A Director’s Modification is an administrative process that allows the Planning Director or designee to consider minor encroachments into building setbacks when there is a physical hardship with the property or a construction error that cannot be corrected by other means.

The encroachment may not exceed 15% of the required setback and may not involve more than two setbacks.    Encroachments greater than 15% must be considered by the Zoning Board of Adjustment through a variance process. 

This process cannot be used for encroachments into rights of way, easements, or to cross over a property line with a structure.

Refer to Cary’s Land Development ordinance LDO 3.19.3 for a full description of the criteria.

You must schedule a pre-application conference with staff prior to submitting an application for a Director's Modification.  At this meeting, you will learn about the process and limitations of a director's modification.  Following the meeting, if you believe you meet the criteria, and this is your best path forward, you may apply.   

Email 311@carync.gov  and request a Director's Modification Pre-Application Conference in the subject line. Include the building permit number and attach the PDF survey to the email.  

Staff will review the information and will reach out to you to schedule the conference.  

Applications are reviewed electronically. Set up an account on our Electronic Plan Review Portal using your email address.  (Instructions for submitting an electronic application) Once your account is verified by email, log in to the portal and fill out the form by answering all questions.  After you complete the application, you will have an opportunity to upload the required files (see section below).

Select the following responses to get the correct application started:

Complete the electronic application and include the following information:

• Property address
• Property’s 10-digit Parcel Identification Number (PIN 10)(Find your PIN 10 on Cary’s property research map or the Wake County Real Estate or Chatham County Real Estate)
• Names of all property owners as listed on the county property records
• Professional survey or plot plan showing all existing structures and the proposed or existing encroachment into the building setback (upload a PDF file)
• Justification Statement explaining the hardship or the necessity for this modification (upload this PDF form after you have completed it)
• In some cases, the Planning Director may request proof that the applicant received approval from an HOA or adjacent property owner before granting an encroachment.

Surveys are private documents and not maintained by the Town or the Register of Deeds.

Often, lots are surveyed at the time of a real estate transaction or prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy

For residential parcels, homeowners should check to see if a survey was included in the closing package when they purchased their home.  Here is a sample of a residential survey/plot plan. 

If you do not have a survey, you must hire a surveyor to survey your lot and identify all existing structures. The survey you submit with your application needs to show the location and size of the proposed or existing encroachment, and the distance to the property line.

Please be aware that when a structure is within five feet of a required setback, Cary requires an As Built Survey following the completion of the work to confirm the project complies with the specifications.  Ask your surveyor to calculate the cost of both surveys.

After you submit your application electronically, you should receive an auto-generated email indicating the application was received.   If you do not receive this email, log back into your account to confirm you submitted a complete application.

Within two to three business days, staff will review your preliminary application and email instructions on how to pay your fees online.    Once the paid fees are confirmed, staff will forward your application to the Planning Department for review. 

If Cary approves the modification, we will send it to the county where the property is located to be recorded with the Register of Deeds.

After the modification is recorded, you will receive an email with the recorded document.  Adjoining property owners and the property owner will be mailed a notification, and there will be a 30-day appeal period.  

If no appeals are filed, you will be notified of the expired appeal period.  At this time you may:

• Apply for your building permit, include the approved recorded document 
• Resume work
• Request final inspections. 

The cost of applying for the Director’s Modification is $400.00 dollars.  This fee also covers the cost of recording the approved document with the Register of Deeds.  This fee is non-refundable even if the modification is denied. 

There is a 30-day period during which any decision by a Town of Cary official may be appealed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. For example, an adjacent property owner, who feels a building addition is too close to a shared property line, may submit an “Appeal of an Administrative Decision.”  If this occurs, staff will either not issue a building permit or, if the permit was already issued, halt building inspections, and not issue a Certificate of Occupancy until the appeal is resolved.  

We recommend not applying for the building permit until 30 days after the director’s modification is recorded with the Register of Deeds.