Proposed zoning change could expand multifamily housing, mixed use near 7th Avenue

HENDERSONVILLE — A proposed zoning code change submitted by an ex-California developer would allow multifamily housing in a redeveloping city district.

If approved by Hendersonville City Council, the change would allow multifamily housing in the C-2 residential zone in Hendersonville’s 7th Avenue Municipal Service District, paving the way for more development in a district that is already set to receive new branding and a streetscaping project. The code amendment was submitted by Dan Mock, President of Rockwood Development, who said he hopes for the district to be revitalized while maintaining its unique character.

“My vision for 7th Ave. would be a place where everyone can hang out during/after work hours whether it's with family, friends, colleagues or business meetings,” Mock said in an email. “Right now I think we have yet to tap the potential of the 7th Ave corridor as the streets are dead both during and after work hours. We need people not only to come to the area but stay and support the local establishments and businesses. No better way to start this than to have residents actually living on 7th Ave.”

City Council is holding a public hearing before its vote on the change at its regular meeting on Nov. 3.

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Multifamily housing is already allowed in zone C-2, which typically only allows single or two-family residents and minor planned residential developments, within the 7th Ave Depot National Register Historic District. The proposed change would expand the exception to the much larger 7th Avenue MSD, unifying codes between the two.

“7th Ave. has been seeing reinvestment on an on-going and consistent basis for at least the past decade,” Lew Holloway, Director of Hendersonville’s Community Development Department, told the Times News via email. “The amendment would allow for additional reinvestment of a type not currently permitted within the area zoned C-2.”

The code change reflects the city’s view of the future for both the downtown and 7th Avenue districts: one of a walkable community with a number of multifamily developments.

“Allowing for multi-family uses and reducing setbacks along the entire 7th Ave corridor while retaining commercial space on lower floors would promote additional opportunities for a mix of uses within walking distance to shopping and recreation, facilitate additional redevelopment in an area that provides a wide range of uses and serves as an extension of downtown (or a subdistrict of downtown), and permit the type of urban form that has defined this area since it was initially developed while also promoting a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere that aligns with the goals of the Comprehensive Plan,” a Hendersonville staff report on the change says.

There are no parking minimums for any uses within the 7th Ave MSD, meaning that multifamily developments will not be required to provide parking.

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Commercial requirements

The change submitted by Mock removed a requirement that said multi-family dwellings may only be permitted on the second floor of buildings, but the Planning Board voted to roll back that change when they voted 5-1 to recommend the code amendment to City Council. The new change would keep the requirement within the NRHD, only changing “second floor” to “upper floors,” but also places a similar restriction on buildings outside the NRHD fronting 7th Avenue.

“Any building fronting Seventh Avenue within the Seventh Avenue Municipal Service District, but outside of the Seventh Avenue Depot National Register Historic District, shall primarily reserve ground floor space along the Seventh Avenue street frontage for non-residential uses,” the proposed code change says.

Residential on the round-floor may be permitted outside the NRHD as an accessory use, the code says, but only if it meets certain conditions, including that the bottom floor may be no less than 50% commercial use and a number of access point requirements and frontage regulations.

Mock said he agrees with the change, but is worried that his specific project on 7th Avenue will have a tough time making commercial space since it is surrounded on all sides by residential properties.

“The staff recommendation provides more options for owners, and I cannot be selfish as they need to make decisions that benefit the community as a whole. I am 100% supportive of their recommendations and believe it's best from a long term planning perspective,” Mock said.

The majority of the redevelopment in recent years has been focused on the much smaller NRHD, according to the staff report. As interest in the district continues to grow, though, the report predicts that redevelopment will continue to expand further into the MSD.

Municipal Service Districts — of which the city has two, downtown and 7th Avenue — are special tax districts that collect additional property tax which is reinvested toward physical improvements and economic development strategies, helping to support businesses and facilitate redevelopment, according to the staff report.

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A 'one-man shop'

Only one Planning Board member, Fred Nace, voted against the code amendment, noting he did not like the idea of “recruiting ‘hipsters’” to the district, which he believed the change would do, according to a summary of the meeting. Other members said the market, not the city, would determine who lives where, the summary said.

Mock told the Times News that he hopes to prove to residents he is not the big city developer they may think he is. His company is just a "one-man shop," he said.

“We are currently cleaning up the building on 7th Ave but I cannot start on my plans until I figure out what I can and can't build. I'm hopeful City Council approves my proposal so I can prove to everyone that I am not the 800 pound gorilla/developer from California that everyone envisions. I am just a solo guy that has a passion for real estate who happens to have vision and an eye for designing great spaces. I am blessed to have an amazing wife who does all the interior design for our projects,” he said.

Originally from southern California, Mock said he moved to North Carolina during the pandemic with his wife who has family in the area. He said he plans to invest in Hendersonville regardless of the outcome of the zoning text amendment.

“We love Hendersonville as we do all our shopping at the Co-op, my gym is in Hendersonville, we are currently looking to enroll our son in a school up in Hendersonville and we have plans to build out a 2nd home in the 7th Ave area since we are up there just about everyday,” Mock said. “We frequent several restaurants on Main St. but I feel like 7th Ave. is where the potential lies.”

Christian Smith is a reporter for the USA Today Network. Questions or comments? Contact him at RCSmith@gannett.com or 828-274-2222.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Proposed zoning change could expand multifamily housing near 7th Ave