About the DSC and its partners

The Development Services Center is a one-stop-shop for Durham City and County development services. The DSC serves an average of 7,500 walk-in, phone, and virtual customers each month for services such as application intake and cashiering, responses to development inquiries, interdepartmental coordination, and quick turn-around permits and approvals. The DSC supports the City of Durham's Strategic Plan goal of promoting a strong & diverse economy, and Durham County’s Strategic Plan goals of Environmental Stewardship and Community Prosperity and Safe Community

This page provides more information about the DSC and its 40 Partner Work Units. You can access development-related data via the Durham City-County open data portal

  1. DSC mission
  2. Partner work groups
  3. Location and contact information

The mission of the DSC is to improve the coordination, predictability, timeliness, and quality of customer service delivery and the development review process. The DSC is staffed by employees from City-County Planning, City-County Inspections, and City Public Works. 

DSC organizational chart

The DSC’s primary service areas include: 

  • Coordinating the development review process;
  • Helping customers navigate the development review process;
  • Coordinating multi-departmental meetings;
  • Providing quick turn-around permitting for minor and major planning approvals and building permits;
  • Answering, routing, and tracking development-related inquiries;
  • Maintaining records on development approvals and permits;
  • Accepting, routing, and tracking plans and permits, and
  • Providing cashiering services.