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(A) Purpose and Intent
The purpose of the Thoroughfare Overlay is to provide orderly development along controlled/limited access highways, to encourage the most appropriate use of adjacent lands, to maintain the scenic natural beauty of the area, and to promote the safe and efficient movement of traffic. These thoroughfares commonly establish an image of the quality of life in the Town for visitors and residents alike. Preservation of this natural beauty is required to enhance trade, capital investment, tourism, and the general welfare. All development within this overlay district shall comply with the regulations of this Section.
(B) Location of District
The Thoroughfare Overlay is established along both sides of existing and planned controlled/limited access highways within the Town's jurisdiction and Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Area, as indicated on the Zoning Map and/or Official Transportation Maps (e.g., Thoroughfare Plan Maps). Such highways include, but are not limited to, US 1, US 64, I-40, Cary Town Boulevard (between I-40 and NE Maynard Road), and the Western Wake Expressway. The Thoroughfare Overlay covers all lands within 100 feet of the right-of-way along both sides of each controlled-access highway, except at interchanges, where the overlay district shall extend back to the established point of the intersecting roadway where the controlled access ends or begins (see paragraph (D) below).
(C) Plan Approval Required
All development within the Thoroughfare Overlay shall require submission of a subdivision plan or site plan in accordance with Section 3.9 of this Ordinance, and approval of such plan by the appropriate decision-making body.
(D) Buffer Requirement
(1) General Requirement
A buffer strip, with a width extending 100 feet from and parallel to the right-of-way boundary of the controlled access highway, including the right-of-way for interchange ramps, shall be maintained on all property within the Thoroughfare Overlay.
(2) Interchange Requirements
A buffer strip width extending 50 feet from and parallel to the right of way for interchange ramps shall be maintained on all property within the Thoroughfare Overlay.
(3) Reductions
The Town Council may reduce the required width of this buffer strip as part of its approval of the site and/or subdivision plan, taking into consideration: the topography of the area; surrounding land uses, particularly residential uses; the actual location of the corridor; the size and shape of land parcels affected by the buffer; and whether the buffer requirement would render the entire property unusable. In reducing the width of the buffer strip, the Town Council shall ensure that the applicant will provide appropriate landscaping meeting the requirements of paragraph (4) below. In no event, however, shall the Town Council reduce the required width of the buffer strip to less than 30 feet. See Section 3.19, Minor Modifications.
(4) Maintenance of Existing Vegetation
Within the required buffer strip, all existing vegetation shall be maintained in a natural, undisturbed state and, unless the existing natural vegetation provides such a buffer, the applicant shall install and maintain an Opaque Type A buffer meeting the requirements of Section 7.2.3 of this Ordinance. The owners of the property are responsible for maintenance of the buffer and the consequences resulting from damage to the buffer in accordance with Section 7.2.13, Maintenance Responsibility, Replacement of Damaged Vegetation, and Associated Fines.
(5) Development within Buffer
No development shall be allowed within the required buffer strip. However, the decision-making body may, in approving the site and/or subdivision plan for the property, permit the construction of streets or easements through the buffer strip upon finding that such construction is necessary for safe ingress, egress, or utility service to the site. The nature and limits of such construction shall be designated on the approved site and/or subdivision plan.
(6) Enforcement
Disturbance of buffers required under this section shall constitute a violation of this Ordinance and shall be subject to appropriate penalties and remedies set forth in Chapter 11. For purposes of this section, “disturbance” shall be defined as any action that results in injury or harm to required trees, shrubbery, or other vegetation.
(E) Variances
No variance shall be granted that modifies the width of the buffer, or the amount or type of vegetation required under this Section, but the Town Council may grant modifications to these requirements in some circumstances (see paragraph (D)(2) above).
Cary, NC Land Development Ordinance On-line VIC Version - This site last updated 3/4/2008
Note: This is not the official version of the Cary Land Development Ordinance