Development in east Durham will remain at a standstill for the foreseeable future after the city discovered its sewer system is at capacity.
Durham leaders discussed the issue Thursday at a public work session for the first time. Durham city staff said the upgrades will be done in waves with phase one completed in 2029 and phase two in 2230.
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“I know the development community, when an applicant is applying for zoning or whatever, there are development fees that go into planning in regards to this,” Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams said. “What's happened right now with this stoppage of applications means it's a stoppage of expanding tax base, which is a stoppage of resources for us to do other things.”
City of Durham Water Management Director Donald Greeley discussed the issue before city council members on Thursday, specifically mentioning the December 2025 “letter to the industry” about the problem on its website.
“We realize the impact of how something like the Goose Creek LTI [letter to the industry] does to the community and specifically the development community and the residents,” Greeley said.
Developers visited Durham City Hall on Thursday to air their concerns with what they say was a lack of communication.
“You have the ability to send letters out. You didn’t. No notice,” said Thomas Hennessey, owner of development firm West 4th, LLC. “That is extremely concerning.”
Some developers say the city’s timeline to fix the sewage issues leaves their projects dead in the water. It includes Alliance Architecture founding principal John Warasila.
“A five-year solution does not work,” Warasila said. “A lot of people will go out of business."
Warasila added, "We are not some big out-of-town developer who came in to try to rebuild the city. We're working with local people who are from the ground up."
Williams offered his perspective on the issue.
“I want to make sure that it's not developers vs the city,” Williams said. “It's a team because those are the folks that are building the capacity or the ability for us to get that tax base to pay for fare free buses, or HEART team [Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team].”
The issue is bigger than those 5 square miles in east Durham, where the Goose Creek improvements will cost $30 million.
Two other systems are five to 10 years from full capacity, city documentation shows:
- Ellerbe Creek improvements will cost about $40 million
- Lick Creek will be about $25 million
When asked if they can expedite the process, city staff said Thursday they must stick to the current timeline.
Durham City Manager Bo Ferguson said encouraged developers to work with the city on a project-by-project basis.
City staff said 20 developers have reached out about 69 different projects. According to the city staff, 14 can move forward, 11 can move forward partially and two cannot. City staff is still reviewing the other proposed developments.