Planning panel backs Weston PDD amendment to allow multifamily at 7001 Weston Parkway

The Cary Planning and Zoning Board voted to find consistent a rezoning proposal to amend the Weston Planned Development District for about 8.7 acres at 7001 Weston Parkway, advancing a plan to replace a vacant office building with multifamily housing and limited commercial space.

Planning manager Puckett told the board the proposal would allow up to 275 multifamily units and between 1,500 and 5,000 square feet of nonresidential space vertically integrated into the buildings. Buildings would be limited to a maximum of five stories and 75 feet under the draft conditions. The applicant proposes a 75-foot building setback along the southeastern portion of the site, vegetated buffers, a proposed evergreen screen at the southern edge next to the Bexley subdivision, and a mixed-use building envelope 400 feet from both Weston Parkway and Norwell Boulevard.

Applicant representative Jamie Schwather of Parker Poe said the plan responds to neighborhood concerns and the updated Imagine Cary community plan, noting the office building has been vacant since last year. Schwather described changes made since a prior public hearing including removing townhomes as a permitted use, tightening where the multifamily buildings may be sited, increasing setbacks and buffers, and committing to at least 5 percent of units rented at 80 percent of area median income for 30 years.

Board members asked technical questions about the relationship of the 75-foot setback to existing parking and vegetation, the results and visibility of balloon tests the applicant performed, parking and traffic impacts, and the proposed 12-foot sidepath that could be reduced to 8 feet if conflicts arise. Staff said parking would default to existing Land Development Ordinance requirements and that the principal-use building envelope and 400-foot condition are written commitments tied to the rezoning.

Members who spoke in favor framed the proposal as a lower-impact alternative to what could be built by right under the original office entitlement and cited the applicant's screening, setback and transportation commitments as improvements. There was no recorded opposition during the board's voice vote. The board's favorable finding advances the proposal to the council for final action.

The board's approval was procedural — it found the rezoning consistent with the comprehensive plan and related policies; final design details, development-plan engineering, and any required off-site easements will be resolved at subsequent review stages.