Town of Cary
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Recruitment
Please note the 2026 active recruitment period closed on June 30, 2026. However, applications are accepted year-round to be considered in the next round of appointments.
If interested in additional volunteer opportunities, citizens are encouraged to sign up for email updates to be notified when opportunities become available.
Read more about the recruitment period and appointment process in our FAQs.
Boards, Commissions, and Committees Application
Commission Details, Current Membership Roster, and Application
Agenda and Minutes
Current Goals and Work Plan
Annual Report
Rules of Procedure
The Historic Preservation Commission of Cary was created by a resolution of the Town Council on June 26, 2014.
Mission Statement
The Cary Historic Preservation Commission works to preserve the historical, cultural and architectural heritage of our Town for future generations.
Life Span Statement
The Historic Preservation Commission is a standing commission which meets monthly. Commission members will reexamine their purpose every three years beginning in 2017.
Powers and Duties
The Historic Preservation Commission’s general scope of work is to identify and recommend Cary Historic Landmarks to Town Council for its review and approval and to review applications and hold quasi-judicial public hearings for proposed alterations to or demolition of Cary’s designated Local Historic Landmarks to ensure conformity with adopted design guidelines. (The National Register of Historic Places is a federal program that recognizes historically significant properties and is not administered by the Town.)
The Historic Preservation Commission shall have the following additional powers and duties within the Town’s zoning jurisdiction, to be carried out in accordance with the terms of the Cary Land Development Ordinance (LDO) and NCGS 160D-942.
Membership
The Historic Preservation Commission consists of seven regular members, one alternate member, and one ETJ alternate member. The Town Council designates one member as chairperson. Terms are for three years, except where unexpired terms are being filled. Members must be qualified based on special interest or experience in history, architecture, archaeology, or a related field.
Hearings and Plan Implementation
The Historic Preservation Commission shall hold quasi-judicial hearings (evidentiary hearings), and issue Certificates of Appropriateness based solely on the written and oral evidence presented for requests for major alterations or demolition of designated Cary Historic Landmarks, in a process described in LDO Section 3.27.2. In addition, the Historic Preservation Commission will act as an “involved party” in implementing recommendations of the Historic Preservation Master Plan as assigned in Chapter VI, “Plan Implementation.”
Meetings
The board meets monthly at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 316 N. Academy Street, and requires approximately 2 hours per month for meetings and study time prior to meetings. A quorum of at least four Commission members must be present. Commission members may be asked to participate in smaller work groups outside of their regularly scheduled meetings and may also spend several hours each month performing research.
All meetings are open to the public. Visit the Town's Web calendar to see a monthly listing of all Town of Cary public meetings, agendas, and to confirm meeting dates, times and locations.
Electronic Participation in Meetings
The Town of Cary allows you to electronically participate in some meetings of our appointed boards and commissions:
Board/Commission Members
Public
Active Committees of the Commission
National Preservation Month Committee
These meetings are public and listed on the Town's Calendar.
HPC members involved in this committee: Rachel Palisin, Michele Counter, and Julia Morrison.
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