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Lapsley to file for re-election

Hendersonville Politics

McGrady 'very disappointed' with Buncombe over MSD vote

Defying the wishes of Henderson County commissioners and state Rep. Chuck McGrady, the governing board of an Asheville-based sewer system on Wednesday shot down a proposal to merge with a Henderson County-owned system and add three Henderson County representatives to the MSD board. The Metropolitan Sewer District voted 10-1 against the new makeup after board members from Buncombe, Asheville and other Buncombe towns served by the utility questioned the motives of McGrady and Henderson County officials. “I couldn’t believe it,” said Henderson County Commissioner Bill Lapsley, who attended the meeting and spoke in favor of the change. The lopsided vote was a stunning setback to the efforts of Henderson County to promote a cooperative, regional approach to providing water and service through a governing body with representation from a broad customer base. Given the decisive no vote, Lapsley said he did not see how the issue would be revived. “It’s off the table. They voted 10-1 not to do it,” he said. A state law McGrady sponsored last spring would have required the Metropolitan Sewer District to add the Henderson County representatives had it voted to merge with the Cane Creek Sewer District, as McGrady and the Henderson County commissioners wanted. The Cane Creek Sewer District, a county-owned utility, serves 3,700 customers in northern Henderson County. McGrady, a former Henderson County commissioner, and the current Board of Commissioners, with Lapsley in the lead, have argued for what they paint as regional cooperation. The attempt to think beyond city and county lines — and put more Henderson County officials on governing boards — is viewed with suspicion by Asheville city officials. McGrady also attended to advocate for the merger and new board makeup. “Sewer ought to be handled on a regional basis and these political boundaries we have I don't think are the way we ought to handle sewer — or water for that matter, but we're just here about sewer,” McGrady said, according to a report in the Asheville Citizen-Times. The Cane Creek Sewer District is a collection system, not a treatment system. It owns the sewer lines that carry sewage to the MSD plant in Woodfin, which treats the effluent for a fee. Henderson County officials have long complained that Cane Creek customers pay higher sewer rates than MSD customers. ‘Oh, this is a conspiracy’ Adding three members from Henderson County, MSD members said, would give Henderson County a disproportionate share of the overall membership board. The county would have 20 percent of the appointees on the 15-member board, on behalf of a Cane Creek customer base that amounts to just 7 percent of the total. Lapsley scoffed at the notion that adding Cane Creek to the MSD and adding Henderson County representatives was anything more than a straightforward effort at regional cooperation. “There would be one from Mills River, one from Fletcher and one of the county commissioners to represent the unincorporated area so that all the customers in the Cane Creek district are represented,” he said. “We weren’t going to have county people to vote together to take over MSD. That’s absurd. That was said. ‘Oh, this is a conspiracy.’ Several people said that. ‘There’s a sinister thing going on here. Henderson County — they've been pretty belligerent about this.’” Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer and other MSD board members suggested last month that the MSD ought to withhold support for the change until it becomes clear what if anything the Legislature will do about city- and county-owned utilities. McGrady pushed through another bill this year that calls for a study of local utilities, their rates and governance. Manheimer and other Asheville officials fear that study will be used to justify putting municipal and county water and sewer systems under state control. “I really think that all that goodwill was torpedoed when Chuck got his new study committee, which is clearly starting that fight all over again,” said Barry Summers, an activist on Asheville area water issues who opposed a bill McGrady sponsored that would have turned over Asheville’s water system to the MSD. (The state Supreme Court invalidated the law in 2016.) “Over the past year he’s been talking about how he’s got another way to get it done,” Summer said. “It was exactly a year ago that he said ‘there’s more than one way to skin the cat.’” Summers thinks Henderson County lost support from the Buncombe officials when word got out about the new legislative study committee. On Nov. 15, a week after the committee’s formation and scope of work was announced, the MSD took up the proposed Cane Creek merger and voted to postpone a decision. “They brought it up at that board meeting,” Summers said. The tenor of the discussion was, “That’s looking at regional of water and sewer and we all know what that means,” he said. “They figured he was very likely taking another swing at not just Asheville but he’s talking about taking control of Hendersonville’s system, too. So everybody’s realizing he’s really going for this.”   McGrady ‘very disappointed’ McGrady, who called Summers “venomous,” acknowledges he continues to look for ways to guide Buncombe and Henderson counties and the cities of Asheville and Hendersonville to more regional solutions in water and sewer. Asheville and Buncombe officials ginned up opposition in a mistaken interpretation of his motives, he said. “Basically no one had a problem with Henderson County joining MSD,” he said. The city (of Asheville) had said that for a long time. Buncombe County has said that for a long time.” Then Asheville officials began spreading the word that the change in the makeup would cause Asheville to lose a seat on the MSD board. “I didn’t realize there was any problem until a month ago,” McGrady said. “I get a call from Mayor Manheimer and she’s saying there were problems here, Henderson County was going to be overrepresented.” Manheimer also expressed concern about the legislative study committee. “That was very problematic because I had done exactly what I told people I would do,” he said. McGrady said his goal last spring was to try to create “a mechanism reflecting agreements with respect to water.” “I was really surprised that Mayor Manheimer now was expressing this concern that was part of the stuff being put forward by the activist known as Barry Summers,” he said. “She made the motion” to delay action on the Cane Creek merger. “I’m very disappointed,” he added. “I feel like Asheville reneged on its agreement. I’m very disappointed with Buncombe County.” McGrady expressed frustration with the parochialism that characterizes water and sewer issues, in the form in this case of one representative asking, “What’s in it for Asheville?” “I said it’s good policy. We ought to deal with these things on a regional basis. Henderson County is giving up control of sewer to work in a regional manner. It makes sense. We have to work on water and sewer and transportation and other things on a regional basis.” For now, that looks like a remote possibility. A legislative tweak to make the agreement more palatable to the MSD members is unlikely, at least in the near term.“It would take unanimity among the affected parties, which would mean all the Buncombe County and all the Henderson legislators would have to be for it,” McGrady said. “And then getting it through in the short session would be hard and moreover I’m not even sure I’ve got the stomach for it.” From Henderson County’s point of view, status quo sustains rate inequity. “Let’s keep the rates up in Henderson County while giving us no representation,” he said. “And then they wonder why they can’t get cooperation on issues they care about.” The MSD vote comes three years after Henderson County Commission Chair Michael Edney and Manheimer worked out an agreement to resolve a 20-year-old dispute over a water plant the city of Asheville built on the Mills River. In exchange, Asheville gave a 137-acres site in Bent Creek to Henderson County. When the Asheville City Council and Henderson County Board of Commissioners settled the dispute, it appeared that the two bodies could be ready to work more cooperatively on regional utility issues. Manheimer even made a symbolic gesture after the council vote, fastening a pin depicting the Henderson County Historic Courthouse on her lapel above a city of Asheville pin. Wednesday’s stunning smackdown of the sewer system merger could reignite the mistrust that has long bedeviled any chance of regional cooperation. The 10-1 vote, Lapsley said, suggests that Asheville “has no interest in joint venturing with Henderson County on any utilities.”     Read Story »

Mills River Politics

Mills River Town Council elects Davis as mayor

MILLS RIVER — The Mills River Town Council elected Chae Davis as mayor on Thursday night, making her the second female mayor in Henderson County. The town of Mills River under its charter elects the mayor from among the five council members. Davis was one of three new members to win election in the November election, defeating two other candidates to win the seat  incumbent Shanon Gonce vacated after three terms. Davis, vice president and general manager of Shuler Forest Lawn Funeral Service, presided at the regular meeting of the Town Council, which held its organizational meeting after she and new members Richmond Meadows and Brian Caskey.  District Court Judge Athena Brooks swore the members in. Meadows defeated incumbent Billy Johnston and Caskey defeated Larry Freeman, who had served as mayor since December 2013. The council honored Johnston and Gonce with plaques thanking them for their service; Freeman did not attend the meeting.       Read Story »

Henderson County Politics

Edwards to run for re-election to state Senate

State Sen. Chuck Edwards announced on Tuesday that he would run for re-election next year, saying he wanted to continue his work in Raleigh to boost the economy, lower taxes and promote more efficient government.   Read Story »

Henderson County Politics

'No excuse' for slide that makes light of drug overdose, sheriff says

Sheriff Charlie McDonald is strongly condemning a slide leaked from an interoffice email that mocks the use of the drug overdose treatment Narcan, calling the image "a tasteless attempt at humor" that he had not authorized and had never seen. An image under the title "Laugh of the Day" shows the drug being sprayed from a syringe. A tagline underneath says, "Robbing Darwin of his bountiful harvest since 1971." The image and the phrase implies "that the many lives that have been saved by the timely use of Narcan to reverse the deadly effects of opioid overdoses were not worthy of being saved," McDonald said in a statement his department sent to media organizations on Friday afternoon. "This was the first time I was aware of the existence of this slide." The slide had appeared in an interdepartmental email about crime analysis information on May 23, he said. The sheriff became aware that someone had leaked the image to news organizations. "As families struggle with the sudden loss of their sons, daughters, mothers and fathers our Sheriff in Henderson County thinks this opioid crisis is funny," an anonymous source said in an email to reporters and editors who cover Henderson County. The picture, the email writer continued, suggests "Charlie McDonald thinks these deaths are funny and by this picture thinks lives should not be saved. Time for a change in Henderson County." Nothing could be further from the truth, McDonald said in the news release. "The Henderson County Sheriff's Office has worked very hard to lead the way in combatting the devastation inflicted on our community by this nationwide crisis," he said. "We were one of the first law enforcement agencies in our area three years ago, to train and equip our deputies with this life-saving tool. To date we have over 20 reversals of opioid overdoses by Henderson County deputies and detention staff. I am aware that every person saved is someone's child, parent, spouse, neighbor or employee caught in a desperate web of addiction from which, I am certain, they desire to be free. I am well aware of the resulting heart-ache, pain and gut-wrenching despair that addiction brings to those who struggle with this disease." As for the slide and the subordinate who included it in an email to deputies, McDonald said there's "no excuse for it, regardless of the intention ... I am told it was an attempt at dark humor but it was in no way humorous and I know it does not reflect the true heart of the actual sender." The department dealt with the issue according to its policy and guidelines, McDonald said, although he did not identify the sender nor specifiy what consequences the sender faced. "As Sheriff, I accept the fact that this happened on my watch, in my agency, by one of my employees," he said. "It showed a lapse in judgment and has been appropriately addressed." He called the episode "an opportunity for humility, true remorse and lessons learned. I assure you that all have taken place and I apologize that in this instance there was a failure to maintain the highest standards of what I believe is 'a brotherhood in pursuit of excellence.'"     Read Story »

Flat Rock Politics

Revised plans for Kanuga, Highland Lake pushed back to spring

Revisions of state transportation plans to widen Kanuga and Highland Lake roads won't be ready until next spring, the NCDOT says. After public meetings on the proposals and receiving input from residents, property owners and elected officials, engineers are looking alternatives and plan to come back next spring with other options, NCDOT spokesman David Uchiyama said in a response to a request for an update from the Hendersonville Lightning. "NCDOT is looking at various ways to reduce to footprint of improving Kanuga Road, including the possibility of eliminating 4-foot bike lanes," he said. "We are aiming to present revised proposals on Kanuga in the spring." On Highland Lake Road, Uchiyama confirmed that the agency is looking at other options there as well. "We are addressing concerns presented by Pinecrest (Presbyterian) Church and greenway opponents," he said. "We have informed Flat Rock that we would like to present multiple options for them to review in the spring." The Flat Rock Village Council has heard from opponents of the Highland Lake Road widening at its last several meetings. The board voted in August to endorse the widening, with Vice Mayor Nick Weedman and Council member Anne Coletta voting no. Members of Historic Flat Rock Inc. have appealed to the Village Council to reverse its support of the widening, which members say is not in keeping with the historic character of the village. Pinecrest church leaders have said the widening would eliminate the church's septic system and take a line of evergreens that provides a visual and sound barrier. Meanwhile, opponents of the Kanuga widening project have gained the support of boards that advise the Hendersonville City Council on environmental matters and trees. After hearing from project opponents at its Nov. 7 meeting, the Tree Board voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council oppose the Kanuga widening. "The proposed improvements would result in the loss of an incaluculable number of trees and cause a major reduction in the city's urban canopy," the Tree Board said in a Nov. 17 memorandum to the council. The Tree Board determined that a number of trees in the path of the widening would qualify for Heritage Tree status under city ordinance. Several Kanuga Road homeowners have applied for Heritage Tree designation and more are expected to, the Tree Board said. "The Board feels that the environmental damage caused by this project will far outweigh any benefits it might have," the memo said. "Furthermore, the board feels that an endorsement of this project by the city would not be in keeping with our status as a Tree City USA and Bee City USA." On Nov. 16, the city Environmental Sustainability Board, after hearing from widening opponents, echoed the tree board's position and called on the City Council to continues its efforts to negotiate a compromise that would "minimize the overall footprint and environmental impact of the project." Henderson County, Hendersonville and Flat Rock officials met last month with NCDOT engineers to hammer out compromises that would minimize the impact of the Kanuga and Highland Lake improvements. County Commissioner Bill Lapsley, Hendersonville mayor pro tem Steve Caraker and Flat Rock Village Council member John Dockendorf proposed a separate Mud Creek greenway to replace bike lanes they want removed from the Kanuga project. On Monday night, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners agreed to apply for a grant to fund a feasibiity study of a greenway along a sewer easement from the Publix site to Erkwood Drive. The Hendersonville City Council is scheduled to discuss the greenway at its regular meeting on Thursday night.   Read Story »

Henderson County Politics

Board re-elects Edney as chair, Hawkins vice chair

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners re-elected Michael Edney as chairman and Grady Hawkins as vice chair Monday night, keeping the same lineup of leaders for the next year. There was no discussion and no other nominees for the top two spots. Hawkins, a retired Air Force colonel, is in his fourth term on the board. Edney, an attorney who is up for re-election in 2018, is also in his fourth term.     Read Story »

Henderson County Politics

Thompson looks back on 40 years of service

Seldon Osteen, Henderson County’s clerk of superior court, was already on the ballot in 1974 when he received a diagnosis of cancer. Looking around for a replacement, the county’s Republican leaders settled on a young banker and recent college graduate who had grown up in Dana. “In about July, the Republican Party called me and said, ‘Tommy, he’s got to drop out. We want you to step in and run in his place.’ Well, that kind of blew me over but I thought, I’ll take the opportunity,” Thompson said in an interview. Last month, after serving eight terms as clerk of court and two on the Board of Commissioners, Thompson, 66, announced his retirement from political office. In an interview with the Hendersonville Lightning, he talked about his life of public service, from that 1974 campaign cardfirst campaign to his recent work on Board of Commissioners. What he lacked in experience back in that ’74 campaign, he made up for in youthful energy. He had a name that was well-known around the county, especially in the apple country. “I did a door-to-door campaign, saw about 5,000 households and won that election,” he said. He beat Democrat Neal Grissom, who had been chief deputy under Sheriff Jim Kilpatrick, back in the days when Democrats were competitive in the county. After that 631-vote margin, he would never have a close race again. He turned back challengers decisively in 1978 and 1982, then won re-election without opposition five more times without opposition. He retired in 2006 at age 55.   Colorful courthouse figures TIMELINE   1951: Born at Patton Memorial Hospital to Preston and Gertrude Thompson. (The late Harry Thompson, of Harry’s & Piggy’s, was an uncle.) 1969: Graduated from East Henderson High School. 1973: Graduated from Western Carolina University. 1974: Elected Clerk of Superior Court, re-elected through 2002. 2006: Retired from clerk’s job. 2010: Elected to the Board of Commissioners, serving as chairman in 2012 and 2015 and 2016, vice chair in 2013 and 2014. Oct. 23, 2017: Announces his retirement from the Board of Commissioners. December 2018: Travel, spend time with Sherri, spoil the grandchildren, fish. Serving most of his career in the 1905 county courthouse before criminal and civil courts moved to the Grove Street building, Thompson recalls colorful figures and trials. “We had this dude that was known to run,” he said. “He was fast as lightning. Given the opportunity he would just streak away and take off. The law enforcement people told the judge, ‘If he gets half a chance he’s out of here and we know that.’ “This judge carried a .45,” Thompson said. “So he called me up to the bench and he called the bailiff. He pointed to the back wall and said, ‘You see that thermostat with that little gold dial on it. I can hit that from here. Now, Mr. Bailiff, you put one of your men back there and you stand over here and, Tommy, you just lay low and if he runs I’ll get ‘em right here.’ He took the .45 out and laid it on top. He didn’t run either.” After 32 years, Thompson decided he had enough. The timing was right. His first two grandchildren were toddlers and he would look after them during the day. His wife, Sherri, was still working fulltime and both spent most of their time outside work caring for their elderly parents. “We basically went nowhere,” he said. “We had those responsibilities and we took them to heart.”   Drinking through a firehose In 2010, he agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to run for the District 1 Board of Commissioners seat that Mark Williams was vacating. Thompson knew plenty about civil and criminal court, foreclosures, mediation, adoptions, divorces and small claims. But when he was sworn in and installed as vice chairman that December, he plunged into a swirling eddy of a $120 million budget, tough decisions on spending cuts during the recession and crowds of people caterwauling about rezoning cases. “Even though I had gone to every meeting for a year, I was sucking through a straw,” he said. After fellow commissioners elected him chairman in his second year, he quickly learned that the gavel gave him no extra power. He was still only one vote. “Clerk of Superior Court is the hub of the court system,” he said. “When I was clerk I could shoot out some orders. I walk out (into the Board of Commissioners room) and I get into this five-man deal where I’ve gotta get at least two other people to agree with me. I can’t go out there and spit out orders. That’s not always easy. All of us have got egos. I know what I want. Charlie (Messer) wants what he wants. Bill (O’Connor) wants what he wants. You gotta work it together. So I was drinking through a firehose.” If he was gulping hard, he also led the board during a series of capital projects and industrial catches unparalleled in recent county history. With Thompson as chair or vice chair, the county built or committed to build the Health Sciences Center, Innovative High School, Edneyville Elementary School, Hendersonville High School, the law enforcement training center and the emergency management complex. During his seven years so far, the board has authorized tax breaks that helped land Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Bold Rock Hard Cider and GF Linamar. Calling on his experience mediating contentious disputes as clerk of court, he guided the Board of Commissioners through the resignation of Sheriff Rick Davis, the Duke Energy transmission line project and water wars with the city of Hendersonville and the city of Asheville. County Manager Steve Wyatt attributes Thompson’s effectiveness to an ability to be patient and gather information. Tommy Thompson and County Manager Steve Wyatt, in 2012.“I’ve been doing this for 30-some years and I’ve worked with a lot of elected officials but the neatest thing I can tell you about Tommy is his ability to change his mind,” Wyatt said. “Tommy can look at things from all the angles and he can see things from different points of view as he gathers information. Tommy will gather information constantly and we’ll talk about it. He is open to changing his mind based on the facts. How refreshing.” “There’s no guile, there’s not a hidden agenda,” Wyatt added. “He wants to figure out what’s right. He’s going to be a hard one to place. His vision, his ability to see the various sides of issues is very much a strength of his.” A 'signature' John Hancock Someone who has made a career of signing public documents — from custody orders to foreclosure notices to resolutions of the Board of Commissioners — might be expected to cut a few corners for the sake of speed. That would not be Tommy Thompson. His signature stands out for its clarity. “When I was learning cursive in school I was trying to learn to write like my mother did. She would do this with a T,” he said, demonstrating the upper case letter that starts his first and last names. “Mrs. Arledge in third grade said, ‘Tommy, I don’t like that.’” So he changed the T slightly and came up with a style that Mrs. Arledge endorsed. He later added a sweeping reverse arc that creates a neat dome over this name. “I get a lot of comments. I get a lot of people tell me, ‘That’s beautiful,’” he said. “If I’m going to sign my name, if it’s valuable enough to sign, it’s valuable enough to know who signed it.” If you ask Tommy’s son, T.C., about his father’s signature, T.C. will recall what his dad told him: “If I’m going to sign my name on a document that takes a man’s property or takes custody of his children or sends him to jail, I want him to be able to read it.” “That’s exactly the way I feel,” Tommy adds. “If it’s worth putting my signature on they need to know that I take responsibility for.”   Gone fishin’ A year from now, Thompson, 66, and Sherri will both be retired and ready to enjoy family, the beach and fishing. Tommy Thompson, with his wife, Sherri, holding Bible, takes oath of office after his 2014 re-election.“I’ve given 40 years — that’s 10 elections — I think it’s time to enjoy my family and be more of a part of those grandbabies and the children than I was able to be early on,” he said. “I’ve got a trip planned for all of us in June or July to Destin.” When he thinks about what his record of service, he puts family first. “If I leave behind two wonderful children, four wonderful grandbabies who have had some direction from me and they are an asset to humanity, that’s a legacy,” he said.     Read Story »

Henderson County Politics

Guest column: For love of country, teach children to stand

America is a melting pot of different cultures, backgrounds, beliefs, and nationalities.   Read Story »

Laurel Park Politics

NIMBY NATION: Greatest hits of grassroots uprisings

Residents rising up against big developments, road projects and disruptive land-use changes have had some remarkable successes over the years. The grassroots movements to prevent development have staged fights against the big and hugely consequential — a TVA proposal to build 14 dams — to the trivial — the playground at the Park at Flat Rock. Here’s a look at some of the notable past and current fights in our area’s colorful nimby history.   Dam fighters defeat TVA, 1968-72 A David and Goliath battle pitting natives and newcomers against the giant TVA and its many powerful allies ended in 1972 when voters locally and statewide replaced project advocates with those who opposed the ambitious flood-control project. Organizer Jere Brittain called the effort a “perfect storm” of politics and timing. The new National Environmental Policy Act gave opponents a strong weapon to force the government into accountability and public hearings. Retirees with expertise joined natives with their family homesteads at stake to form a powerful grassroots coalition that finally prevailed. Here's an in-depth look at the historic fight. Ingles on N.C. 191, 1995-2005 Bob Ingle badly wanted to build a supermarket on N.C. 191 in the Rugby area. Rugby residents wouldn’t allow it. Ingles Markets tried unsuccessfully in 1995 to build a store next to Rugby Middle School. It tried in 2003 on N.C. 191 at North Rugby Road — withdrawing a zoning request before it reached the Board of Commissioners — and again in 2005. Five-hundred residents who turned out at the West Henderson High School auditorium cheered when commissioners voted 5-0 against the rezoning. Clear Creek Connector, 2000 Residents of neighborhoods on N.C. 191 in Hendersonville and tenants of the Beverly Hanks Center packed hearings to oppose the NCDOT’s plans for the Clear Creek Connector, a new bypass from I-26 to N.C. 191 that had the strong support of the Chamber of Commerce. The roadway would have sliced through the office complex and Patton Park, and residents of the Haywood Road neighborhoods feared a flood of traffic. In June 2000, the Hendersonville City Council reversed an earlier vote in favor of the project and voted to kill the project. The Cliffs at Brevard, 2000 The Friends of DuPont Forest had members and support far beyond the area adjoining the 2,200 acres of waterfalls, trails and woods they ultimate saved. Hikers, campers, hunters and conservationists made up a broad coalition that successfully blocked developer Jim Anthony from turning the forest land into an upscale subdivision called the Cliffs at Brevard. Led by Chuck McGrady, a summer camp owner who would become a county commissioner and state legislator, the Friends of DuPont Forest raised money, wrote letters and lobbied local and state officials. In October 2000, the state Cabinet voted to buy the property under its power of imminent domain. The state’s initial payment of $12 million was doubled to $24 million in a settlement filed in Transylvania County Superior Court. Anthony, who bought the land for $6.35 million in 1999, said he had invested another $14 million on improvements. Grimesdale asphalt plant, 2001 In 2001 residents of the neighborhood off Brookside Camp Road packed hearings and organized Citizens Against the Asphalt Plant to fight an asphalt plant Tarheel Paving Co. planned on 16 acres on Asheville Highway. The CAAP, held rallies, distributed pamphlets, sponsored public forums and attended hearings to warn of what they regarded as the plant’s adverse effects on air quality, water quality, health and property values. It was a valiant fight that failed. When a Superior Court judge upheld the issuance of a permit by state air quality regulators, the Grimesdale Homeowners Association gave up. The plant has operated since with no air quality complaints. I-26 widening, 2002. A federal judge blocked NCDOT’s plan to widen I-26 to six lanes after opponents filed a lawsuit on environmental grounds. Opponents, who had formed Citizens for Transportation Planning, argued that the Federal Highway Administration and the NCDOT failed to study how the I-26 widening in Henderson County and three other related projects in Buncombe would affect air pollution, traffic and growth. The plaintiffs won their case at trial, effectively blocking the I-26 widening for almost 20 years. (A six-lane project in Henderson County is scheduled for 2019.) Crail Farm Road bridge, 2008. Residents of Middleton Road and the vicinity in Flat Rock objected to a plan by the NCDOT to replace a 43-year-old wooden bridge on Crail Farm Road, a lightly traveled dirt road that connects Kanuga and Middleton roads. DOT engineers described the bridge as “structurally deficient” and “functionally obsolete” and said floodwaters would likely “take out a center support” and wash the bridge away. A discussion of the bridge construction dragged on for 5,400 words in minutes of a Board of Commissioners meeting. The NCDOT ultimately redesigned and constructed a new bridge. Duke Energy transmission line, summer of 2015 The biggest nimby uprising since the TVA battle, this was another grassroots battle that involved regular folks against a powerful adversary. Unlike developments that can be stopped at the local level, a utility’s plans for new transmission lines and power plants are exempt from zoning and other local laws. But one characteristic common to nearly all successful nimby movements is their refusal to be cowed by long odds. A coalition of homeowners, environmentalists, tourism industry businesses and farmers turned out people by the hundreds at hearings in Henderson County and Upstate South Carolina to oppose Duke’s plans. Every city in Henderson County except Hendersonville adopted resolutions opposing the 45-mile 230-kilovolt transmission line and the Hendersonville City Council and county Board of Commissioners urged a second, independent look at whether the project was needed. After five tumultuous months of protests, public hearings and negative publicity, Duke pulled the plug. Bradley Road event barn, October 2015 Stan Shelley has led the fight against an event barn in his backyard.Although the Zoning Board of Adjustment granted a permit for the event barn for weddings and other gatherings two years ago, the opposition has not retreated. Homeowners and dozens of allies from as far away as Crab Creek and Asheville have protested the decision at subsequent Zoning Board of Adjustment and county commission meetings, saying commercial uses should be barred in residential zones. Although the permit was upheld by the state Court of Appeals, homeowners have continued to press their case at the zoning board meetings, asking it to revoke the permit. Flat Rock Playground, summer 2016 Residents of the Highland Golf Villas implored the Flat Rock Village Council to suppress the noise at a children’s playground at the Park at Flat Rock or move the facility far from their homes. After several months of protest and a noise study, the Village Council says no. Moving the playground would be too expensive, Mayor Bob Staton said, and would disrupt future development spelled out in the park master plan. Eagles Nest at Horse Shoe Farm, December 2016 The Henderson County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to deny developer John Turchin’s rezoning request for 225 cottages and apartments at Horse Shoe Farm on the French Broad River. Residents of Tamarac and other subdivisions on South Rugby Road packed Planning Board and county commission meetings to oppose the project. Carl Sandburg Home Historic Site parking lot, April 2017 Planned for years by the National Park Service, a second parking lot on Little River Road triggered a small but effective nimby response by across-the-street neighbors. When a contractor bulldozed 36 trees, the neighbors called their congressman and the Flat Rock Village Council, complained to the chief ranger for the historic site and mounted a petition drive to block the project. Work has stopped since the opponents sought to block the parking lot. Senior living apartments, Aug. 3, 2017 The Hendersonville City Council unanimously denied a rezoning that would have allowed 126 senior apartments plus a café, movie theater and library on eight acres in the city’s extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction on U.S. 64 east of Laurel Park. Neighboring homeowners argued that the development was incompatible with the residential area and would overburden already congested U.S. 64. The Farm at Eagles Nest, Oct. 19, 2017 The Henderson County Planning Board rejected a 299-unit development in Etowah.Nine months after the county killed his Horse Shoe Farm plan, developer John Turchin stood before the Henderson County Planning Board and asked for the green light for a 299-unit development of rental cottages, apartments and RV spaces on a 225-acre tract in Etowah that’s currently a cow pasture. The Planning Board said no, agreeing with the nimby assembly’s objections based on traffic, water and sewer access and neighborhood compatibility. Arcadia View cottages, pending Residents of Hunters Crossing and Hawthorn Hills have organized strong opposition to a development of 209 rental cottages on Davis Mountain across from their subdivisions. Wearing green “Fix U.S. 64” buttons, opponents have attended public hearings on road projects and meetings of the Board of Commissioners, the county Transportation Advisory Committee to demand U.S. 64 improvements. The Laurel Park Town Council asked the NCDOT for a second in-depth traffic impact study, which is pending. Boyd Drive bridge, pending Residents of Boyd Drive, Flat Rock Forest and other subdivisions have decried a planned bridge replacement over Memminger Creek as an overdesigned monstrosity that would bulldoze dozens of large hardwoods and destroy the aquatic habitat. NCDOT says the bridge is unsafe and has to be replaced. Residents and Village Council member John Dockendorf have been negotiating with NCDOT engineers for a more modest design. Highland Lake Road widening, pending Residents turned out in large numbers to oppose the Highland Lake Road widening project.Opponents of the NCDOT project that would widen Highland Lake Road, straighten curves and add a separated multi-use lane have organized to block the project on the grounds that it’s an overreach that takes too many trees and threatens the Park at Flat Rock. Although the Flat Rock Village Council endorsed the project earlier this year, two council members are pushing their colleagues to reverse the endorsement or demand changes. Historic Flat Rock members oppose the project as inconsistent with the historic character of the village. Kanuga Road widening, pending Signs saying “No widening Kanuga,” “Yard Not for Sale,” and “Save the Trees!” dot Kanuga Road from Church Street in Hendersonville to Little River Road in Flat Rock. Kanuga residents are rallying against the $20 million project. They argue that widening the travel lanes to 11 feet and adding 4-foot paved shoulders as dedicated bike lanes is “government overkill” that would take hundreds of trees, remove rock walls and subdivision gates and turn a rural road into a speedway. The 4.2-mile project also would include turn lanes at the Kanuga-Erkwood intersection and a 5-foot sidewalk north of Erkwood. U.S. 64 improvements, pending Residents on either side of U.S. 64 in Laurel Park have raised objections to planned improvements from Blythe Street to White Pine Drive that include 12-foot travel lanes, 5-foot striped bike lanes in each direction, 5-foot sidewalks on either side, a 17-foot grass median and roundabouts at (realigned) Windsor Drive-White Pine, Pisgah Drive and Glasgow Lane. After the NCDOT moved roundabouts and made other changes to accommodate businesses, the Laurel Park Town Council endorsed the plan on Feb. 21. The 1-mile project also passes through Hendersonville and unincorporated Henderson County. Meanwhile, residents further west, in Hunters Crossing and Hawthorn Hills, oppose a development on Davis Mountain and say the highway should be improved before more development is allowed. Sources: “Gun Fights, Dam Fights and Water Rights: Essays on the History of Henderson County, North Carolina, and Vicinity,” James Brittain, 2001; History of Grimesdale (grimesdale.org/history) by Merle D. Thornton (president, 1950-1986), Arthur F. Drant Jr. (1987-1991) and Evelyn M. VandenDolder (1992-2008); minutes of Henderson County Board of Commissioners, Hendersonville City Council, Flat Rock Village Council, Laurel Park Town Council; Henderson County Transportation Advisory Committee, NCDOT public information brochures on road improvement projects, City of Hendersonville NCDOT Road Projects Update, Hendersonville Lightning, (Hendersonville) Times-News, interviews.   Read Story »

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