Highlights about Environment

The Durham City Council pulls a proposed police technology contract, loosens RV parking rules after neighborhood testimony, and approves annexing the Kerley Gardens apartments for city water following a detailed debate over affordability, transparency, and the urban growth boundary. Residents also press the council on equitable infrastructure investments and fairness in bond‑funded street work.

The Durham County Board of Commissioners reviews a major 911 consolidation and HEART crisis response study, pressing for equity-focused measures and data-driven outcomes, and hears a detailed appeal from the Greater Durham Black Chamber of Commerce for deeper partnership, access, and funding to support local Black-owned businesses. The board also debates conservation investments, homelessness services, and state legislative priorities on schools, transit, and county taxing authority.

The Durham City Council hears sharp public criticism over meeting conduct, questions about COVID relief funding, and extensive opposition to a proposed Peregrine police surveillance contract, followed by the police chief and mayor defending the technology and their approach to public safety. The council also digs into security upgrades in public housing, state-driven Falls and Jordan Lake nutrient rules affecting development, and Durham’s community-wide push to close the digital divide.

The Carrboro Town Council welcomes a new poet laureate and planning director, recognizes National Mentoring Month, and celebrates a national award for its budget. Staff then walk the council through the town’s greenhouse gas inventory, acknowledge that Carrboro is unlikely to hit its 2030 reduction target (although it has made great strides to decrease emissions) and field questions about EV fleet upgrades, rooftop solar, and geothermal options for key buildings.