At the second meeting of the 767 Working Group on December 11, the Community Outreach Committee decided it would create and circulate a petition for signatures in support of stopping the proposed development at 767 New Haw Creek Road. 

The petition targets the “Conditional Zoning” requested by the developer, which if approved by City Council would allow for 95 homes to be built on this 26-acre property—essentially doubling the number of homes allowed with the current zoning regulations.

Our goal is to demonstrate broad-based community opposition to help convince City Council members to vote against rezoning this property. Please sign the petition and take a few minutes to provide your feedback regarding future development in Haw Creek, an option that is available at the end of the petition.

HCCA has added the petition to our 767 Development web page and will use our social media accounts to maximize our outreach. The committee is planning additional outreach efforts, including door-to-door canvasing throughout the neighborhood.

This petition is an important step in our campaign to protect our neighborhood from a proposed high-density development plan.

Quickly mobilizing to respond to broad-based community concerns, the Haw Creek Community Association has created a Working Group to respond to the proposed 95-unit Meadows at Haw Creek subdivision for 767 New Haw Creek Road. This action follows a November 28 public meeting at which 200+ residents expressed overwhelming opposition to the developer's plan.

Although there is broad-based resistance to the Meadows at Haw Creek project as proposed, points of opposition will be fact-based and built around evidence supporting our concerns. The 767 Working Group comprises community leaders with relevant professional and personal experience who will serve on the following committees: architectural design, communications, community outreach, engineering, and legal process. 

We will conduct a comprehensive review of the project proposal as soon as it is finalized and submitted to the city. Plans are underway for an independent traffic study to measure the project's impact.  

We expect to recommend any future development on this property be on a scale significantly less extensive than currently proposed. Although we cannot guarantee success, HCCA and the 767 Working Group will strive for an outcome that balances private property rights with the interests of the surrounding community.  

If you wish to become actively involved with the 767 Working Group, please email info@hawcreekavl.com with your contact information and areas of expertise and skills that would be valuable to this effort.  

On November 28, at a required public meeting held at Evergreen Community Charter School, Warren Sugg from Civil Designs Concepts, presented the proposed development plan for the 26-acre property at 767 New Haw Creek Road. The rendering shared with the 200+ in attendance, calls for 95 homes to be built on this landmark property located in the center of the Haw Creek valley (see below).

To the collective shock of nearly all present, the proposed development would transform the bucolic pasture and hardwood forest into high-density housing that exceeds current zoning standards.

Specific concerns about the proposal include:

~ The near total loss of tree canopy and animal habitat resulting from this design
~ Strain of increased traffic on two-lane New Haw Creek Road, especially around pick-up and drop-off times at the two schools located along New Haw Creek Road
~ Safety concerns in the case of an emergency—narrow, two-lane New Haw Creek Road is, for most of the valley, the only way in or out
~ Demand for Conditional Zoning to allow increased density out of scale and character with the surrounding community
~ Lack of developer commitment to affordable housing component
~ Lack of imagination in design, i.e. cookie-cutter approach

In response, the HCCA Board of Directors held an emergency meeting the following evening. The board opposes this development as planned and came up with a plan of action to try to stop it. We invite you, our neighbors, to help. To be clear, HCCA is not opposed to development per se, which is inevitable, but we object to this specific plan. We believe this proposal fails the test of smart planning and good design.

Here are our initial steps:

~ We are organizing a Working Group to collaborate on action steps. We have invited about 15 people who have various skill sets and experiences, and who represent Happy Valley and the surrounding area. This group will meet on Monday, December 4.

~ We have created a webpage, 767 Development, to serve as a central informational resource regarding this development. There, you will find the steps we are planning to take and what you can do to help, along with information on the conditional zoning process, upcoming meetings, public comment opportunities, etc. This page will be updated and expanded with new information on an ongoing basis.

The sale of the property is not yet final. Additionally, this development will require review by the Asheville Planning and Zoning Commission and others, with opportunities to make our concerns heard. Ultimately, the development will require a vote of approval by the majority of City Council.

The Board of Directors of HCCA are your neighbors who care deeply about the future of our community. We are committed to our mission to enrich lives, protect our natural beauty and promote safety throughout the Haw Creek Valley.

As a board, we will fight this development and we ask for your help so we can work together to demand better. There are some very wise, experienced, and passionate people in our valley, and together we need to make our voices heard.

On the minds of many residents is what the Haw Creek Community Association has done to stop the proposed development at 767 New Haw Creek Road. The question below, received from a Haw Creek neighbor on 11/21, captures this concern and our response details the many actions HCCA has taken since learning that this property was going to be sold.

"How do you as representatives of our neighborhood plan to support the majority of your neighbors who are not in favor of this development? So far I have not seen any support from the Board on this matter. Thank you. KG"

Dear KG,

From the time the Haw Creek Community Association first learned this property was to be sold, we have tried to play a constructive role in ways that support the Haw Creek community.

The cover story of our newsletter from almost a year ago (Winter 2023 Newsletter 2/21/2023) tried to outline what was at stake with the sale of 767 NHC. In the article we discussed how the one sure way to protect the property was to find a buyer committed to preservation. I wish I could report the article prompted an outpouring of support but that did not happen.

Knowing the property would likely be sold to a developer, beginning in early 2023—before the property was even listed for sale—HCCA tried to recruit a buyer from Haw Creek who would be committed to preserving some or all of the property. After extensive networking and many meetings, we found just such a buyer who committed to putting the 7-acre pasture area into a conservation easement. He submitted an offer but apparently Kevin Jackson's offer was higher and was selected instead.

Upon learning Mr. Jackson's offer had been accepted, we invited him to HCCA's November 14 community meeting at the library, attended by 130+ residents. The purpose of the invitation was to learn his specific plans for the property and this was how we all learned about the 95 houses he intends to build. Otherwise, this would not have been known until the zoom meeting scheduled for next week.

As soon as we found out that Mr. Jackson intended only a one-hour zoom meeting to discuss this large-scale project, we immediately appealed to the Director of the Planning and Urban Design Dept. for an in-person public review meeting. Today we learned that the developer has now scheduled a public meeting.

I believe this history demonstrates that we have acted responsibly and tried to guide the process toward a positive outcome. The board of directors of HCCA are your neighbors who care about the future of our community. We are all volunteers giving our time and resources to try and make a positive difference in an imperfect world.

If Mr. Jackson completes the purchase of the property, as much as we may oppose it, he does have the right to develop the land. Now that we've come to this point, I believe the current role of the community association is to demand a strict and fair development review process as well as to seek opportunities to mitigate the impact of this new subdivision in ways that benefit the greater community.

Thank you for your question and interest in this important issue.

Chris Pelly, President

Haw Creek Community Association

hawcreekavl.com

Civil Design Concepts has announced that they will be holding an in person neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, November 28, 6:30-8:00 pm at Evergreen Community Charter School, located at 50 Bell Road, to discuss the Meadows at Haw Creek (767 New Haw Creek Road) project. 

This is in addition to the zoom meeting that was already scheduled for November 28 from 5:00-6:00 pm. Use this link to join the zoom meeting: https://cdcgo.zoom.us/j/88279179995?pwd=DbKSjzKzngkMlCw5pfkel8ZocBgYfs.1; Meeting ID is 882 7917 9995 and Passcode is 605756.

The in person meeting will be held in the school's gymnasium and they are asking residents who were not able to attend the zoom meeting to please sit near the front. For those who were able to attend the zoom meeting, please sit in the back. The intent being to give those, particularly elderly folks who were referenced in emails to their engineers, a chance to be able to clearly see and hear the presentation.

A new "Welcome to Haw Creek" sign was recently installed at our main entrance at Crockett Street and New Haw Creek Road to help make a good first impression of the neighborhood. This project was led by Storms Reback, HCCA Board Member and Chair of the Clean & Green Committee. Over the summer, the committee reviewed various design ideas settling on this bright and cheerful version. The sign was funded by HCCA membership dues and fundraisers.

Committee members are also planning to tackle the landscaping, beginning early next spring. First the invasive ivy and vines will be removed, exposing some lovely large stones. The almost 30-year-old deteriorating welcome sign will be removed. Then new, native plants that spread gently and require minimal upkeep will be added. HCCA will purchase the plants and a team of volunteers will undertake the installation.

If you're able to help with the landscaping and can volunteer a few hours, please email us at info@hawcreekavl.com.

Our goal is to create a beautiful embankment to welcome everyone entering Haw Creek at this location.

Kevin Jackson, the buyer of the 26 acre parcel at 767 New Haw Creek Road, previewed his plan for the development of the property at HCCA’s Community Meeting on November 14. Following is a summary of our notes from his presentation.

~ Kevin Jackson is the developer. He is an Asheville native and part of a family of builders and real estate developers, now in its fifth generation.

~ He plans to build 90 to 95 homes, a mix of single family homes and townhomes. The bulk of the houses will be single family homes located on the larger tract of land that backs up to Alpine Way, on approximately 8,000 square foot lots. There are no plans for section 8 housing.

~ The townhomes will be located on the smaller tract of land on the west side of New Haw Creek Road. 

~ There will be one entrance into the development located near Bullman field off New Haw Creek Road. There is no plan to connect to any other existing streets. 

~ The City’s Department of Transportation will determine if a traffic study is required. 

~ The developer is considering creating a greenway along Haw Creek in the floodplain that could connect to Bullman field. Appropriate erosion and storm water management will be undertaken to protect the creek. 

~ There will be drainage ponds on the property to help with runoff. 

~ The plan is to save mature trees along the perimeter of the property to create a landscape buffer as requested by the City. Details on how large the buffer will be, maybe 20 feet, have yet to be determined.

~ Most of the forested area would be removed. New trees will be planted to meet City tree canopy regulations.

~ It will take about six months to complete the approval process. 

~ It will take about a year to demolish the existing structures, clear the land, and put in infrastructure.

~ Building the houses will be completed in phases. He did not show any preliminary plans for how the neighborhood would be laid out or what the houses would look like.

~ The City requires the developer to host a public meeting with surrounding residents to discuss the plan. There is a sign posted at the Happy Valley entrance announcing a "Neighborhood Meeting" to be held on November 28, 5:00 - 6:00 pm, via Zoom.

Use this link to join the Zoom meeting:

https://cdcgo.zoom.us/j/88279179995?pwd=DbKSjzKzngkMlCw5pfkel8ZocBgYfs.1

Meeting ID: 882 7917 9995

Passcode: 605756

The Haw Creek Community Association has submitted a request to the City's Planning and Urban Design Department for the developer to hold an in-person public information meeting as we believe a project of this scale and magnitude—subdivision of a landmark 26-acre property—requires more public review than a one hour Zoom meeting. As we learn new information we will post it here.

For additional background, see previous news post Landmark Property Under Contract for Sale 8/29/2023, and the feature article in the Winter 2023 Newsletter 2/21/2023. 

Jade Dundas, Capital Projects Director with the City of Asheville, joined Dustin Clemons, the Project Manager for the new sidewalk addition on New Haw Creek Road, who provided the following update at HCCA’s Community Meeting November 14.

The new sidewalk section, between Beverly and Bell Roads, was originally approved in 2016 with a project cost of $3 million, funded by the NCDOT ($2 million) and the City of Asheville ($1 million).

All easements will be finalized this week. Some utilities have already been moved and other utilities will be relocated during the winter. The final design plans should be ready in the next month, which will enable NCDOT to issue authorization allowing the City to accept bids for construction to start in the spring of 2024. Completion of the nearly one mile route is expected to take about one year—timelines will be built into the contract.

The sidewalk will cross the street near 655-660 New Haw Creek Road. The City studied the corridor and would have preferred to have the sidewalk on one side only but given the topography, this was the best option for build-ability and storm water management. The pedestrian crossing will include a push button activated flashing signal for residents' safety.

The construction may be done all at one time or in phases, depending on the contractor. However, past projects were done in sections. Either way there will be lane closures and traffic disruption.

HCCA's first-ever Chili Cook Off on October 24 was a success, with 12 chefs bringing their chilis and about 40 people in attendance, tasting and judging. There was a great mix of neighbors, from young families with kids to older residents, with a lot of new faces. 

The contest was informal and it looked like everyone was having fun. People voted for their top three choices and after the voting was complete, we awarded the top two chefs with gift cards from Chili’s that the restaurant had generously donated. We also raffled off a Black Haw bush, a native Haw Creek tree, and sponsored a bake sale so folks could indulge in a sweet treat.

This relaxed event provided plenty of time to chat with neighbors, new and old, while enjoying a diverse array of homemade chilis.

The HCCA board voted to fund a Little Free Library at Spruce Hill Apartments in Haw Creek, a 174-unit complex serving about 500 low- and moderate-income residents. HCCA board member Liz Polfus took on the construction job and, using her fine art skills, created a beautiful little library with a theme of colorful native plants.

To maximize the reading opportunities the Little Library provides, we turned to the Friends of East Asheville Library for help. They were eager to provide books that would best serve the many children and teens living at the complex.

Liz, along with a few Haw Creek friends and neighbors, installed the Little Free Library on October 21. The residents and management of Spruce Hill now have a new asset that will strengthen the culture of the apartment complex for years to come.

Meaghen McCoy and Carol Waters, the managers at Spruce Hill Apartments, said “We ABSOLUTELY LOVE LOVE, LOVE IT!!!!  It is more than we could have imagined. Thank you and your team for all of your hard work and it will be used and loved for many years!!!”