The New State Rezoning Law is Already Changing Cary Projects
| REZONING LAW | REGENCY PARKWAY |
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a substantial change to the way some properties can be redeveloped in Cary. We’re now starting to see that new law in practice.
North Carolina Regulatory Reform Act of 2026 requires Cary, Raleigh, and Charlotte to allow residential uses on qualifying commercial, business, and light industrial properties without going through a rezoning.
Basically, prior to this new law, if you wanted to turn an office building into apartments, you had to go through a rezoning process. That involved getting approval from the town and meeting with local residents. Now, they can skip that entire process.
Mayor Harold wrote on this blog that hundreds of parcels around town are potentially subject to the new law, and listed four rezoning cases. Interestingly, one of those rezoning cases is 24-REZ-06 Regency Multifamily, which is the example I used in the previous report.
24-REZ-06 is a fantastic example of how this law will change the way these things are done. This was a 245-unit proposal at 12010 Regency Parkway that entered Cary’s rezoning process in 2024.
It went through a neighborhood meeting and a Town Council public hearing, where residents spoke against the proposal. More than two years after the application was filed, the Town Council neither approved nor rejected it, and it remained in limbo.
Now, that multi-year process does not need to happen in similar cases, and according to the mayor’s notes, this particular case no longer needs a rezoning to proceed with the next steps.
I’m not a lawyer, but my original impression was that this property wouldn’t qualify, as the new law specifically excludes vacant parcels that have never been developed. There was an office development planned for this site, but it was never built. However, Cary specifically identified this project as one of the ones taking advantage of this new provision, so I’ll take it at face value for now and let you know if I find out more info about why it qualifies, assuming it actually does.