News

First Avenue Villas clears first hurdle

The Hendersonville Planning Board granted a conditional approval for the First Avenue Villas, which would contain 16 units in two three-story buildings. [ARCHITECT SARAH MCCORMICK]

By Bill Moss, Published: August 15, 2024

First Avenue West could be the site of two three-story buildings containing 16 villas on a half-acre lot if the city comes to terms with the developer on several conditions.

The Hendersonville Planning Board last week unanimously recommended approval of a rezoning to allow the First Avenue Villas but not before a long discussion on whether west-facing balconies imposed an “unreasonable loss of privacy” on neighbors.

Developer Rafique Charania and architect Sarah McCormick presented the rezoning request for the project containing the 16 two-bedroom units  at 320 First Ave. West

McCormick noted that the developer had agreed to several changes requested by city staffers.

“The one condition we didn't want to meet is we did not rotate the buildings to be parallel with the street because it will not fit on the site and it will require demolition of some of those trees on the east property line,” she said.

The owner has also negotiated a parking agreement with First Nazarene Church across First Avenue so villa residents “don't necessarily have to park on the street if they do have a second car,” she said. “We hope that you take these changes into consideration and help us create a standard for high-density residential development in and around downtown.”

The .57-acre lot, currently vacant with groves of trees, would contain two buildings with a footprint of 2,432 square feet each and total area of 18,832 square feet. Most of the ground would be brick pavers and grass, although the parking lot would be paved. An impervious surface would cause harmful runoff into Wash Creek, Planning Board Chair Jim Robertson said, noting one of several conditions the board sought.

Other conditions included keeping trees and bushes on the east property edge in order to ensure privacy, enclosing the rear and front stairwells “in order to better blend with surrounding neighborhood” and

marking on-street parking on the north side of First Avenue. Unresolved was the privacy issue that the planning board said was raised by balconies overlooking neighboring homes to the west. A solution could be negotiated between the city staff and the applicant or when the City Council takes up the rezoning request.

‘The parcel is too small for this project’

Two speakers raised objections to the development during a public hearing.

“I should note that the new drawings we see are not from the street level perspective,” Ken Fitch said. “The appearance of these buildings will be distinctly different from the adjacent neighborhood and its historic character. … The reality here is that the parcel is too small for this project.”

During a neighborhood compatibility meeting, neighbors raised concerns about affordability of the units, gentrification of the area and displacement of neighboring residents, vehicles parking on either side of First Avenue, increased traffic and architectural incompatibility.

Neighboring homes include dwellings built in 1882, 1902 and 1906.

Long-range Planning Manager Matthew Manley pointed out that in the newly adopted Gen H 2025 comp plan the property is in the “downtown-edge” district, which encourages higher density development near shops, restaurants and services.

The newest proposal for the site is the fourth to come before zoning regulators. An applicant won approval for 10 units in two buildings in August 2020 and then got the OK for 11 units in two buildings plus three garage apartments in August 2021. Last month, the Planning Board recommended denial of a request by Charania and McCormick for a four-story project, prompting them to reduce the buildings to three stories.