Issue link: http://townofcary.uberflip.com/i/791946
CHAPTER 1:FOUNDATIONS CARY IN CONTEXT Cary is located in heart of the Research Triangle Region of North Carolina. Neighboring communi es directly adjacent to Cary include Apex, Morrisville, Raleigh, and por ons of unincorporated Wake County. Cary is a short drive from the Research Triangle Park and Raleigh Durham Interna onal Airport. This plan focuses not just on the Town of Cary, but more appropriately on Cary's en re land planning area. This area is a boundary that outlines the outermost extent of where the Town of Cary may grow in the future. According to agreements with neighboring jurisdic ons, Cary cannot extend beyond this boundary. The land planning area consists of four dis nct geographies: Town of Cary Corporate Limits This is the formal area known as the Town of Cary. The Town provides u lity services within this area and plans and zones for all land within the Town limits. Residents living in Cary pay Town taxes and can vote for Town Council members. Town of Cary Extraterritorial Jurisdic on (ETJ) These are special planning areas granted jointly by the Town and Wake County as permi ed by the State of North Carolina. ETJ areas lie outside of the Town's corporate limits. The purpose of ETJ in North Carolina is to allow for municipali es to plan for areas that may become part of the community's corporate limits in the foreseeable future and that may require public u lity services, such as potable water and sanitary sewer. Proper es in the ETJ are planned and zoned for by the Town of Cary; however, residents living in the ETJ are not Cary ci zens and they do not pay Town taxes, nor can they vote for Town Council members. The ETJ does have representa on on the Town of Cary's Planning and Zoning Board. CARY'S PLANNING AREA Town of Cary Urban Services Boundary These are special planning areas designated by Wake County for the Town of Cary and the other 11 municipali es in the County. Cary's Urban Services Boundary is a geographic area con guous to the Town's corporate limits and ETJ in which Wake County has determined that the Town may someday provide public u li es. Chatham County – Town of Cary Joint Planning Area Chatham County does not define formal Urban Services Areas for its municipali es. However, the Chatham-Cary Joint Land Use Plan, adopted June 2012, effec vely iden fies the por on of Chatham County that might someday be served by, or is eligible to be served by the Town of Cary for public u lity services. This area is included within the Cary land planning area. Research Triangle Region 4