Title
Vote to approve a Legislative request by Toll Southeast LP Company Inc. for a map amendment to the Chatham Cary Joint Land Use Plan for parcel 19986, being approximately 6.5 acres, located at 955 Earnest Jones Rd, from Very Low Density Residential to Low Density Residential
Abstract
Introduction & Background: Chatham County received an application from Toll Brothers Developers for a Chatham Cary Joint Land Use Plan amendment to change the Land Use Map designation of parcel 19986. The 6.5-acre parcel is currently designated as Very Low Density Residential (VLDR), and the request is to change it to Low Density Residential (LDR).
The parcel to the north of the property is owned by the applicant and is already designated as LDR. The applicant wishes to match the designations to maintain continuity and to aid in the site planning once the Cary applications have been approved. The applicant has submitted an annexation request and conditional district rezoning application to the Town of Cary, which is being processed concurrently with this application.
The Town of Cary would have planning jurisdiction over the parcels once they are annexed into the town, and the zoning district for these parcels would limit the density to 1.2 units per acre.
Very Low Density Residential (VLDR) recommends 1 acre lots within the Chatham County planning jurisdiction, but the plan encourages annexation into Cary if on the east side of the rural buffer boundary. Town of Cary can support clustering of homes and larger density because of available utilities. This property is adjacent to the Cary corporate limits and is within the east side of the rural buffer boundary. Low Density Residential can support up to 2 units per acre with a mix of housing types.
Discussion & Analysis: The process for Chatham County to amend the Joint Land Use Plan essentially follows the same process as a rezoning. The site was posted with public hearing signs, and the adjoining property owners were notified. The county has to finish the process before the Cary can approve the annexations and rezoning applications through their process.
The Public Hearing was held at the Board of Commissioners’ regular meeting on April 20th, 2026. There were no public comments on the item. The attorney representing the Applicant gave a brief presentation to the commissioners as well. She informed them the plan is to build 27 homes with an overall density of 1.26 units per acre. She also explained that the applicant was committing to added riparian buffers, a community gathering space, and construction of a greenway segment to connect park property with the American Tobacco Trail.
The commissioners had a few procedural questions. Commissioner Howard asked how large the other parcel was, and the applicant explained that the total acreage for the project was about 21 acres. However, not all the larger parcels would be used because of environmentally sensitive areas. Commissioner Gomez Flores asked what the built upon area (BUA) limits for the site were. Jason Sullivan answered that the county doesn’t regulate BUA in residential developments, using instead a net density calculation. There would be no BUA limits on the site. Cary will be handling the zoning applications for the project and will control the density.
Commissioner Delaney asked about a few of the parcels to the south of the property. The applicant explained that one of the parcels was a cemetery and would not be disturbed. The other parcel was an old access easement, and the remaining properties are owned by the Town of Cary for a future park.
The Planning Board members in attendance did not have any questions or comments.
This project was on the agenda for the May 5th Planning Board meeting. There were no comments from the public regarding the application. Planning Staff gave a brief presentation explaining the JLUP amendment process in general and some specifics to this application. The applicant’s representative, Ashley Honeycutt Terrazas, also gave a presentation.
The planning board had some discussion to clarify the process for JLUP amendments, and what the overall plan for the property was. Ms. Honeycutt Terrazas explained the developer’s goal of building a subdivision on the land, but that all of that would be handled through the Town of Cary once the JLUP was amended. In general, there were no concerns. The item was recommended for approval by unanimous vote.
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan: N/A
Budgetary Impact: N/A
Recommendation/Motion: Vote to approve a legislative request by Toll Southeast LP Company Inc. for a map amendment to the Chatham Cary Joint Land Use Plan for parcel 19986, being approximately 6.5 acres, located at 955 Earnest Jones Rd, from Very Low Density Residential to Low Density Residential and to adopt the associated resolution approving the amendment.