ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A controversial housing project planned for the Haw Creek community will go back before Asheville City Council on Tuesday.

Since late last year, members of the Haw Creek Community Association have been raising concerns about the Meadows at New Haw Creek, a plan that originally called for 95 homes on a 27-acre site at 767 New Haw Creek Road.

A public hearing is planned for Tuesday’s council meeting as officials consider rezoning the property.

Hundreds of people have turned out for earlier public meetings about the project.

“I think this is one of the principal reasons we are in the Harrah’s Cherokee Center for this meeting,” Assistant City Manager Ben Woody said during a council briefing Thursday.

The project has gone through several changes with the latest decreasing the number of homes, preserving a wooded area and moving the access road so fewer retaining walls are needed.

“What this application does, it proposes 49 single-family dwellings and 35 townhome dwellings,” Woody said. “It proposes 3.8 acres of tree canopy area. It proposes additional screening measures adjacent to neighboring properties.”

PROGRESS IN NEGOTIATIONS DELAYS ACTION ON NEW HAW CREEK PROJECT

The Haw Creek Community Association has been at the center of an opposition campaign.

“We learned early on that a ‘just say no’ position was not a winning hand. The law was not on our side,” a statement from the HCCA said.

The HCCA said its position over the past nine months had evolved from “outright opposition to educating ourselves.” The group began an advocacy campaign and negotiated with the developer.

The result, HCCA said, is the plan that will go before the city council on Tuesday night.

According to the HCCA, in addition to preserving a mature forest, the developer would also extend the planned sidewalk through Charlie Bullman Park to meet the New Haw Creek Road sidewalk ending at Bell Road, providing a continuous new sidewalk from Beverly Road to Sleepy Hollow Drive. The developer has also agreed to public access trails within the protected forest on the east side and a greenway along Haw Creek. The subdivision entrance access is proposed at the bottom of Sleepy Hollow Drive, about 150 feet off New Haw Creek Road, before passing any Sleepy Hollow homes. This version means no bridge through the wetlands and virtually no retaining walls, according to the HCCA.

SIDES GETTING READY FOR A SHOWDOWN OVER ASHEVILLE GROWTH

“While the current conditional zoning request before city council falls short of all requirements originally advanced by HCCA, still, it remains better than the developer’s original proposal,” the HCCA said. “Recognizing that not all of our constituents support this latest iteration, HCCA will nevertheless not object to the proposal.”

The council meeting is at 5 p.m. Tuesday Harrah’s Cherokee Center Banquet Hall, 87 Haywood Road. Free parking will be available at the center’s garage at 68 Rankin Avenue. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel. Persons wishing to speak live at the meeting will be required to attend in person and must sign-up at the door. Click HERE to learn more.

Other items on the council’s agenda include:

  • A public hearing to consider the adoption of an ordinance designating the property known as the Woolworth Building at 25 Haywood St. a local historic landmark
  • A public hearing about Community Development Block Grants
  • Public hearings about setting a special referendum for issuing General Obligation Bonds and the amounts and usages for each
  • A $38.5 million McCormick Field project and a lease agreement with the Asheville Tourists baseball team
  • A general services contract with MB Haynes Corporation to repair and replace HVAC parts and equipment in the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium