Should the city of Durham and County of Durham merge?

[Atlside]

Should the city of Durham and County of Durham merge?

Merger resurfaces in Durham

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/durham/du...ry/1366291.html

Merging Durham's city and county governments has been formally proposed numerous times since the mid-1920s, but each proposal has been either dropped or defeated in public referendums in 1961 and 1974.

By Numbers City of Durham

City of Durham

Size: 104 square miles

Population: 218,179 (2008 census estimate)

Durham County

Size: 299 square miles

Population: 257,947 (2008 census estimate, including city of Durham population)

___________________________

City of Charlotte

Size: 280.5 square miles

Population: 671,588 (July 2007)

City of Raleigh

Size: 140.184 square miles (July 2008)

Population: 374,320 (July 1, 2008)

City of Greensboro

Size: 131.35 square miles

Population: 258,671 (July 1, 2008)

City of Winston-Salem

Size: 132.4 square miles

Population: 223,532 (July 1, 2007)

City of Fayetteville

Size: 60 square miles

Population: 176,007 (July 1, 2007)

City of Cary

Size: 53.61 square miles

Population: 132,647 (October 2008)

City of High Point

Size: 95.1 square miles

Population: 100,432 (July 1, 2007)

[RaleighRob]

Wow, they're talking about this again?

At one time this may have been more doable. But there are some things that complicate it: boundaries.

Chapel Hill and Raleigh have both moved into Durham County and likewise, Durham city has moved into Orange and Wake Counties.

That could get things more complicated.

[Atlside]

Wow, they're talking about this again?

At one time this may have been more doable. But there are some things that complicate it: boundaries.

Chapel Hill and Raleigh have both moved into Durham County and likewise, Durham city has moved into Orange and Wake Counties.

That could get things more complicated.

[triadguy37]

By NumbersCity of Durham

City of Durham

Size: 104 square miles

Population: 218,179 (2008 census estimate)

Durham County

Size: 299 square miles

Population: 257,947 (2008 census estimate, including city of Durham population)

___________________________

City of Winston-Salem

Size: 132.4 square miles

Population: 215,348 (July 1, 2007)

City of Winston-Salem

Population: 223,532

According to this recent article: http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/ja...4th-place/news/

[Atlside]

Thanks Triadguy37! Interesting that the article also states that Durham's population is 222,472.

It seems that more often the Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Fayettville populations are always behind. Where the Charlotte and Raleigh populations seem to stay close to up to date. Wonder why this is?

It also seems that Durham County's population is always listed lower and then later they find out Durham County has more people.

[staffer]

Not really. Jacksonville's merger with Duval County went well and there are other cities in Duval County:

Atlantic Beach

Baldwin

Jacksonville Beach

Neptune Beach

Nashville's merger went well and Davidson County has:

Berry Hill

Forest Hills

Goodlettsville

Lakewood

Oak Hill

Ridgetop

I think if Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Cary were incorporated in Durham County it would be an issue. But, they only have small portions of their city their city limits in Durham County.

[Atlside]

There are 707 Raleigh residents in Durham County, and 2,236 Chapel Hill residents in Durham County. Morrisville also is in Durham County, but only some commercial property, no residences. Durham has 79 people in Orange County, and is in Wake County as well, but only some commercial property in Wake, no residences. It is actually the multi-county issues that become complicated.

[Atlside]

It is interesting how many cities have portions of the city limits don't touch the main body portion of the city limits.

[Jones_]

I don't think that issue is excessively problematic. County government would most likely take over. Instead of just Durham County spilling over, you have consolidated City/County Durham spilling over. The infringed counties would not be any more inconvenienced since the agreements are already in place. Just get the appropriate boards to amend the existing agreements. By far the bigger challenge is getting the rival governments in Durham to cooperate. The City has long wanted the taxes generated by RTP to be available for their use. The County is decidedly more rural and conservative and will not want to take on the burdens of the City. I have not really heard yet who exactly is pushing this again, but I am guessing, as I was musing, that folks who want to capitalize in the RTP tax base.

There are also mid-range options, such as combined water and sewer utilities (Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Buncombe County all do this already).

[NCMike1981]

I just can't picture all of northern Durham County being considered the city of Durham....it's just so rural up there...

[davidals]

The boundary issues could be easily worked out - at simplest. the areas within the Durham city limits, but loctaed in another county, would remain in Durham. The portions of Raleigh, Cary and Chapel Hill would simply be excuded. In the consolidations of Indianapolis, Louisville, Jacksonville, Athens and Nashville there were areas - other municipalities - which were excluded from the consolidation, and something like that would probably happen here as well.

As for the rural north of Durham county - look at the City of Chesapeake or the City of Suffolk (formerly Norfolk and Nansemond Counties) - there are vast stretches of wilderness - which will remain wilderness - within the city limits; and there is the 1000+ square miles within the city limits of Anchorage, Juneau and Sitka AK, so the rural swath of Durham County is nothing, comparatively speaking.

I'd be shocked to see this get any traction at all in Durham this time around. Annexation is easy enough in NC that it's not a big priority in most places, and some of the big urban counties have annexation agreements between municipalities in the same county (or immediately adjacent counties) which pretty much establish the ultimate extent of future boundaries anyway.

[ncwebguy]

When driving up Durham Freeway to see Rent last weekend, I thought about this and the rual "no man's land" just north of RTP and not within Durham city limits. That area to me feels like the big wedge between the city of Durham and the park. Parkwood to the west of RTP was a toe hold for the city to get close to the park, but southern Durham near the I-40 corridor (other than 15-501) was pretty sparse until Woodcroft started building out, folowed by and then the Southpoint developments.

In RTP proper and the part of the city of Durham east of RTP, there is not much in regards to services provided on the part of the city or county -- road repair, bus service, police patrols, etc. I don't know if this was/is by design since RTP is somewhat its own thing, but it seems like taxation without services in the part that is within city limits. Though there are only a few apartment complexes along Page Road north of 40 and some scatterd houses in the county.