FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                              September 10, 2007

AREA CITIZENS INVITED TO GREEN LEVEL PRESERVATION OPEN HOUSE

Initiative aims to further protect history in one of only three National Register rural historic districts in Wake County

CARY, NC – Residents and landowners in the Green Level area of Wake County and other citizens interested in historic and rural preservation in western Cary are invited to a community open house for the “Green Level Preservation Initiative” on Thursday, September 13 at Crosspointe Church, 6911 Carpenter Fire Station Road, anytime 4-7 p.m.  While efforts to protect the Green Level area have been implemented in the past, including the National Register of Historic Places designation in 2001 and the Town of Cary’s Southwest Area Plan in 2004, the Green Level Preservation Initiative is being created to further protect the character and integrity of the Historic Green Level District – one of only three rural historic districts in Wake County.

During the meeting, Town of Cary staff and transportation planning consultants will talk with citizens about a proposed regulatory and policy initiative to protect historic homes and buildings within Green Level; a proposed Town initiative to preserve key rural uses, views and open spaces within Green Level; and the community’s preferences among three options for alignments and/or road widening options on Green Level Church Road.

While most of the land covered by the Initiative is not yet within Cary ’s corporate limits, Cary is responsible for its planning and preservation because the land not already in Cary is within Cary ’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.

“We are looking forward to this open exchange to talk with citizens about how they would like to preserve the cultural and environmental heritage of this historical part of Cary ,” said Principal Planner Scott Ramage.  “This meeting will help lay the foundation for the future of the Green Level community and its National Register Historic District.”

Following the open house, staff will share the feedback with the Town Council, who will then select a preferred approach for preserving historic structures, open spaces and views, and a preferred alignment and treatment for Green Level Church Road .  Then starting in early 2008, Town Staff will begin to draft the ordinances, regulations, programs and Transportation Plan amendments necessary to implement the preferred approaches.  Once the final drafts of the proposed changes are complete, the Town Council will conduct public hearings on the proposals. Full implementation of the preservation initiatives under consideration is expected to take several years.

Two consultants have been hired by the Town to implement the initiative.  Kimley-Horn and Associates of Cary has been retained for $33,600 to evaluate transportation options and provide feasibility and alignment studies within the Green Level area.  Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. of Durham has been retained to provide historic preservation expertise for both the Green Level historic district and the Carpenter Rural Historic District – a separate project that the Town is also studying for historic preservation.  The total budgeted contract amount is $30,999; however, a sizable a portion of that amount is for the Carpenter Rural Historic District. 

The Green Level area was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.  Then, the area was identified as a special open space and historic resource with the adoption of the Town’s Open Space and Historic Resources Plan in 2001.  Following the plan adoption, a “Rural Landscape Preservation Project” was undertaken by the Town in order to work with landowners in Green Level to identify the critical views and features of the rural district and to explore rural preservation approaches and tools.  In 2004, the Southwest Area Plan was adopted, which focused on incentive-based approaches for rural and historic preservation.  However, by spring 2007 it became apparent that voluntary and incentive-based approaches alone would not be sufficient to protect the character and integrity of Green Level.  Town Council directed staff to move forward with the Green Level Preservation Initiative at their July 10, 2007 , work session concerning Green Level.

For more, visit Green Level Historic Preservation at www.townofcary.org.

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