4.6.6 Old West Durham Neighborhood Protection Overlay

This overlay establishes standards for the Old West Durham neighborhood to ensure that new residential development is compatible with the established urban form, modest scale, and mill village character of the neighborhood. Preservation of green space and tree canopy are primary motivations for the formulation of a number of these standards. This section is not intended to reduce density within the neighborhood.

This section shall only apply to the following types of single and two family residential development within the boundaries of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Protection Overlay, as shown on the official Zoning Map:

1. Construction of, or addition to, any primary structure;

2. Construction of, or addition to, any garage, accessory dwelling unit, and/or other accessory structure that requires a building permit and is enclosed on more than two sides;

3. Enclosure by more than two walls of formerly unenclosed spaces;

4. Construction of, or addition to, any vehicular use area; and/or

5. Subdivision or consolidation of parcels.

a. The maximum floor area ratio (FAR) shall be 0.325 (32.5%). For purposes of this NPO only, floor area is defined as the heated square footage of the primary structure plus the total square footage (heated or unheated) of any garage, accessory dwelling unit, or any accessory structure that requires a building permit and is enclosed on more than two sides.

b. To calculate the FAR, the floor area is divided by the lot size.

c. Regardless of the calculated FAR, each parcel shall be allowed a minimum of 2,200 square feet of floor area and no parcel shall exceed 3,600 square feet of floor area.

d. Provided that the structural footprint and height remain unchanged from May 7, 2018, a FAR may be exceeded by converting unheated fully enclosed square footage to heated square footage.

e. Heated square footage from a floor built below grade shall be exempt from the FAR calculation provided the exposed foundation wall is not more than three feet above grade at any point along any street facing facade.

f. The total square footage of an accessory structure shall not exceed 50% of the heated floor area of the primary structure and shall not exceed 800 square feet.

g. For accessory structures with sloped ceilings, only floor area with a ceiling height of five feet or more shall be included within the FAR.

h. A building permit application or plot/site plan, as applicable, shall detail the existing and proposed FAR.

a. The height of the primary structure, as calculated in paragraph 6.12.1, Height, shall not exceed 26 feet and its apex height shall not exceed 31 feet. The apex height is defined as the structure’s highest point, excluding chimneys and other appurtenances listed in paragraph 6.12.1B.

b. The height of an accessory structure, as calculated in paragraph 6.12.1, Height, shall not exceed 20 feet and its apex height shall not exceed 24 feet.

c. If the apex height of an accessory structure exceeds 16 feet, then the structure must be set back at minimum of 10 feet from any property line, except where that property line abuts a dedicated right-of-way, undeveloped land, or a nonresidential land use.

The maximum lot area shall be 12,000 square feet.

a. The area between the rear wall of the primary structure and the rear property line shall contain, at minimum, one canopy tree of at least two inches in caliper, in accordance with the Landscape Manual for Durham, North Carolina.

b. All trees required by the Unified Development Ordinance must be depicted on building permit applications or plot/site plans, as applicable, including the location, caliper, and species.

a. For purposes of this NPO only, a vehicular use area includes all surface area designated or utilized for vehicle parking or vehicle access.

b. The minimum off-street parking requirement is one space per dwelling unit. Accessory dwelling units are not required to provide off-street parking.

c. The maximum width of the vehicular use area shall be 12 feet; however, the vehicular use area may expand up to 24 feet in width to accommodate garage access and parking. The total additional vehicular use area beyond 12 feet in width shall:

(1) Be behind the front building line;

(2) Be not less than 20 feet from the front property line; and

(3) Not exceed 400 square feet.