Buncombe County approves two new apartment developments, delays third
ASHEVILLE – Two new apartment developments totaling more than 440 units cleared needed reviews by the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment March 9, but a third project seeking to build 252 more in Arden was again delayed.
Hominy Creek Apartments can now move forward with building 216 units on less than 25 acres at the former WNC Pallet Company, as can McIntosh Apartments, which will construct 228 new apartments on more than 23 acres on McIntosh Road across from IC Imagine charter school.
But Crescent Hill Apartments, seeking to build 252 units on almost 25 acres in Arden was moved back again, after attorney Brian Gulden, representing developer Southwood Realty, noted that only three members of the board present March 9 had been presiding at the previous hearings, dating to December.
That’s too few to constitute a majority of the seven-member board, Gulden said, leaving it unable to render a decision at the meeting.
The board uses regular and alternate members, and those who need to will get updated on all the information that’s been presented so far in order to be prepared to vote at the board’s next meeting, April 14.
More:New Arden apartments: 252 units in 10 buildings set for Crescent Hill Road
More:Decision regarding 252-unit Crescent Hill Apartments in Arden pushed back to Feb. 9
The project first went before the board July 15, meeting opposition from neighbors, mainly with traffic and stormwater concerns.
After erroneously being scheduled for October, it was postponed to December, then to the January, February, March and now April meetings, though the hours of testimony offered in the hearing so far came in the January and February meetings.
Split vote approves McIntosh Apartments
On McIntosh Road in the Candler area, the Board of Adjustment heard concerns from neighbors seeking standing in the quasi-judicial hearing and one witness of traffic on the road, especially across from the IC Imagine School.
The board voted 4-2 to approve the needed special use permit for the 228 units in 14 buildings on 23 acres planned by Dothan, Alabama-based Hall Group LLC.
Neighbors questioned the traffic load the project would bring, saying the included traffic study accounted only for morning school traffic, as afternoon school traffic didn’t coincide with expected peak traffic hours from the residences.
The traffic study also only considered some of the apartments already approved and in the works at other nearby developments, board members pointed out, not all.
That traffic study, conducted by Ramey Kemp Associates, expects an added 1,241 trips over a typical 24-hour workday period, with 77 peak-hour trips 7-9 a.m. and 98 peak-hour trips 4-6 p.m.
More:Postponed again: Decisions on 480 units in Arden moved to March
More:Postponed again: Decisions on 480 units in Arden moved to March
Based on those totals, it recommends widening McIntosh Road to 10 feet and adding 125-foot right turn lane on McIntosh Road at Pond Road. Also, if other improvements on Sardis and Pond roads planned as part of another development aren’t in place by the project’s completion, developers will have to complete those as well.
Chase Smith, engineer with Ramey Kemp, said the study took into account some development already approved in the area, as well as a standard 2% growth rate as required by the state Department of Transportation and other reviewing agencies.
An added condition will require the developers to create and follow a bee-friendly landscape plan after the input of neighbor Elizabeth Waugh-Harri, who said that she and her father run a business keeping bees on an adjacent parcel.
Pesticides sprayed by the IC Imagine School have killed hives before, she said, which require $250 and a trip to North Georgia to replace.
“You need to do what’s right for the community, not always what’s right for the developer,” said neighbor Phyllis Morgan, who sought standing in the hearing as well.
In her application, Morgan said construction of the IC Imagine School lost her numerous tenants at two short-term vacation rentals she operates adjacent to the proposed apartment site.
A resident there for 30 years, Morgan said neighbors had circulated a petition with 300 signatures requesting the project be denied.
Developers needed the permit in part to exceed the normal height of 35 feet in the Residential 2 zoning district.
Engineer Warren Sugg, answering questions from the board, said developers could build up to 263 units by right on the property and were seeking to build higher in order to build fewer buildings. Plans show a total height of 46 feet, 4 inches.
“By going up in height, we’re able to make a visually, spatially less dense project, which we think is a better project,” said attorney Wyatt Stevens, representing developers.
No opposition for 216 apartments on Hominy Creek
Board members voted 6-0 to grant a special use permit to developers Southeast Partners LLC for an 11-building apartment complex totaling 216 units at the former WNC Pallet Company in Candler, off Pallet Road near the intersection of Pisgah Highway and Smokey Park Highway.
Board members applauded the straightforwardness of the project and the thoroughness of the application before voting, with some concerns shared about providing a playground for children, a place for dogs and accounting for blasting at the nearby Vulcan Materials quarry.
Attorney Derek Allen, representing developers including Hobie Orton, said there will be a playground, disc golf course and open space for kids, something they’d be happy to add as a condition to the project, and that a sound consultant was on board to help design components account for the blasting.
Engineer Marty Kocot, presenting the plans March 9, said roughly half the site will be dedicated as common space, and buildings will be constructed with a base elevation 2 feet higher than base flood elevation to account for potential flooding on Hominy Creek.
A low bridge that he said helped contribute to recent flooding in the area has been removed, and developers have received a no-rise certification, guaranteeing the project won’t increase flood heights.
“We’re actually making improvements by creating a residential area with almost a dedicated roadway,” Kocot said. “(That’s) evidenced by reactions from neighbors and the fact that nobody is on the docket to speak on the project.”
Of the units, 84 will be one-bedroom, 108 two-bedroom and 24 three-bedroom, he said, supporting a variety of different families.
“This is a well-crafted plan in a high-utilization area, and I feel strongly that it’s a good fit,” Kocot said.
Allen noted the county’s recent commitment to make housing as a top priority, saying the county needs more housing stock not just in one place or of one style.
Derek Lacey covers environment, growth and development for the Asheville Citizen Times. Reach him at [email protected] or 828-417-4842 and find him on Twitter @DerekAVL.
