"That legislation has paralyzed local governments," Durham City Council member Nate Baker wrote in a statement on February 20, 2026. That was the day the city and county called off the public hearing on Durham's long-planned zoning rewrite. More than seven months later, the most recent New UDO notice on the city's project page is still that cancellation. Whatever you have read about the new Land Development Code, the rules that decide what can go up beside a Trinity Park bungalow or behind a Watts-Hillandale ranch are the ones Durham adopted years ago. They will probably stay in charge for some time.
That matters most at one point in a purchase. It's when you stand in a side yard and ask what the lot next door could become, or whether there's room for a backyard cottage behind the house you're about to buy.
The Question That Belongs Before the Offer
Buyers in central Durham usually ask about the house in front of them: the roof, the porch, the old knob-and-tube wiring. The zoning question gets less attention, and the answer right now comes from the current Unified Development Ordinance, or UDO. The draft that drew a crowd to City Hall last winter has no legal force.
Here is how the two documents compare on the lot types common in older in-town neighborhoods. The draft figures come from the city's Fall 2024 draft standards and later local reporting. The 633-page January 2026 draft may differ, so treat those columns as snapshots of a proposal.
| Current UDO, in force today | Paused draft LDC | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard in-town lot | RU-5 and RU-5(2): single-family and duplex, 5,000 sq ft minimum for an ordinary detached lot, 3 stories or 40 ft | R-D-1: 5,000 sq ft minimum, one primary unit plus an ADU, 3 stories or 40 ft |
| Small or compact lot | Small lot option: 2,000 sq ft and 25 ft wide; 1,200 heated sq ft and an 800 sq ft footprint; the lesser of 2 stories or 32 ft | R-D-2: one unit per 1,250 sq ft, units capped at 1,200 sq ft with an 800 sq ft footprint, 3 stories or 40 ft |
| Affordability path | Not part of the current small lot rules | Reported as one unit per 625 sq ft when tied to affordability, which comes to eight units on a 5,000 sq ft lot |
| Apartments | Allowed in RU-M, not RU-5 or RU-5(2) | RX-3 and RX-5 districts, with base heights of 3 and 5 stories |
The biggest gap between the two columns is the affordability path. On a typical 5,000-square-foot in-town lot, the current code allows a house, a duplex, or a split into small-lot homes. The draft would have opened a route to much more density on that same lot, tied to affordability. With the draft paused, that route doesn't exist.
How a Hurricane Relief Bill Stopped a Zoning Code
The timeline explains why "paused" is likely to last longer than the word suggests.
- October 2023. Durham adopts its Comprehensive Plan. State law requires zoning to line up with an adopted plan, so the city and county start rewriting the UDO late that year.
- December 2024. The General Assembly adds a zoning provision to a 132-page disaster relief bill written for communities hit by Hurricane Helene. Local governments can no longer down-zone property without written consent from every affected owner.
- February 12–13, 2026. The InterNeighborhood Council sends the city and county a letter about possible conflicts with state law. The next day, Robin Tatum of the Raleigh firm Smith Anderson writes on behalf of Marvin Lee Barnes Jr. and his company, M.M. Fowler Inc. That letter argues the draft's changes "constitute unlawful downzonings." According to INDY Week, the council did not threaten to sue.
- February 20, 2026. The city and county cancel the February 24 Planning Commission hearing and pause adoption.
- June 2, 2026. A state House committee replaces the text of Senate Bill 587, the statewide fix that had passed the Senate 47–0 in 2025, with an unrelated bill titled "Wake Surfing Safely."
- June 17, 2026. The Senate pulls the revised bill from its calendar. The state budget, enacted in July as Session Law 2026-41, leaves the consent rule alone. The statute still contains it today.
The bill's other primary sponsor, Sen. Benton Sawrey of Johnston County, told the News & Observer that no one from the House talked to him before the bill was amended. On the Durham side, the city's project archive shows no new hearing notice since February.
Why the Old Code Lasts Parcel by Parcel
The state rule defines a down-zoning in plain terms. It covers any change that makes land less dense than it was allowed to be, or that cuts the list of permitted uses. It also covers any change that creates a nonconformity on land outside a residential district. No such change can be "initiated, enacted, or enforced" without the written consent of every owner whose property is affected.
Durham's draft worked around this by excluding any parcel that would be down-zoned. Those properties would have kept following the existing UDO. That carve-out is what the February letters challenged. Even in its intended form, though, it showed how a new code would work under this statute. Most parcels would move to new districts, and every parcel where the new rules allowed less would stay on the old ones.
The practical result for a buyer is that the current UDO isn't a placeholder about to disappear. On some parcels it could stay in force even after a new code passes, unless the legislature changes the consent rule. Speaking to INDY Week days after the pause, Baker said the draft would likely change regardless of what happened at the state level, and that "we had another 6 to 8 months before adoption." The General Assembly's calendar shows the House and Senate next convening on Monday, October 26, 2026.
What the Rulebook in Force Already Allows
The current code is not a single-family-only code. Durham's 2019 Expanding Housing Choices amendments, known as EHC, broadened duplex rights, created the small house and small lot option, and opened up more room for accessory dwelling units, mostly in the Urban Tier where the older in-town neighborhoods sit. According to the city's EHC report, duplexes are allowed on all standard residential lots in the Urban Tier. ADUs became allowed by right on nonconforming lots, and in some cases in nonconforming structures.
The small lot option applies to any lot of record in an eligible district, whatever its dimensions. In the Urban Tier, that means every district where single-family detached houses are allowed. A small lot home can be a single-family house or a duplex. The limits are tight. A house can't exceed 1,200 heated square feet, an 800-square-foot footprint, or the lesser of two stories or 32 feet. That's why new small-lot homes beside historic houses tend to look modest in scale.
These rules have changed blocks slowly. In an October 2025 review, Durham Habitat for Humanity reported that duplexes had made up about 3 percent of the city's new-home permits each year since EHC took effect. For someone weighing a porch-and-mature-oaks block, that pace is the most relevant number in this post. The rules in force allow some change next door, but they have produced it gradually.
What Stays on Paper for Now
The draft went further than EHC in several directions. A February 4, 2026 staff memo added two stories of height in R-D districts for qualifying income-restricted projects, up to a 70-foot cap. It also allowed townhomes for up to 25 percent of units in new R-D subdivisions larger than four acres. Bo Dobrzenski, assistant director of the Planning & Development Department, told the News & Observer the rewrite also included more sustainability requirements and more tree-preservation rules. Under the draft, existing or approved townhouse developments would have been mapped RX-3, and existing or approved apartment communities RX-5.
None of this is in effect. That includes the tree protections, which some neighbors may have assumed were coming.
Checking a Specific Address
When the hearing was canceled, planning staff held an open house at City Hall instead, and more than 100 residents came to see how the proposed districts would affect their neighborhoods. The tool staff used at that open house is on the city's EngageDurham UDO map. Enter an address and it shows the current zoning next to the proposed zoning. Today, only the current-zoning side carries legal weight. The current district standards are also posted in full in the city's online UDO. For questions about a specific parcel, contact the Durham Planning & Development Department.
A Few Questions Buyers Ask
Is the new Land Development Code law? No. Adoption was paused on February 20, 2026, and as of early October the latest New UDO item on the city's project page is the February cancellation notice.
Did the legislature fix the consent rule this year? Not as of early October. The statewide bill was turned into a wake-surfing bill in June, and the consent language is still in G.S. 160D-601(d). Lawmakers reconvene on October 26.
Can I still add an ADU or build a duplex on an in-town lot? In general, the current EHC rules allow both in the Urban Tier, subject to each district's standards. A specific lot can carry its own conditions, so confirm with city planning staff before you count on either.
If you're comparing lots in Trinity Park, Old North Durham, or Duke Park and want to know what the code in force allows on the parcel you're considering and the ones beside it, Timothy Hock can walk the block with you before you write an offer and go through those questions in detail. Schedule a Personalized Consultation.
