News

City council delays decision on home for women veterans

Lisa Clark, the director and secretary of the Aura Home Women Vets, tells City Council about plans for a facility for homeless women veterans.

By Amy McCraw, Published: August 2, 2024

Hendersonville’s City Council on Thursday delayed considering a request to rezone property near the historic Druid Hills community to make room for a rehabilitation facility for homeless women veterans.

Council decided to take up the request for the Felicia Reeves Home at its Sept. 5 meeting. The delay will give the property owners more time to address concerns about the property’s location in the floodplain. A public hearing on the proposal will also continue at the Sept. 5 meeting.
Alyce Knaflich, the founding director and board chair of Aura Home Women Vets, asked City Council in April to rezone .69 acres at 1744 Meadowbrook Terrace from a residential zoning district to a conditional zoning district.
If approved, the zoning change will allow Knaflich to renovate a former 8,020 square feet retirement home for women veterans who need housing.
Once renovations are complete, the facility plans to house 11 female veterans and one director. It will also include a kitchen, exercise room, tv/game room, counselor’s office, classroom, laundry room, security room and pantry.
Council’s decision to delay voting on the zoning change came after a public hearing that began on July 10 continued during the regular monthly meeting on Thursday.
Lisa Clark, the facility’s director and secretary, told council the home’s goal is to help women veterans be able to live independently.
“Hendersonville has a great opportunity to prove it has a veteran friendly city,” Clark said. “We have an opportunity to be a really good resource for veterans in our community.”
Aura Home Women Vets operated a three-bedroom complex in Asheville that helped 36 women before Covid restrictions made keeping the facility open impossible, she said.
Several people including some female veterans spoke in support of the project during the public hearing.
Jennifer Behar, a Marine combat veteran who lives in Candler, said she struggled with homelessness and even lost custody of her children before Knaflich gave her a place to live and helped her get her life back together.
“Without people like Alyce, I wouldn’t be here,” she said.
Behar’s voice broke as she spoke and she wiped away tears as she took her seat after speaking. Mayor Pro Tem Lyndsey Simpson also wiped tears after Behar spoke.
But Sandra Cameron, who lives across the street from the proposed veteran’s home, said she was concerned about the facility being located in a residential community. The facility will likely cause stress to her family if it is located in the community, she said.
“I find it unfair we have been put in this situation,” she said.
A city staff report on the proposed facility recommended that the developer be required to bring the property up to current flood protection standards.
When Knaflich spoke to council, she said was trying to consider how to address those concerns. Council member Melinda P. Lowrance asked Knaflich if she would consider coming back before the council in September. Knaflich said she thought the delay would give her time to work on the floodplain issues.

Council voted unanimously to continue the public hearing and rezoning request to the September meeting.
In a 5-3 vote in June, the city’s planning board recommended that city council approve the residential care facility.
The planning board found that renovating the long vacant and decaying building without expanding it would promote compatibility with the surrounding area. The proposal also addresses a critical need for housing and services for local female veterans, according to the planning board’s decision.
The building is near the Druid Hills historic district. Renovation of the structure will not be required to follow the procedures of the historic district if it is approved.