Overview
Celebrating and preserving the unique character of every Cary neighborhood is an important part of maintaining our town’s appeal. In Cary, our families live in homes large and small, separate and attached, fixed and on wheels, historic and contemporary. And whether you own or live in a Cary apartment, townhouse, mobile home, duplex, or single family residence, we believe you have the same rights to – and responsibilities for – a home that’s safe, healthy, and attractive.
In 2004, the Town Council established the Town of Cary’s Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative (HNI) – a multi-pronged effort to make sure that every person in Cary has the opportunity to live in a place that meets our state’s and community’s basic standards for healthy living.
Some of the existing
conditions that HNI will help change include:
• Broken windows
• Rotted stairs, porches and railings
• Holes in roofs or walls
• Abandoned structures
• Junk vehicles
• Inoperable or inadequate plumbing
• Garbage, which can attract disease-spreading bugs and vermin
• Graffiti
The Healthy Neighborhoods team includes staff from the Police Department, Solid Waste, Affordable Housing, minimum housing and other code enforcement, and the Town Manager’s Office. Staff from other divisions are involved as needed.
The Healthy Neighborhoods Philosophy
Most Cary citizens want to do the right thing, for themselves and their neighbors. Often when properties begin to deteriorate, it’s because a property owner or resident has fallen on hard times, is sick, or simply needs another pair of hands to make things right again. And sometimes it’s just a matter of not knowing what our state and community codes and laws are. With that in mind, Cary’s Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative begins with education and includes lots of avenues for assistance. If left no other option, the HNI team will employ enforcement in our effort to keep every neighborhood healthy.
Top 7 Community Standards
Since most of the issues referred to the Healthy Neighborhoods team come up over and over again, we’ve listed the top seven so that you’ll know what’s expected of you and your neighbors as we all work together to keep Cary the greatest place to live, work, and raise a family.
Getting Help
If you live in a home or own property that’s not healthy or safe, or if you’re having trouble keeping up your property’s appearance, we have some resources to help.
Neighbor to Neighbor
If the kind of help your property needs can be accomplished with a few extra hands, you may want to investigate Neighbor to Neighbor. It matches volunteer talent in the community with your particular need.
Grants
If the kind of help your property needs requires materials or expertise that must be paid for, you may want to investigate our Housing Rehabilitation Program. This program is for low-income homeowners who need one or two major repairs made to their home. Deferred loans of up to $10,000 are made available to eligible homeowners for such items as roof replacement, heating and air conditioning upgrades, or repairs to the plumbing or electrical systems. Assistance is in the form of a deferred loan. The homeowner makes no payments and no interest is charged. If the homeowner remains in the house for a period of five years after repairs are made, the loan is converted to a grant.
For neighborhood-wide improvements, check out the Town’s Neighborhood Improvement Grant Program. It provides small, matching grants to qualified neighborhood organizations for neighborhood improvement projects. Grants are typically limited to between $500 and $5,000 on a matching funds basis.
The Facade Improvement Program assists property and business owners within the Town Center Area Plan to undertake storefront or building front improvements.
Sharing Concerns
If your neighbor — or your landlord — isn’t doing his or her part to keep things healthy, safe, or attractive, your first step should be to discuss the problem face-to-face. We suggest doing it personally since e-mails and phone calls are often misinterpreted. Remember, most Cary citizens want to do the right thing; most people choose safety over danger, health over disease, and beauty over ugliness. Your neighbor probably isn’t aware of how much things have deteriorated or may just need a little help – or a friendly reminder – to make things better.
When talking isn’t
working, contact the Healthy Neighborhoods team. While you won’t
have to give your name, you will need to provide details about the problem:
> What’s the street address?
> Where’s the problem happening at that location (inside/outside,
front yard or side yard…)?
> How long has it been going on?
To share a concern by phone, call (919) 469-4006.
To share a concern via the Internet, e-mail healthyhome@townofcary.org.
Contact
Lana Hygh
Assistant to the Town Manager
Town Manager's Office
(919) 469-4006
lana.hygh@townofcary.org