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Cary Community Plan 2-23-17 Part 2

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8. SERVE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Fiscal Impacts of Development and Aging Infrastructure Long-term maintenance costs of infrastructure systems are important to consider when planning for future growth. 246 Just as Cary is seeing its housing and commercial developments begin to age, the vast infrastructure network that serves these developments is also aging. For example, the Town has over 280 miles of storm drain pipe, some of which dates back to the nineteenth century. This network, in addi on to other major infrastructure networks, will not only need rou ne maintenance but will also need rehabilita on or replacement over me. The Town of Cary has the opportunity to consider the fiscal impacts of public infrastructure and land development pa erns. Having experienced rapid outward growth over the past half -century, Cary has benefited from new high-value development that typically covered the cost of the addi onal infrastructure needed to support new developments such as residen al subdivisions or shopping centers. Within the next 10 years, the Town will begin to exhaust new greenfield development opportuni es and face a paradigm shi : It will need to meet the challenge of sustainably maintaining and replacing infrastructure within already developed areas in the face of increasing maintenance costs. A large and growing number of studies have determined that there are public fiscal implica ons to the way that ci es grow and develop. Municipal fiscal impacts are largely determined by types of land use, property value, types and size of housing, density of development, loca on, and distance from community facili es. These development characteris cs impact the cost of municipal services including roads, water/wastewater, stormwater, fire and police protec on, and solid waste collec ons. Long term costs associated with providing future services and maintenance must be considered. Acknowledging that an increasing popula on is a natural outcome of being part of an economically thriving region, the Town has a major responsibility to plan and provide its essen al public services for this growing residen al and employment base. Services include roads, water, wastewater, solid waste, emergency services, and balancing and mi ga ng the effects of all of these on the environment. This popula on growth will require that we meet the needs of today without compromising our ability to meet the needs of those in the future. We must consider the impacts of our decisions on all of the different systems that we rely on, and we must innovate to be as efficient as possible in delivering the services that our ci zens and businesses rely on.

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