Final vote on Haw Creek development delayed again; council takes up BID, budget June 11

ASHEVILLE - A public hearing and vote on a contentious Haw Creek development has again been delayed. It originally proposed 95 new homes for the bucolic East Asheville neighborhood, drawing ire over tree loss, traffic, pedestrian safety and stormwater management.

The item was continued until Asheville City Council's July 23 meeting. This is the third time it has been delayed as the developer continues to tweak project plans in conversation with Haw Creek neighbors.

Mayor Esther Manheimer said June 6, during a City Council agenda briefing, that council members have had several meetings with developers and neighborhood representatives. Different options have been floated by the developer, with the neighborhood offering feedback and helping to facilitate its preferred option, like one that preserves the most amount of forest.

“There’s been some good news on that, some progress on that, so we're crossing our fingers," Manheimer said. "More to come. That's one of the reasons this is being delayed again, in order for them to try to explore this option, and see if it's viable and then bring us back a revised plan."

The 27-acre project, dubbed "Meadows at New Haw Creek," located at 767 New Haw Creek Road, is brought by developer L. B. Jackson and Co. It drew hundreds to a March 20 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, which resulted in a narrow recommendation of approval to rezone the area.

Final say rests with council.

An emailed update from the Haw Creek Community Association, shared with the Citizen Times, said the eight-month campaign "is making an impact."

"The latest revised design finally reflects your broad-based support for tree preservation and fewer homes. Although far from ideal, this negotiated proposal addresses many of the concerns heard from Haw Creek residents," it said.

Among other changes, the revisions reduce the number of homes on the east side of the project from 60 to 49, for a project total of 84, and preserve 4.3 additional acres of forest canopy on top of what is required, according to the email. Pedestrian improvements, like the greenway and connecting sidewalks, are still included. 

"We have been in ongoing negotiations with the developer, convened by the mayor, and we're making progress there. But the short answer is, we don't think we're going to be all the way there by June 11," said Chris Pelly, president of the Haw Creek Community Association.

"So all parties agree let's push it back another month ... so that we can see if we can't come to a meeting of the minds and bring something back to the community that people can get behind."

Derek Allen, an attorney representing the developer, confirmed via email that the development team continues to work with neighborhood representatives, city staff and city leadership.

"We are exploring alternatives for entrances into the neighborhood which would, in turn, change the site layout," the developer statement said.

"We have worked diligently with staff, the neighbors, and City leadership to craft this neighborhood to be the best possible fit to provide infill housing options at a time when our community desperately needs residential in all parts of the city."

Higher pay for AFD, APD?

Also at its June 6 agenda briefing, City Council had a lengthy discussion around employee compensation, the details of which must be ironed out if members are to adopt the city's fiscal year 2024-25 budget June 11, as planned.

For months, a 4.1% pay increase has been floated by staff, drawing criticism from WNC Just Economics, Asheville fire fighters and local police advocates. They call for bigger raises to keep up with an ever-increasing living wage rate and to stay competitive with surrounding markets.

At the request of council, staff presented new options June 6. These included larger pay increases for police and fire — 6% and a flat $4,053, respectively — and 4.1% or $2,400 for all other full-time employees, whichever is greater. The flat raise for firefighters would be adjusted 2.5% for each step in the firefighter pay plan to maintain "integrity" between different positions.

The new numbers would require $1.26 million more than what was initially budgeted. Finance Director Tony McDowell said it would likely mean a property tax increase, greater usage of fund balance, or a combination of both.

Despite discussion, with council members offering other alternatives, no clear conclusion was reached at the June 6 briefing. City Council will vote on its budget June 11. To hear more of the conversation, find the presentation online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbWfcHc3cmE.

Final BID vote

On June 11, City Council will take the final vote necessary to approve a downtown Business Improvement District, which would leverage a special tax on property owners to fund additional services for the city's central business district.

The initial BID proposal was brought by the Asheville Downtown Association and Chamber of Commerce, with "clean and safe" the slogan at its center.

Despite vocal opposition, it found strong conceptual support among council members at its first required vote, which passed 5-1 on May 14. The initial ordinance, if passed June 11, will establish the BID boundaries and setting the tax rate.

While the most contested details, like governance structure, management and services to be delivered, are not included in this vote, council members said in May they intended to craft a resolution to create some of this guardrails, which would be passed as part of a separate vote.

This resolution was included among documents provided at the agenda briefing. It sets certain parameters for the request for proposals that, if the BID is approved, would be issued to contract with an outside organization to manage it.

It includes a list of objectives, as well as certain directions, like specifications that anyone hired for safety and hospitality services must be unarmed, and the makeup of the BID steering committee, which includes property owners, renters and representatives from the Block and the Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care.

Read the full resolution: https://bit.ly/3X7Ci9i.

If you go

Asheville City Council will meet at 5 p.m., June 11 in the banquet hall of the Harrah's Cherokee Center.

The agenda, posted the Friday before the meeting can be found here: https://www.ashevillenc.gov/government/city-council-agenda/.

More: East Asheville 95-home development gets planning board OK; Haw Creek asks for more time

More: Downtown Asheville BID approved by City Council in 5-1 vote; 1st of 2 required votes

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email [email protected] or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Final vote on East Asheville Haw Creek development again delayed