04/21/06

Welcome to our Web site!

Those of us in the Hope Valley Renaissance Coalition are overwhelmed and gratified by the tremendous and positive response to our first open letter to the Hope Valley Community.  It seems we have tapped into a deep and passionate love for our beloved and historic Hope Valley.

Based on the support of many who received our first mailing we have applied to the City of Durham for a Neighborhood Protection Overlay.  This City program will allow us to re-codify our existing covenants, exorcise ones which are no longer relevant or legal and perhaps add a few new ones to strengthen our community’s response to the rampant growth all around us.       

We need your help.  The City will require Hope Valley to show its support in a real and tangible way.  Over the next months we will be coming to you asking for your endorsement of our plan.  Please consider signing the NPO petition that will be brought to you by a volunteer from your section of Hope Valley.

If you would be interested in helping gather supporting signatures, tabulate materials, and or help prepare for the meetings and hearings that will be required please contact us.   We also need small financial gifts  ($25 or so) to be able to continue to communicate with you.

The Hope Valley you know today, and its significant aesthetic, historic and financial values are at stake.  Make no mistake in believing the work we are doing will not only preserve the beauty, history and livability of Hope Valley, it will also insure that your, in many cases, lifetime investment will not be eroded by irresponsible and irreversible development.  

The Hope Valley Renaissance Coalition

Ralph Braibanti – Founding Chairman (1920-2005), Frank DePasquale – Honorary Co-Chair, Tad DeBerry – Chair, Russell Barringer, Jr, Wayne Edmunds, Jane Goodridge, Will Hodges, Jack Hughes, Henry Nicholson, Tom Niemann, Doug Townsend, Marion Salinger – Secretary

The following items reflect the voices of many Hope Valley residents and are an example of the type of protection we seek for Hope Valley.

Suggested items for Neighborhood Protection Overlay

For Hope Valley

Existing Hope Valley Covenants 1 – 5 below

One: The property shall be used for residential purposes only, and no other buildings may be built provided this shall not apply to churches or schools.

Two: No shop, store, or factory shall be erected or licensed within Hope Valley.

Three: The property may be subdivided, provided each lot has not less than 100 feet fronting on a street or road, and has a depth of at least 200 feet or contains not less than 20,000 square feet.  Only one dwelling may be built on each lot.

Four: No residence or building of any kind erected shall be nearer the front property line on any street than 50 feet, nor nearer either of the side property lines than 10 feet.  This shall not apply to garages or out buildings erected in the rear of a dwelling.

Five: No sign or billboards of any description shall be displayed on the property with the exception of signs (for rent) or (for sale), which shall not exceed 2 x 3 feet in size.

Additional suggestions:

Six: No dwelling in Hope Valley may be razed prior to a 90 day period of public comment during which time the structure must be identified by a sign or placard (exempt from #5) as a candidate for demolition, and the Historic Preservation Society of Durham given access to the dwelling for documentary photography, measurement and retrieval of historic or significant architectural elements.

Seven: No new structure or dwelling in Hope Valley, except the Country Club. schools or churches, may exceed the height of adjacent dwellings by more than a storey and ½ or (X) number of feet.

Eight: All construction in Hope Valley shall be subject to the same rigorous erosion and environmental controls and protections that pertain to larger commercial projects within the City of Durham.

Nine: No construction  or maintenance equipment, vehicle, or supplies may be parked or stored on the public right of way at any time in Hope Valley, except when clearing land for the purpose of said storage.

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