Cary Planning and Zoning Board approves R8CU rezoning for roughly 12.6‑acre site near American Tobacco Trail

The Cary Planning and Zoning Board on a voice vote approved a rezoning request for approximately 12.6 acres at 606 and 694 Pitard Sears Road, moving the parcel from Chatham County jurisdiction into Cary and applying R8CU zoning that limits the site to a maximum of 23 detached dwellings.

Principal planner Erin Puckett told the board the applicant’s revised request aligns with relevant chapters of the Cary Community Plan and the Chatham‑Cary joint land use plan. "The site is largely surrounded by existing Cary development and could therefore address the live chapter infill policy," Puckett said, and noted staff finds the proposed density (about 1.8 units per acre) consistent with the low‑density residential subdistrict.

The applicant offered a set of binding conditions intended to address neighbor concerns: a guaranteed minimum lot size of 8,000 square feet (up from an earlier 6,500‑sq‑ft proposal), wiring each two‑car garage for potential future electric vehicle charging, locating all required perimeter buffers in common open space to help preserve tree canopy, widening the frontage bike lane to five feet, and installing a mid‑block pedestrian crossing with a rectangular rapid‑flashing beacon (RRFB) subject to NCDOT approval.

Worth Mills, the applicant’s attorney with Longleaf Law Partners, described the changes after neighborhood meetings: "We then amended this application to request the R8 zoning, to allow up to 23 single family detached homes," he said, adding the revisions were made following meetings with adjacent neighborhoods and council discussion.

Board members pressed staff and transportation staff on multi‑use path and bike treatments. "The sharers are probably gonna be centered in the lane," said Priyatham Kondo of the transportation department, describing the likely ‘‘shared‑lane’’ marking treatment given existing piecemeal construction and current resurfacing constraints.

Members also discussed how the town calculates density. Puckett clarified that the density calculation is a gross acreage measurement; lot sizes will be calculated exclusive of any stream buffer, a provision that the applicant retained in the zoning conditions.

Neighbors’ concerns — summarized in the staff report and reiterated by board members — centered on traffic and pedestrian safety, drainage and stormwater control, loss of open space, and compatibility with adjacent neighborhood lot sizes. Puckett reminded the board that any development plan will be required to meet Cary’s stormwater standards, including mitigation up to the 100‑year storm.

Committee member Sean McAndrew moved that the board find case 25REZ05 consistent with the comprehensive plan and applicable plans; Chris Johnson seconded. After brief supportive remarks the board voted; one member recorded a "nay," and the motion carried.

The rezoning approval sends the matter to Cary Town Council for final consideration; any subsequent development plan must satisfy the conditions the board recorded and applicable town standards.