95-home Haw Creek development proposed during neighborhood meetings amid stern criticism

ASHEVILLE - On a cold late November evening, around 125 residents and community members filed into the Evergreen Community Charter gym in Haw Creek.

On one side of the gym, a climbing wall rises above the crowd. Printed on top of the wall are the words "humility," "self-reliance" and "realization." On another side, a small projector sat with a presentation with many people waiting eagerly, chit-chatting to those around them.

This is the scene the Nov. 28 neighborhood meeting on a freshly proposed Haw Creek development that would bring a total of 95 new homes to 767 New Haw Creek Road, near Evergreen Community Charter School. It was the second in a series of neighborhood meetings, alongside another meeting presented to the Haw Creek Community Association.

As proposed during the meeting, the development dubbed "The Meadows at Haw Creek" would bring 60 homes to the east side of the area and 35 townhomes on the west side. Current plans also indicate the development of a public greenway. The parcel is 26.23 acres, according to Buncombe County tax records.

The development has been proposed by L B Jackson and Company, an Asheville-based family developer that has placed the $3.4 million property under contract. Civil Design Concepts has been hired to develop the project plans for the development.

Chris Day, a civil engineer from Civil Design Concepts, was the first to speak to the crowd on the development, speaking as both as an engineer hired to work on the development and as a Haw Creek resident.

After a brief introduction, Day already knew one of the big concerns — traffic.

"Having students at Evergreen, I personally full well understand what a nightmare the traffic is to get out from Bell Road onto New Haw Creek when Evergreen is letting out or basketball games are letting out," Day said.

However, Day continued.

"In all honesty, I think residential homes in a location here has the opportunity to create a wonderful life for families like ours," Day said. "Where kids can walk to school, the ball fields, the pool and, with city funded sidewalks, to downtown Haw Creek."

"We need housing for families, not second homes for out-of-towners. Do I think this project is too big? I think we as a community need to reflect on that question collectively and ask ourselves what feels appropriate in this location," he said.

After asking the crowd to look further at the future of Haw Creek and encouraging the crowd to update the "outdated" neighborhood plan, Day said he had to leave for a Boy Scout awards ceremony. The crowd was silent.

Warren Sugg, a project manager with CDC who had just arrived from presenting a Zoom neighborhood meeting on the proposal, went on to deliver a presentation on the preliminary plans.

When Sugg eventually reached the slides containing a map of the development, the crowd collectively gasped.

Environmental concerns, something 'in the middle'

During the meeting, the lively crowd largely spoke against the development for its size and the lack of traffic control for New Haw Creek Road, which was at one point described as a "disaster" during peak hours of schools letting out.

After initial plans for the lot were presented by Sugg, an open comment period, which lasted a little over an hour, ensued. The period was filled with both passionate, heart-felt speeches opposing the project, along with raucous replies to Sugg's and developer Kevin Jackson's statements.

Despite disagreement, by the end the meeting, chairs were put away calmly and orderly.

Trip Huxley, a long-time Asheville resident, was the first to speak.

While noting its efforts to target missing middle housing, Huxley did not mince words about the proposal's efforts in addressing safety in the case of bad traffic or fires — of which the only one exit out of the development is to return to New Haw Creek Road at a stoplight or stop sign. It has not yet been determined which would be utilized, according to Sugg.

Huxley also mentioned the lack of preservation on the property, where wooded areas would be cut down in order to develop both the east and west sides of the development.

Huxley noted preservation "would include trees, especially those over 100 years which we have numerous on this property."

Another comment was on connection to other parts of the community and more interactive space.

"Community space where people are engaging with others who are their neighbors. This does not have that. This is, 'how many houses can we slam into a parcel,'" Huxley said.

The number of houses per acre was a point of contention during the meeting, where, despite the 26 acre parcel, only "around 24" are buildable due to a watershed in the middle of the property, according to Jackson. As a result, the area would be would be around "3.9 units per acre."

Rather than opposing the property all together, Huxley said there "may be some middle ground" between the current proposal and a proposal that would allow for a mixture of lower density commercial and housing.

After multiple comments from community members, Sugg asked a critical question: "What's the number?"

While others proposed around 30%-50% of the homes proposed, an immediate response was heard from the back of the room: "Zero."

Traffic study, affordability

Sugg confirmed a traffic impact analysis will be done on the property in order to assess the safety and traffic concerns of residents.

Questions about the type of housing, specifically on floor plans and size, were also asked. However, due to the phase of the planning process, plans for specific houses have not yet been developed.

Sugg, however, did elaborate on one element — whether the development was affordable.

"I'll tell you what they're not. They're not Section 8 housing. They're not housing that falls into the city's 80% AMI — you probably hear that talking about area median income," Sugg said of the development.

"This is not trying to go down that route. This is market rate," he said.

Asheville's 80% area median income is $47,600 for one person or $54,400 for two, according to the city’s affordable AMI index.

A recent affordable housing report presented to the city of Asheville found that housing investments targeting incomes at the higher end of affordability, specifically housing that targets 60%-80% area median income, likely exacerbate racial and gender gaps. It called for the city to focus programs, policies and subsidies on housing at the 30%-50% AMI range.

Next steps?

The Haw Creek Community Association, a nonprofit organization that serves the Haw Creek community, has declared opposition against the proposal "as currently planned," according to the nonprofit's website.

As for the development, plans have yet to be submitted through the city planning portal.

Once proposed to the city, the project will seek a conditional zoning review, where the location will be rezoned in order for construction.

The process begins with input from the city's Technical Review Committee, allowing the developer and city designers to work together on the proposal. Public comment is not allowed during TRC meetings.

The project will then go through the Planning and Zoning Commission and then on to Asheville City Council for final approval. Public comment is allowed at both meetings.

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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Developer faces stern backlash during Haw Creek neighborhood meeting