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Tuesday, 22 August 2006 18:31 |
By JEREMY MORRISON
A packed house of concerned citizens voiced opposition to a proposed 175-acre development between Wolfe Cove and Town Mountain Road in the Beaverdam area at the Aug. 15 meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.
"Our communities depend on you," Catherine Ball told the commissioners.
"The very integrity of our mountains depend on you. You have an awesome responsibility."
For more than an
hour, the board heard public comments regarding Bartramës Walk ÇƒÓ a
proposed gated community, consisting of more than 100 lots.
Critics of the
development contended that the project would be environmentally
dangerous and create excessive traffic for the area.
The developers
of the project ÇƒÓ Beaverdam Land Conservancy ÇƒÓ plan to build on land
that critics argue is too steep and could lead to erosion. The average
grade for the land in question is estimated to be 32 percent.
The
commissioners approved regulations in March that restricted the scope
of development on slopes with more than a 25 percent grade. However,
the regulations did not take effect until July; during the interim,
plans for Bartramës Walk ÇƒÓ along with 22 other applications for new
developments ÇƒÓ were submitted.
Because the project is not funded with federal dollars, no environmental studies have been required.
"There are no traffic studies, there are no wildlife studies, there are no common sense studies," argued Bill Malohney.
Town Mountain
Road resident Joe Sechler circulated a petition among those present
asking the county to delay approval of the development pending several
studies. The petition sought a joint Department of Transportation,
Buncombe County and City of Asheville traffic-safety study; an
environmental impact study specifically addressing stormwater runoff
and the steepness of the terrain; and finally, an analysis of the
likelihood of mudslides.
During her time
at the lectern, Cindy Byron raised the question of Stormwater Phase II
ÇƒÓ a 1999 law stemming from the Clean Water Act, which regulates runoff
from construction activity.
"We are the taxpaying citizens that live downstream," Byron told the board.
The boardës
legal counsel responded that counties are exempt from Stormwater Phase
II, eliciting boos and hisses from the gallery. For the second time,
Chairman Nathan Ramsey requested that the crowd curtail its reactions.
"This is not a football game," Ramsey had told the public earlier. "Please donët do that."
In addition to
erosion and runoff concerns, members of the community said that traffic
ÇƒÓ both of construction vehicles and of future homeowners ÇƒÓ will pose a
considerable problem.
"We have
near-head-on collisions on a daily basis," Michael Parker said,
explaining that increased traffic on the tight two-lane road would
compound the problem.
The collective
plea from the public was for a moratorium on the Bartramës Walk
development. According to the boardës legal counsel, a moratorium was
not within the realm of immediate possibilities.
"The issue of
notice is going to be the dominant issue," County Attorney Joe Connelly
said. "Clearly, this board today cannot pass a moratorium without
giving the required notice."
Commissioner David Young said he sympathized with those opposing the development.
"We are with
you, looking for ways we can scale this down," Young told the
attendees. "We have to do something to stop this erosion of the beauty
of our mountains."
However, Commissioner David Gantt added that the board must follow proper protocol.
"Weëre going
from no regulations in the county and weëre taking baby-steps," Gantt
explained. "We canët just stop something right now because we donët
like it."
While no
environmental studies were required for the Bartramës Walk project, the
commissioners agreed to explore the possibility of creating an
environmental affairs board to examine issues such as erosion.
If the
commissioners did reject the Beaverdam development, the issue would be
appealed directly to the countyës Planning Commission, which has
already approved the projectës master plan. At that point, the issue
would be taken up in Superior Court.
Following the
public comment period of the meeting, the commissioners went into
closed session. Later, a resolution was approved requesting a meeting
with the Planning Commision on Sept. 5 regarding new housing
developments.
"It does mean something that youëre here," Young had told the crowd earlier. "It wasnët a waste of time."
In other action, the commissioners:
ï Approved design work for a new downtown parking deck to be built across College Street from the courthouse.
The designs for
the deck ÇƒÓ to include between 500 and 550 spaces ÇƒÓ will cost $550,000
and are to be drawn up by Keith Hargrove Architect. The final project,
according to Assistant County Manager Jon Creighton, will cost about
$9.5 million.
The project is expected to go out to bid by next spring, with a projected completion date of late 2007.
ï Heard a report
from Chris Collins of the Human Services Support Team on the increasing
number of Americans without health insurance.
ï Appointed Crissy Stewart to the Womenës Commission.
ï Appointed Gwen Fisher to the Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee.
ï Appointed Dan Muse to the Recreation Services Advisory Committee.
ï Scheduled the next commissioners meeting at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 5 in Room 204 of the county courthouse.
ï Noted that
several Buncombe commissioners will be attending a conference of the
N.C. Association of County Commissioners from Sept. 6 to 9 in Forsyth
County.
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