The Cary Community Plan, adopted January 24, 2017, is the comprehensive plan for the Town of Cary. This plan is the result of several years of work, unprecedented community input, and dozens of meetings and workshops. It sets out a long-term vision, policies, and strategic actions with a time horizon out to 2040. 

The Cary Community Plan is a living document and as part of the process it is currently being reviewed - visit our Imagine Cary Community Plan Interim Update.   

The Cary Community Plan consolidates and replaces several individual plans that have guided Cary’s growth over the past 20 years, including:

  • Land Use Plan
  • Open Space Plan
  • Northwest Area Plan
  • Southwest Area Plan
  • Southeast Area Plan
  • Town Center Area Plan
  • Bicycle Plan
  • Pedestrian Plan
  • Chatham Joint Land Use Plan
  • Historic Preservation Master Plan
  • Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Master Plan
  • Comprehensive Transportation Plan

The Cary Community Plan covers the entire planning area of Cary, an area of nearly 53,000 acres. 

The plan is divided into ten chapters. Each chapter presents background information on challenges and opportunities facing Cary, followed by policy and intent statements to address them. Chapters end with a set of strategic initiatives and actions to carry out the policy direction. Chapter 9 combines all implementation steps in one place to guide upcoming activities. The new plan articulates an overarching strategy for addressing these important components of the community, and builds upon past planning success.

Review individual chapters, appendices and maps by clicking on the applicable links to the right or view the Plan in our on-screen flip book below: 

View the Plan as an On-screen Flip Book

Note: Those using screen readers or other text-based reading programs can access the text-only version or download the full PDF by selecting the associated icons in the menu at the top of the flipbook.

open book
Part 1: Chapters 1-5   
Part 2: Chapters 6-10