At hearing on southeast Cary rezoning, council members ask developers for more
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Why we did this story: The typical home value in Cary is $634,124, according to Zillow, putting a house out of reach of many would-be buyers. Rents can also challenge many people who want to live in Cary and across the Triangle.
Why this story matters: Developers are proposing up to 370 multi-family units and additional housing built by Habitat for Humanity on a 31-acre site between Piney Plains Road and U.S. 1.
What will happen next: Town Council members and neighbors want more guarantees on affordability within the project. Read what’s at stake in our story.
Developers hoping to build multifamily units in southeast Cary received a list of requests from residents and Town Council members during a Thursday night public hearing.
Despite general support for the developers’ affordable-housing offer, some residents and the council asked for a guaranteed minimum number of affordable units, more details on road safety and housing that better blends with surrounding neighborhoods.
Pre-pandemic proposal
In 2019, Piney Plains 2016, LLC, and John Trevor Colvin asked to rezone 31 acres between Piney Plains Road and U.S. 1 from office and institutional to mixed use. The developers, which also include national real estate firm Alliance Residential, plan to build up to 370 multifamily units in 10 buildings on the land. The rezoning request stalled during the pandemic.
The Piney Plains Road lot adjoins neighborhoods to the west and southeast. The former Crossroads Ford Service Center sits directly to the east. In the north, the N.C. Department of Transportation is preparing to add on- and off-ramps from U.S. 1.
In addition to providing 31,000 square feet of community gathering space and a partial greenway in the site’s northeastern corner, the developers plan to keep 5% of the multifamily rental units priced for people making 80% of the area median income for 30 years, according to town and zoning application documents.
The developers also intend to donate land to Habitat for Humanity for 16 townhouses, attorney Jason Barron of Morningstar Law Group said. Those would also be priced for people at 80% of the area median income, he said.
“It is a tremendous opportunity to build progress in place,” he said. “An opportunity to build equity and an opportunity to build homeownership.”
Several people at the meeting supported the project because of its affordable housing, including Patricia Burch, chief executive officers of Habitat for Humanity of Wake County, and Leslie Covington, executive director of The Carying Place. Many audience members also held signs saying “Yes to Affordable Housing.”
Skeptics want affordable housing guarantee
But some were skeptical.
“This proposal speaks of a maximum of 16 [affordable] units, but has no commitment on a minimum,” said Wynwood South resident Prad Nadakuduty. “The developer could get away with building zero.”
Nadakuduty also said the developers’ application provides few details about the Habitat for Humanity area compared to the multifamily rental side. They effectively split the land into townhouse and multifamily rental halves, the latter of which would have an “outrageous” 24 units per acre housing density, he said.
Town Council members referred to Nadakuduty’s comment during the rest of the hearing. Members Jennifer Bryson Robinson, Lori Bush, Michelle Craig and Sarika Bansal all said the developer should guarantee a minimum number of affordable townhouses as the rezoning continues.
Some speakers from the Wellington South and Wynwood South neighborhoods said they were concerned about the multifamily units fitting in with surrounding homes.
Asif Khan, who also lives in Wynwood South, said the developer should transition from single-family and town homes to multifamily apartments in the southeast half of the development. He also wants shorter height restrictions for the multifamily rentals. The developers have proposed 75-foot maximums, but Khan said 50 feet would be better for blending with surrounding neighborhoods.
Proposal moves to Planning and Zoning Board
Other neighbors said they were worried about environmental impacts too. Paving over existing wetlands could cause stormwater management issues, and removing trees could also increase temperatures in the area, they said.
Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said the town requires developers to prepare for “hundred-year storms,” severe rainfall events that statistically happen 1% of the time. He agreed that the developer should consider more transitional housing types and heights.
Cary’s Planning and Zoning Board will consider the proposal next, before it comes back to Town Council in the coming months. Weinbrecht encouraged residents to collaborate with Morningstar and the developers in the process, especially after one speaker criticized the law group’s communication with neighbors.
“Good outcomes never come with this going on,” he said. “It comes with working together. In the end, you still might not like it, and that’s fine.”
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This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 1:31 PM.
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