Town of Cary
Home MenuRiparian and Urban Transition Buffers
What are Buffers?
Riparian buffers are vegetated areas adjacent to streams, lakes, or wetlands that are specially managed to help maintain the health of the land and water body. These buffers help to filter nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorous, carried in stormwater runoff. Preserving vegetation within the buffers helps to stabilize eroding banks and prevent sediment from entering water bodies. Buffers also provide shade, shelter, and food for fish and other aquatic organisms.
How are Buffers Protected in North Carolina?
In response to water quality issues related to excessive nutrients in the Neuse River estuary, the State of North Carolina approved the Neuse Buffer Rule on July 22, 1997. The Rule requires 50-foot riparian buffers on streams, lakes, ponds, and other water bodies throughout the Neuse River watershed, including eastern and central Cary.
On August 11, 2009, the State approved the Jordan Lake Buffer Rule to address excessive nutrients in Jordan Lake, an important drinking water supply reservoir for many central North Carolina communities, including Cary. This Rule requires 50-foot riparian buffers on water bodies within the Jordan Lake watershed. Together, the Neuse Buffer Rule and the Jordan Lake Buffer Rule are commonly referred to as the “State Buffer Rules.”
What are Cary-Specific Buffer Limitations?
To further protect these finite natural resources, Cary adopted additional requirements. Section 14.6 of Cary’s Land Development Ordinance (LDO) requires Urban Transition Buffers (UTB) within Cary’s town limits and extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Specifically, Cary requires an additional 50-foot UTB beyond the State’s 50-foot buffer, creating a cumulative 100-foot buffer for all United States Geological Survey (USGS) mapped intermittent and perennial streams in both the Neuse and Jordan Lake watersheds.
Buffers have multiple zones with varying restrictions based on the proposed activity and location. Zone 1 and Zone 2 comprise the State’s required 50-foot buffer while Zone 3 represents the Cary UTB required under section 14.6 of our LDO. (see diagram below)
NOTE: The UTB only applies to streams shown on the most recent version of the USGS topographic map. Additionally, single-family lots platted prior to July 27, 2000, are exempt from the UTB requirements.
Approvals for Buffer Impacts
In the Jordan Lake Watershed and in the Urban Transition Buffer (UTB) throughout Cary's jurisdiction, any proposed buffer impacts must be documented and approved through the Pre-Construction Notification Form.
Assistance
To determine whether a usage such as removing vegetation, adding a deck or patio, or constructing a bridge over a stream is allowed in a zone visit the Table of Uses in Section 14.6.5 of Cary’s LDO.
The Neuse Buffer Rule is administered by the NC Department of Environmental Quality while the Jordan Lake Buffer Rule is administered by Cary.
Please contact staff via 311 or (919) 469-4000 outside town limits if you want to know whether you have buffers on your property, or if a particular activity/project is allowed within a buffer.
Additional Resources
Contact
311 or (919) 469-4000 outside Cary limits