Marshall nixes proposed Rollins Road project after residents oppose it

MARSHALL - Marshall Mayor Nancy Allen's last official Town Board meeting was perhaps the most eventful meeting in her more than two-year stint as mayor.

Meeting in front of a packed room at the Marshall Town Hall, the Marshall Town Board held public hearings on five proposed changes to its zoning map and its Unified Development Ordinance. But the most highly contested issue was a proposed amendment that would have rezoned a property in the Rollins community to a mixed use space that would include multifamily dwellings, professional and craftsmen/artisan office spaces and a retail space.

Nearly 10 community members voiced their opposition to the project during the public comment portion of the proposed ordinance's public hearing.

The topics of discussion were three text amendments and two zoning amendments. Two of the three text amendments passed without much discussion. The amendments pertained to increasing the maximum height for buildings in the Central-Business district and creating an overlay district on Blannahassett Island to prohibit residential and lodging uses, as well as to prohibit keeping of animals overnight on the property.

A third proposed text amendment eliminated campgrounds as a permitted special use in the Residential 1 district, the low density residential district, involved a much more extensive conversation following a bevy of public comments expressing approval of removing campgrounds as a permitted use in the R1 district.

The associated zoning map amendment proposal to implement the overlay district on Blannahassett Island was approved unanimously.

But a fifth proposed amendment, to rezone a property at 571 Rollins Road to a conditional mixed use, never even went to a vote following a host of Redmon Road neighbors speaking out against the project.

Kaitland Finkle is a regional planner with Land of Sky Regional Council who also serves as the town's zoning administrator.

According to Finkle, in the town Planning Board's Oct. 17 meeting, the board recommended approval of the conditional rezoning.

"For the reason that a conditional mixed use district does limit the property to those conditions that are listed," Finkle said. "So, instead of rezoning to any zoning district and being allowed to choose from four pages of allowed uses, they would be specifically limited to those four uses that the mayor read out as allowed uses."

According to Allen, the conditions requested were to add a second story to the building, as well as to allow four uses on the site: multifamily dwellings including apartment and townhome units, artisans and craftsmen spaces, a professional office space and retail uses with less than 5,000 square feet inside fully enclosed buildings.

According to Finkle, the reason staff aimed to have the developer, Every Angle Construction, which is owned by Marshall Town Board member Thomas Jablonski, apply for conditional mixed use is because the existing use of the building as warehouse is "legal nonconforming."

"To expand, they had to come and request a rezoning," Finkle said, who added that she received an email from a resident saying she felt the project was too close to the Rollins Road playground.

A number of Rollins Road community members agreed with the safety concerns, citing the road's 15 miles per hour speed limit.

The 0.57-acre property sits directly across from a playground on the French Broad River.

According to Finkle, the property is currently zoned R2, and the future land map calls for the area to be R2 and to be recreational areas.

Eight community members — Gerri and Wanda Allen, Pat Jones, and Bruce, Jay, Lucas and Mark Tipton — voiced their disapproval of the rezoning in the proposed ordinance's public hearing.

"It is listed in the flood zone. It's a dead end street, and it's right next to a playground," Gerri Allen said. "How can they incorporate a home where there's no parking? That's my questions.

Mark Tipton said his family has lived adjacent to the property his whole life.

"We've got way too much traffic now," Mark Tipton said. "Our road is so small it doesn't have any lines on it. That park, it's about 20 feet away from the road. There just isn't much room there. All the traffic's just the main thing. If we OK this, then they'll have to come in and ask for something next door, and next thing you know we'll be like downtown.

"We lived on that road when it was an old junk road and nobody wanted to get to the bad side of town. But we like it there. It's home. But they're trying to ruin it for us. I could go to Asheville and make a lot more money, but I like to stay here with the common folk."

Matthew Lucas is one of the applicants for the project.

"We're based in Marshall. We're employers in Marshall," Lucas said. "We're currently working in downtown on Bridge Street. There's enough to design adequate parking, and like you said, all of that would have to be approved when we get building permits and try to do something.

"I'd just like to bring up the fact that our group here in Marshall has been a part of revitalizing some of the old buildings, including the Capitola Mill, the jail, the Storey print building, Madison Natural Foods. I hope our track record shows that any improvements we try to do with any buildings would come with general improvement of the area. By no means do we want to add any traffic or congestion."

According to Finkle, a developer is allowed to build and develop in the flood plain.

"You just have to meet the federal regulations, and that can go through Madison County," Finkle said.

Board discussion

As board member Thomas Jablonski owns Every Angle Construction. Rollins Road neighbor Jay Tipton said he felt the project was a conflict of interest.

"Even if you don't vote, you can influence everyone around you," Jay Tipton said. "So, I feel like I've just wasted my time because there's already one set of rules for me, and there's not a set for you. You didn't get told no. I did. You're changing the square footage, the same thing that was told to me I could not change.

"I'm not against anybody, but I am against one set of rules for you, one set of rules for me."

While Jablonski recused himself from the vote, so too did board member Laura Ponder Smith, as she said her son had worked for Jablonski on a different project.

Ponder Smith asked board attorney Jamie Stokes for counsel, and Stokes said the association "could create the appearance of impropriety."

When it came time for the vote, no board member offered a motion.

Board member Aileen Payne said she felt Ponder Smith's recusal was a "copout."

"I may be being ugly, but I think that's a copout, to not vote for it or against it," Payne said.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Marshall nixes proposed Redmon Road project after residents oppose it