Flashback: A little history about timbering in local watersheds


In a March 12 Asheville Citizen-Times article, Rep. Moffitt suggests, “Selective timbering under the auspices of a professional arborist is the best thing for a watershed.” Moffitt chairs a state committee that’s considering stripping the city of Asheville of the water system, creating a new regional authority to own and manage the system, handing it off to the Metropolitan Sewerage District, or leaving things the way they are. Here’s a flashback at the controversy over a late-1980s clear-cutting contract in the 21,000-acre North Fork Reservoir watershed.
(A file photo of clear-cut logging at the North Fork Reservoir in the late 1980s.)

What’re you up to?

If the current water talks end in the formation of a Regional Water Agreement, I was wondering if all the participating members will be burdened by the unfair Sullivan Acts, or will Asheville be singled out again, as it is now? Mr. Moffit? Mr. McGrady? Anyone know? — Leni Sitnick Asheville

Asheville City Council

Council pitches compromise on water laws Parks plan needs more work Bele Chere ‘09 scaled back Asheville City Council’s Feb. 24 meeting—all seven hours of it—was book-ended by dollar signs and question marks. It started with a city budget update and ended with a report on the federal stimulus package, both of which presage more […]

The big kibosh

Developer Tony Fraga has decided to abandon his massive Haywood Park proposal for downtown Asheville, which included a pair of 20-plus-story high-rises. Attorney Lou Bissette delivered the news to the Asheville City Council during its Nov. 11 meeting. Walking away: Developer Tony Fraga sent word to Asheville City Council that he was withdrawing his proposed […]

Seeking higher ground

The city of Asheville has announced it will appeal its challenge of the Sullivan Acts to the N.C. Supreme Court by Sept. 23. But it is not entirely clear that the court will hear the case. “City Council feels obligated to proceed with an appeal to the Supreme Court, but we are still committed to […]

Buncombe commission­ers admit nothing following secret session

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners met in emergency session Monday night to discuss possible resolution of the county’s long-running battle with Asheville concerning water. No public action ensued, but Chairman Nathan Ramsey announced that the board will reconvene for a second special session on at 7 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 2, in Council Chambers.

Asheville City Council

A proposed 162-unit gated community adjacent to the Asheville Country Club appears to be on hold after City Council indefinitely tabled the developer’s request for a conditional-use permit. Besides placing the ball squarely back in the developer’s court, the case also raised the possibility of updating of some of Asheville’s subdivision regulations. “This is one […]

Sticking to their guns

“We’re going to have to pay up, guys.” — Council member Terry Bellamy on the need to raise the salary for the new city manager Despite making progress on two high-profile issues, Asheville City Council members came away with mixed feelings about the overall effectiveness of their annual retreat. Council did take action on the […]

Knocking at the gate

It’s not every day that a former chairman of the UNC Board of Governors (and a man with a distinguished professorship named after him) takes a complaint to the Regional Water Authority of Asheville, Buncombe and Henderson. But that’s what Philip Carson found himself doing at the Authority’s Nov. 16 meeting, when frustration and even […]

Short and bitterswee­t

At its Aug. 17 meeting, the Regional Water Authority of Asheville, Buncombe and Henderson heard a few brief updates from consultants and city staff. At one point amid these reports, they voted unanimously, and without much ado, to join the city in funding larger lines for a low-pressure area of West Asheville. And then, just […]