Following the successful adoption of Durham’s first Small Area Plan (SAP) for the Walltown neighborhood, the residents of Lakewood, Lyon Park, and the West End are preparing to develop plans of their own.
Small Area Plans are specific vision statements within the city’s comprehensive plan—which guides future development—tailored to individual neighborhoods. Durham city council passed an update to the comprehensive plan in 2023, but the broad scope of the plan didn’t address concerns of residents in some of Durham’s unique neighborhoods.
On Tuesday, nearly 70 residents gathered at the Community Family Life & Recreation Center at Lyon Park to discuss the future of the three adjoining neighborhoods. Durham city planning staff gave a brief presentation on the history of SAPs, ground rules on what they can and can’t accomplish, and what makes this planning process different from Walltown’s, before residents broke out into working groups to brainstorm ideas for the new plan…