Save Durham

Only We Can Save North Durham

  • SaveDurham.com is dedicated to the open spaces, farming, woods, wildlife, and waterways and lakes in north Durham County.

    Rampant and irresponsible development has already decimated southeast Durham. We admire the tireless efforts of our friends at PreserveRuralDurham to protect the little remaining open spaces of southeast Durham and, especially, the critical waterways and lakes on which we all depend. For a great deal of information about existing damage and threats to the entire…

  • A taste of things to come

    Sciatica has sidelined me for the last couple of weeks – sitting at the computer long enough to write a proper post is NOT recommended. However, I’m on the mend with some help from my ortho and expect to be cranking out some promised analyses after this holiday weekend. I promised to critique the handling…

  • Don’t Hide Development Decisions

    Electeds: Stop turning your authority over to the planning department. Open letter to Durham City Council, BOCC, Board of Adjustment, and Planning Commission Electeds, Stop turning your authority over to the planning department.   You owe it to the residents of Durham to keep development decisions transparent. Public hearings are the only effective tool the public…

  • Waste Trees, Raise Townhomes, Exploit the Poor, Squeeze the Public

    Read this as a call to more involvement. While what is described below is sadly typical, I have witnessed exceptions. There have been meaningful victories. The more citizens who participate in public hearings, the more influence we have over time. So, we will fight on. The public hearing on Enclave at Little Creek (“Enclave”) was…

  • How We Lost Local Control of Development

    Spoiler: Exploiting disaster relief and mislabeling the bill. In a bill entitled “Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 – Part III,” the developer controlled state assembly deprived all the local governments in North Carolina of the right to downzone property unless the land owners agree to the down zone. “Downzoning” means restricting the use of the…

  • Good Guys Win, Again

    Back in 2024, the Court of Appeals ruled that the county commissioners wrongly approved Mason Farms, a 141 unit “conservation subdivision,” to be built in north Durham county. The county challenged the decision and the Court of Appeals withdrew the opinion. No one knew why the opinion was withdrawn. Today, 3/18/2026, the Court of Appeals…

  • Housing “Crisis” beyond solved Update

    [Originally published 9/8/2025] On September 2, 2025, Durham’s City Council approved a massive 1750 unit development of townhouses, apartments and single family residences plus 150,000 square feet of commercial space. Gateway at Brier Creek will consume 308 acres of forests and open space. One of the few remaining forested areas in the once lovely southeast…

  • Let’s Flex While We Can

    Very soon, if the proposed new UDO passes, we will be powerless. To ask questions and get more details on the proposed UDO, attend the meeting at the Bahama Ruritan Club on February 22. It will start at 2:00 p.m. The Bahama Ruritan is located at  8202 Stagville Rd, Bahama, NC 27503. The Unified Development…

  • Critical Reminder to Be Heard on New UDO

    Maybe this is a done deal. However, my thinking is that if enough of us show up we may be able to reduce the harm. We may be able to save some of Durham, some of north county. It’s like the lottery – the odds are against us but if we don’t play we absolutely…

  • Speech Police Running City Hall

    PS: Good news. The city manager finally did rescind the tresspass order against Amanda Wallace. It’s still a good idea to read my open letter below. Hostility to citizen comments is increasing in City Hall, especially from Mayor Leo Williams and Vice Mayor Javiera Caballero. Mayor Williams and Councilmembers: I was not present at the…

  • Honor Our Boundary – NO on Hamlin Reserve – PS: We Won

    And it was a unanimous “NO” vote. Let this be an inspiration for all of us to remain involved and fight on in 2026. Here’s my original post and open letter: Tonight the City Council will decide whether to allow the Urban Growth Boundary to be violated by annexing to Durham 43 acres of land,…

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