CARY, NC –A special appreciation dinner will be the backdrop for officials with the Town of Cary to outline their list of legislative needs to 8 of the 13 members of the General Assembly that comprise the Wake County delegation. On the menu for the delegation are toll roads and red light cameras, new ways to have growth pay for open space and infrastructure, new ways to get developers to create more affordable housing, and rules to further protect the environment. The dinner will be held on Wednesday, February 28^th at 6:00 PM at the Page Walker Arts & History Center on the Town Hall campus.

"The Town's legislative agenda and those items we support in the legislative agenda of the North Carolina League of Municipalities are necessary for us to implement Council’s direction and to successfully complete our work plans," said Town Manager Bill Coleman. Coleman explained that each year Town staff develops goals and initiatives that are organized around the vision and direction created by the Town Council. These goals and initiatives drive the development of the staff and organization work plan and identify those tasks that must be accomplished in order to implement the direction of the Town Council.

Much of Cary’s legislative agenda for this year falls under the Town’s goal of achieving a well-planned community using innovative and proactive planning approaches and techniques. For the Town to properly address the specific initiative of "developing and implementing a growth management program that identifies and effectively deals with the rate/timing, amount, location, cost, and quality of facilities and development period", the following items are being requested from the General Assembly:

• Change the authority for parks impact fees to a per residential unit fee instead of payment in lieu and land dedications. Such a change would allow the Town to properly and equitably assess new residents—including those in multifamily developments--for the cost of providing park facilities as opposed to using the current methodology of tying impact fees for parks to land value which caps the maximum fee at a value equal to only 1/35 of an acre.
• Give Cary the authority to charge a general government impact fee for capital costs incurred as a result of growth for general government facilities such as police substations, public works facilities, and fire capital projects. Such an impact fee would allow the Town to assess new residents in an equitable manner for new facilities required to provide essential services.
• Give Cary the authority to create an impact fee to acquire open space. Such authority would allow the Town to develop an ongoing way to fund open space and, therefore, address the critical issue of ensuring the presence of undisturbed open spaces to reduce congestion, limit sprawl, provide for passive recreational opportunities and protect water quality.
• Strengthen Cary’s authority to prohibit clear cutting of trees from property, including properties zoned for residential use. Such legislation would help the Town protect the environment as well as the quality of urban development. Prohibition against clear cutting (i) improves protection of water quality by reducing runoff into streams and rivers; (ii) maintains natural habitats for flora and fauna; (iii) improves the appearance of the urban environment; and (iv) helps regulatory authorities plan better for how development fits the urban landscape by requiring a plan prior to clear cutting.

To help achieve its goal of ensuring that roads, water and wastewater facilities, parks and other municipal facilities are available for existing citizens and for the future needs as identified in the Comprehensive Plan, the Town is asking the delegation to support allowing Cary to construct and operate toll roads and to allow Cary to spend money on roads outside its corporate limits and its extraterritorial planning and zoning jurisdiction.

While North Carolina has not generally allowed tolls, a pilot toll road was approved in the Mecklenburg County area in the last session of the legislature. Since many parallel routes already exist for drivers who might choose not to pay a toll, one option for a local toll road in Cary is to construct a segment of Louis-Stephens Drive as a dedicated route to RTP. Another idea is to review the Western Wake Expressway for a toll option. If tolls were allowed, Cary could work to find a private company to build the toll facility prior to state funds becoming available, a method being used in South Carolina for some thoroughfares in the Greenville area.

On the second point, allowing Cary to spend funds on roads outside its limits would help the Town provide a more comprehensive transportation road network and thoroughfare system for its citizens, such as in the case of Davis Drive or NC HWY 55. Because the regional impacts of growth dramatically affect the commuting times of Cary citizens and the state road system does not conform to municipal or ETJ boundaries, there are occasions when it might be helpful for the Town to expend funds outside of its city limits and ETJ in order to complete expanded roadway networks.

Also related to roads but this time to help the Town achieve a high level of service to citizens in a prompt, reliable, responsive and cost-effective manner, Cary is asking the delegation to support its request to use video cameras for traffic signal enforcement at signalized intersections. Allowing the Town to have "red light cameras" will provide increased, efficient enforcement of traffic laws, provide significant deterrent to traffic violations, and decrease the cost of improving safety on the Town's thoroughfare system. Several jurisdictions in the state already have the authority to use cameras for traffic violations, and the results have been positive.

In addition to asking the delegation to support new ideas, the Town is also asking the group not to support something new in at least one case. Because of the costs to all citizens and the resulting poor urban planning, the Town is opposing legislation that might create any municipality on its boundaries, such as the incorporation of Swift Creek or Green Level.

Finally, the Town is asking the Wake delegation to support the North Carolina League of Municipalities’ legislative agenda, which encompasses a broad range of issues that are important to all local governments in North Carolina. These are divided into these categories: 1) finance, administration and intergovernmental relations, 2) community and economic development, 3) energy, environment and natural resources, and 4) transportation, communications and public safety.

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