Asheville’s Haw Creek Meadows Developer Asks for More Time, Public Hearing Rescheduled

Asheville’s Haw Creek Meadows Developer Asks for More Time, Public Hearing Rescheduled

A public hearing on the 95-unit Haw Creek Meadows project has been moved from April 23 to the June 11 City Council meeting after developer LB Jackson Co. requested “more time to make some changes to their development plan,” assistant city manager Ben Woody announced during the April 18 City Council Agenda Briefing.

Due to the expected size of the crowd during the hearing, the April 23 meeting had been moved to the Harrah’s Cherokee Center Banquet Hall and set to start at 4 p.m. — an hour earlier than usual.

The April 23 meeting will remain at the same time as City Council members hear the proposal Business Improvement District. The Planning and Zoning Commission hearing was packed as members of the community expressed concerns around tree canopy preservation, affordability and the density of units on the 27-acre property.

Changes and Community Concerns

“The developer has gone back to the drawing board to try to revise the site plan to accommodate some of the requests of the neighborhood,” Mayor Esther Manheimer said during the April 18 meeting.

Chris Pelly, president of the Haw Creek Community Association, said he met with the developer and members of City Council, including Manheimer and City Council member Sage Turner, on April 11. Pelly said the developer had returned with a new plan after discussion with the neighborhood, lowering the unit count from 95 to 94.

A remaining sticking point was the lack of protection for the 6-acre forested tract on the east portion of the property. The lack of protection was a “non-starter” on negotiations, Pelly said. “We’re hopeful that when they revise their plans that we can have that sit down again,” he continued.

Developer’s Response

The Citizen Times reached out to LB Jackson Co.’s Kevin Jackson, but did not hear back before the deadline. Jackson had told the Citizen Times on April 15 that LB Jackson Co. feels they “have continued to make good progress towards addressing the majority of neighbor issues.”

“Some of the concerns are mutually exclusive. We are trying to balance them,” Jackson wrote to the Citizen Times. During the agenda briefing, Turner expressed positivity on the state of the project, saying she is “hopeful” about productive community conversation after previous meetings with neighbors and the developer.

Rescheduled Hearing

The June 11 meeting will be at 5 p.m. at 87 Haywood St. in the Banquet Hall at Harrah’s Cherokee Center.

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