Mosby Bragtown Rezoning

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.

What: case Z250047, a request to rezone about 13.3 acres on Berwin Avenue, Belvin Avenue and Dominion Street in Braggtown from Residential Urban 5 to Planned Development Residential 22.414, allowing up to 299 apartments.
Where it stands: on 2026-10-13 the motion to recommend approval failed 6 to 3. Because the commission states motions in the affirmative, a failed motion goes to City Council as a recommendation of denial.
Next: City Council hearing. The applicant's commitments are still changing, and the neighboring Sikh temple asked for eight commitments to be added.

Payton Burgess reported commitments of 5 percent affordable units, 60-foot maximum height, 60 percent maximum impervious surface, 10 percent minimum tree cover, native plantings, elevators in buildings of four or more stories, a publicly accessible amenity, a school contribution and off-site sidewalk. Staff found it consistent with the Mixed Residential Neighborhood place type and 12 of 16 policies; the stream-buffer policy was reclassified as not applicable because the stream was shown to be intermittent.
Neighborhood meetings were held 2026-04-02 and 2026-09-03; no comments were posted on the Rezoning Explorer, although the temple said it had written to the planning department.
Changes announced by the applicant at the hearing: affordable units set to the ordinance definition (60 percent of area median income for rentals); the school contribution raised from $4,000 to $7,000; pickleball wording dropped from the public amenity; at least 10 public Level 2 EV charging spaces; one green stormwater measure; handling the 100-year storm; open space or trees next to sensitive areas; a multi-use path along Berwin Avenue; and flush sidewalks across all driveways. An Energy Star commitment was removed because the city could not enforce it.
The site has a recorded notice of residual petroleum from an old heating-oil tank at the former school; a commitment would address it, under the state environmental quality program, before any residential building there.

Traffic on Roxboro Road and Banner Street (a narrow one-way street beside the temple), difficult left turns without a signal, and emergency access. Several temple board members asked for a traffic study, a two-way Berwin Avenue and a traffic signal.
The temple (next door since 1985, 250 to 300 worshippers on Sundays) said it was not against housing but asked for denial unless eight commitments were added: driveway location, Berwin Avenue, a Sunday traffic count, setback and buffer, stormwater, construction, lighting and petroleum cleanup.
Residents cited apartment overload from about 654 other units nearby, sidewalk gaps, no recreation center, and school and Durham Tech contributions (requests of at least $40,000 and $50,000). Pablo Friedman (captions render "Freedman") urged holding developers to the roughly $1,000-per-pupil school proffer expectation, honoring the Durham Tech arrangement, and accounting for emergency medical service costs.
A university planning professor noted Braggtown has about 0.3 miles of sidewalk per mile of road versus about 0.5 citywide.

A traffic impact analysis was not required; compared with current zoning the proposal cuts about 120 daily trips and 35 PM peak trips and adds two AM peak trips.
The state would not allow a signal at Berwin Avenue and Roxboro Road because of spacing from an existing signal.
The applicant said it is open to dropping vehicular access on Berwin Avenue (using Belvin Avenue only) but made no commitment on a traffic study or more affordable units.

Commissioner Huarez Maldonado and the chair described Roxboro Road as congested and asked for infrastructure first; the chair asked for sidewalk and bus shelter commitments.
A commissioner called 15 affordable units too low. Commissioner Bailey asked for a traffic analysis. Vice Chair Cameron asked about cleanup scope (small area; possible soil remediation or capping).

Favorable recommendation (moved by Vice Chair Cameron, seconded by Commissioner Pionek): failed 6 to 3.

About 52 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-13 - Planning Commission	52

2026-10-13 - Planning Commission - Staff report, owner and attorney presentations, about 13 public speakers (mostly traffic and temple access concerns); favorable recommendation failed 6 to 3.