CARY TO HOLD INFORMATION SESSION ON DRAFT OF PART 2 OF ANNEXATION PROGRAM DOCUMENT

CARY, NC – The Town of Cary continues its month-long comment period on a draft of Part 2 of a proposed annexation document Tuesday night with a public information open house where citizens can review a list and map of specific parcels that the Town might consider for future annexation and the likely timing for such action if it were to occur.  Citizens can drop by the open house anytime between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on January 24, 2006 at the Cary Senior Center , located at 120 Maury Odell Place in Bond Park off High House Road in Cary .  

“We want to be clear that the Town has no plans to initiate any annexations at this time,” said Associate Planning Director Ricky Barker.  “Our open house is a time for citizens to review staff proposals on a policy document that would guide the Town’s annexation process if our elected officials decide to move forward in the future.”

While not required by State law, Cary ’s new draft Annexation Program has been developed in two parts at the direction of the Cary Town Council to help articulate and provide for a predictable process for future expansion of Town borders.

Part 1 of the draft Annexation Program, which was developed with significant citizen input and adopted by the Town Council last May, establishes annexation policies and evaluation criteria to objectively identify which properties in Cary’s existing urban service area are appropriate to annex under State law and why.  Part 1 gives residents and property owners potentially impacted by future Town-initiated annexations details on the implications of annexation, the costs and benefits, and what to expect in the process that is prescribed in State law.

After Council's adoption of Part 1, staff began work on Part 2 of the program, which takes the adopted policies from Part 1 and applies them to all properties in Cary ’s existing urban service area to generate a map of properties that potentially qualify for annexation – 3,243 qualifying parcels.   Part 2 also suggests a timeframe for each parcel’s potential annexation:  2007-2011, 2012-2016, and beyond 2016.  Part 2 calls for a review and update of each parcel’s annexation qualification and timing no less than every two years.

“While Part 2 identifies 3,243 parcels that currently qualify for potential future annexation, the document itself does not initiate any annexation process; it simply provides information for property owners and a framework for possible future Council action,” Barker reiterated.

Property owners have three ways in January to review and give feedback on the draft of Part 2 of the Town of Cary ’s Annexation Program. 

In addition to Tuesday night’s open house, interested parties can review the draft anytime at www.townofcary.org and e-mail comments to annexation@townofcary.org, or they can call the Planning Department at (919) 469-4082 to request a copy, ask questions, and provide feedback.  All comments must be received by January 31, 2006 in order to be evaluated and considered for incorporation into the final draft, which the Cary Town Council is expected to consider in February.

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