Ninth Street, the locally owned shopping district with whiffs of the upscale and Durham funk, got a peek at what possibly could be its future last week.

A neighborhood meeting at Asbury United Methodist Church drew more than 60 people as Durham Area Designers (D.A.D.) presented a vision for the future that the group hopes will protect Ninth Street's character.

Here are the details.

THE PLAN: Under the aegis of the Durham City/County Planning Department, the pro bono collective, DAD developed a plan based on a September neighborhood meeting that drew 100 people.

"Everything we thought about doing was to improve Ninth Street as that great living room for the community," said lead planner Steve Gaddis. "I don't expect to see the east side of Ninth Street change very much."

The group of 14 planners and UNC-Chapel Hill students logged more than 420 hours drawing up "form-based" zoning restrictions (i.e., restrictions on building size and appearance) to help Ninth Street retain its flavor. Some merchants fear the pressure of development will change the appearance of Ninth Street and drive off locally owned businesses due to high rents.

WHAT THE PLAN COVERS: West Main Street to the south, Broad Street to the east, Green Street to the north and Trent Drive to the west. The area is a mix of office, residential and small merchants and includes Erwin Tower and its surrounding grassy fields, which are awaiting pricey development.

WHAT IT DOESN'T COVER: Planners intentionally did not include the potential impact of the Durham Transit Authority's stalled commuter-rail project and a possible depot south of the business district.

Duke University's Central and East campuses were also left out. Duke wants to develop 128 acres between East and West campus for new student housing, academic buildings and retail stores. The land is now zoned residential.

Neighborhood interests oppose the zoning change, saying the planned 20,000 to 50,000 square feet of new retail development would siphon business from Ninth Street and further isolate Duke students on the campus. In early October the city planning commission opposed the change, too. The matter goes to the Durham City Council in December.

FORM-BASED ZONING: The form-based plan suggests five building types:

* Two-story shop fronts with open, plate-glass windows that now characterize much of the east side of the 700 block of Ninth Street;

* commercial blocks that are two to four stories high;

* townhouses;

* towers no taller than eight stories; and

* flats with stepped-back stories.

FINER POINTS: The plan calls for the taller structures to be in the middle of the district with lower building heights near residential areas. Green Street on the northern edge of the area would retain its current residential zoning.

The west side of the intersection of Markham Avenue and Hillsborough Road, where a grassy triangle sits in front of Vin Rouge restaurant, would be made into a plaza by closing the street in front of Vin Rouge. Truck traffic that travels along Hillsborough Road and crosses Ninth Street would be routed along West Main Street.

As Ninth Street is redeveloped, the current eight-foot wide sidewalks would be widened to 14 feet by pushing back storefronts. Corner locations could be lopped off to create a semi-circular, recessed entrance.

WHAT'S NEXT: According to planning department head Frank Duke, the department is assembling the plan and will present it to the Joint City/County Planning Committee on Dec. 6. The completed plan will be available to the public in hard copy and on a Web site in late December or early January. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and then make a recommendation to the City Council, which has the final vote.

"This is still a work in progress," said Duke. "D.A.D. has given us a great framework on which to build."