Annexation Cases

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Please note that as of the October 22, 2015 Town Council Meeting, the final staff reports will be available when the Town Council meeting agenda is published. Please view the agenda on the Town's Agendas and Minutes Page.

Annexation is the process by which towns and cities extend their corporate limits to provide for the orderly extension of municipal services to areas that are becoming urbanized. In Cary they are referred to as Town-initiated and owner-initiated.

Since 1959, the North Carolina General Assembly has given cities and towns the authority to annex areas that meet specific standards as well as the steps to be followed and the responsibilities that cities and towns have to the properties that are annexed. For more than 30 years, annexations have occurred on a regular basis and are managed by the Planning and Development Services Department.

However; on January 24, 2013, the Cary Town Council approved the abandonment of "town-initiated" annexations due to recent changes in State annexation laws which no longer made them an effective tool for Town boundary extensions.

Owner-Initiated Annexations - If you own property that you’d like to see become part of Cary, your first step is to contact the Planning and Development Services Department at 311 (within Cary) or (919) 469-4000 (outside of Cary) to schedule a pre-application meeting with staff. Below is a list of procedures that will be followed for all annexation cases.

Procedures

*If the annexation request is associated with a rezoning, the annexation petition must be submitted with the rezoning application.

Pre-Application Meeting
A pre-application meeting is strongly requested to be held at least seven days before an application is filed. Please call 311 (within Cary) or (919) 469-4000 (outside of Cary) to schedule this meeting, where staff will ensure the property qualifies for annexation into Cary under State Law and ascertains if other amendments to current plans would be required.

Public Hearings
At least one public hearing is required. The Town Council holds this hearing. If further changes occur to the application, or a concurrent case related to the annexation, it must be addressed before the final Town Council hearing on adoption.

Town Council Decision
Town Council makes a decision on annexation cases by a simple majority vote.

Typically, an owner-initiated annexation petition is effective immediately upon adoption; however, the process can take as little as three months and up to six months. Once approved, the town will begin providing the following services:

weekly curbside solid waste, recycling and yard waste collection;
storm debris collection and street cleaning, including snow plowing;
annual curbside leaf collection;
street maintenance including pothole repair and resurfacing;
parks, recreation, and cultural resources activities as well as police and fire protection services from nationally accredited departments;
the opportunity to submit a request for sidewalks as well as water and sewer utilities; and
the right to vote in Town Council elections and the opportunity to be considered for citizen advisory boards and commissions.

Who May File Annexation Petitions

Once determined that the request is in keeping with law and policy, all legal owners of property within Cary or its extra-territorial jurisdiction, or any resident of the town or extra-territorial jurisdiction, may submit an annexation petition to the Planning and Development Services Department using the above schedule.

Annexation Petition

Annexation Process Flowchart