Durham, NC Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

3, Height, sets the base and bonus height limits for the DD (Downtown Design) District's three sub-districts: Core, Support 1, and Support 2. 1 then lists optional 'provisions' a developer can build into a project to unlock additional height. One of those provisions, Stormwater Capture and Reuse, requires the applicant to 'provide cistern(s) to collect stormwater from on-site rooftop impervious surfaces with a minimum volume to accommodate the first one inch of rainfall,' and the captured water 'must be captured and used on site for the purposes of flushing toilets or irrigation' to receive the credit.

Qualifying projects gain 15 feet of additional height in both the Core and Support 1 sub-districts; the table lists no bonus (', ') for Support 2, so the cistern option is unavailable there. The same bonus table pairs the cistern provision with five others, green roofs, mechanical water reclamation, historic-structure adaptive reuse, affordable housing set-asides, and enhanced façade materials, subject to the rule that 'the additional height allowed is subject to the upper story step-back requirements' and applies to overall building height, not podium height.

Provisions 'required elsewhere in this Ordinance or in the City Code' cannot double as bonus amenities. Durham City-County Planning administers the review through the project's site plan or building permit application; because the DD District sits within downtown Durham, this bonus applies inside city limits, not the unincorporated county.