By Alex Bass
Alex.bass@triangletribune.com
DURHAM – The Durham City Council approving a $750 million-plus budget was easier than organizing an in-person meeting with diverse stakeholders Monday night.
The Hayti rezoning proposal was brought before the Council when the meeting resumed at 9:05 p.m., and shortly after a recess sidebar discussion in the City Hall meeting chamber that excluded Hayti Reborn Director Anita Scott Neville.
Attorney Jamie Schwedler, representing Sterling Bay – the Chicago-based developer seeking the rezoning ordinance for the Fayetteville Street Corridor Project – asked for action on the matter to be delayed until the Council’s Aug. 4 meeting.
Schwedler said she made her move after the sidebar discussion in the interest of extending the community engagement period, already having spanned approximately three years. The sidebar meeting included Schwedler, retired N.C. Senator Floyd McKissick Jr., St. Mark AME Pastor Julian Pridgen and Hayti Reborn founder Henry McKoy.
“The plan would be to continue those conversations, and then, to have those community leaders make sure that we are communicating the outcomes of that before we come back on Aug. 4,” Schwedler said. The move canceled the public comment period, as the Council accepted Schwedler’s request.
Council member DeDreana Freeman, who said some speakers might not be able to return on Aug. 4, pressed Schwedler about her notion of community. “Who exactly are you talking to, and who would you be negotiating with?” she asked.
Schwedler made direct and indirect references to McKissick, McKoy and Pridgen, among others, at points in her remarks. “I noticed you didn’t mention any women,” Freeman responded.
Neville, who was in attendance, said she was not invited to the sidebar discussion. “It had mostly to do with the chess game that is being played with who you are talking to,” she said.
Schwedler and Neville both acknowledged having exchanged written correspondence. Schwedler said she has not been able to schedule a meeting with Hayti Reborn and welcomed facilitation assistance Freeman offered.
Neville said the two entities’ most recent in-person dialogue was at the April 9 Durham Planning Commission meeting, where the Commission made a unanimous recommendation to reject the rezoning request.
Neville said Schwedler wanted the meeting to be virtual and recorded. “My response was, I don’t have any problem with it being recorded,” she said. “If we’re trying to talk about working together, then we need to meet face to face.”
Hayti Reborn held a press conference outside City Hall before Monday’s Council meeting. Neville said she is extending strengthened action calls, seeking to include and amplify more voices, and looks forward to meeting with Schwedler and Sterling Bay representatives.
Durham Mayor Leo Williams, visibly frustrated, paused proceedings during Schwedler’s remarks to stop gallery outbursts and preserve decorum – even after mayor pro tempore Mark-Anthony Middleton offered a tempered perspective about the delay.
“We’ve continued cases for far less compelling reasons,” Middleton said. “We want to hear. The whole purpose as I understand with the continuance is for folks to have an opportunity to further engage with this developer.”
