placed in a local newspaper of general circulation once a week for two successive calendar weeks, the first notice being published not less than 10 days nor more than 25 days before the date fixed for the public hearing.

(2) In addition to the published notice, the Planning Director or designee shall post one or more signs on or immediately adjacent to the subject area reasonably calculated to give public notice of the proposed change in accordance with paragraph 4.c., Posted Notice, below rather than the notice required pursuant to subsection 3, Posted Notice (Sign), below.

(3) Mailed notice shall be provided by first class mail to property owners who reside outside of the newspaper’s circulation area.

A sign noticing the public hearing shall be prominently posted by the director of the appropriate department, or designee, not less than 14 days prior to the public hearing at which the application shall be reviewed. The sign shall be posted on the property or at a point visible from the nearest improved public street. Where a site fronts along multiple improved public streets, one sign is required for each street frontage, unless such street frontage has limited access and poses unsafe conditions for posting such as, but not limited to, freeways and expressways. In the case of multiple parcels, sufficient signs shall be posted to provide reasonable notice to interested persons.

Except for applications in paragraph b below a published or mailed notice shall provide at least the following:

(1) A general description or address of the location of the land that is the subject of the application and, for mailed notice, a location map;

(2) A description of the action requested;

(3) Where a zoning map change or a Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map amendment is proposed, the current and proposed designations;

(4) The time, date and location of the public hearing;

(5) A phone number to contact the Planning Director or designee;

(6) A statement that interested parties may appear at the public hearing; and

(7) A statement that substantial changes to the proposed action may be made following the public hearing.

A published notice shall include the following specific information:

(1) A summary description of the proposed change;

(2) The time, date and location of the public hearing;

(3) A phone number to contact the Planning Director or designee;

(4) A statement that interested parties may appear at the public hearing; and

(5) A statement that substantial changes to the proposed action may be made following the public hearing.

Required posted notices shall indicate the following:

(1) A case number;

(2) Type of action; and

(3) A phone number to contact the Planning Director, or designee.

Minor defects in notice shall not impair the notice or invalidate proceedings pursuant to the notice if a bona fide attempt has been made to comply with applicable notice requirements. For instances where notice was not executed per the Durham Unified Development Ordinance but meets the requirement set forth in the North Carolina General Statutes, notice will be deemed legally sufficient.

Any organization or individual may register with the Planning Department to receive, at a minimum, a monthly electronic notification.

1. The notification shall contain the scheduled public hearings for the procedures listed in paragraph 3.2.5A, Summary of Notice Required, and major site plans.

2. To be eligible for registration, the applicant must provide the notification information required by the Planning Department.

3. Each organization or individual is responsible for providing updated information to the Planning Department in order to continue receiving notice.

4. The information provided shall be consistent with paragraph 3.2.5B.4, Content of Notice, as applicable for the specific application.

1. A legislative public hearing or a quasi-judicial hearing shall be required for development review as shown in the table below.

Applications for Approval	Historic Preservation Commission	Board of Adjustment	Planning Commission	Governing Body
Transportation Special Use Permit				✔¹
Comprehensive Plan Adoption/Amendment			✔	✔
Zoning Map Change			✔	✔
Minor Use Permit		✔¹
Major Special Use Permit				✔¹
Variance		✔¹
Appeal of Administrative Decision		✔¹
Historic District Designation	✔		✔	✔
Historic Landmark Designation	✔			✔
Certificate of Appropriateness (Major Works)	✔¹
UDO Text Amendment			✔	✔
Historic District Preservation Plan Text Amendment	✔		✔²	✔
Historic Preservation Local Review Criteria Text Amendment	✔			✔
Site-Specific Vested Rights Determination³				✔
Reasonable Accommodation		✔¹
Annexation				✔
Street Closing				✔
Street Renaming				✔
Statutory Development Agreement			✔⁴	✔

1Requires a quasi-judicial hearing.

2Required only if associated with adding or removing a local historic district designation.

3Or as required in Sec. 3.20, Vested Rights.

4Only if associated with a zoning map change or modifies an Ordinance standard, per Sec. 3.26, Statutory Development Agreement.

2. The day of the public hearing shall be considered the day the hearing is originally advertised for, unless a deferral is granted by the governing body upon a request that follows the procedures set forth in this Ordinance regarding timely submission of requests for deferrals.