Asheville City Council at its Feb. 25 meeting approved, 7-0, a 100% affordable 126-unit housing project off Pine Lane and cleared the way with a 5-2 vote for a 304-unit development on Sweeten Creek Road near the intersection of Long Shoals and Hendersonville roads.
Council members also voted to allow the Pine Lane developer, Minnesota-based Roers Co., to use $2.1 million of a $3.87 million Housing Trust Fund (HTF) low-interest loan to buy the 6.68 acres east of Interstate 26 near Brevard Road, next to Fred Anderson Toyota of Asheville. The rest will go toward construction costs. Units will range in size from one to four bedrooms. Council also placed a deed restriction on the land to ensure it will always be used for affordable housing.
Buncombe County is contributing $6.5 million to the project as well.
All units will be available to those making 60% or less of the area median income (AMI), equating to $39,240 annually for a single-person household and $44,880 for a two-person household.
Jenny Luczak, a local resident, expressed concerns about the project’s impact on neighbors on Oak Lodge Road, a privately maintained road that intersects Pine Lane.
“We don’t really foresee the renters wanting to maintain the privately maintained road they are going to use,” Luczak said.
Sam Starr-Baum, urban planner III with the City of Asheville Planning and Urban Design Department, said staff has worked with the developer to make sure there is signage stating Oak Lodge is a private road and directs traffic to Pine Lane.
Luczak also requested a fence between the clubhouse and the nearest residential property. The developer agreed to include a fence, which will be designed to blend with the landscaping plan.
Mayor Esther Manheimer thanked the developer for its persistence and for using HTF loans to provide affordable housing.
“We wish we could see more projects like this come forward,” Manheimer said.
For years, Council was getting requests for only one- or two-bedroom units, which aren’t suitable for families with several children who need affordable housing, said Council member Sage Turner.
“So, I’m thrilled to see the unit count,” Turner said.
Traffic concerns
Council also rezoned 18.4 acres at 3183 Sweeten Creek Road in South Asheville’s unincorporated Skyland community to allow the construction of 304 apartments. The development will displace residents at 23 units on the site.
Plans call for 160 one-bedroom and 120 two-bedroom apartments, as well as 24 townhouses with three bedrooms.
Other site improvements include off-street parking, sidewalks, a clubhouse, pool and a multiuse building.
Derek Allen, an attorney representing the development team, Greensboro-based Sweeten Creek AVL, said it has a list of alternate housing options for existing residents.
“We’ve been trying to keep the tenants that are out there, that are all on month-to-month leases informed about this process,” Allen said.
Nearby resident Shawn Spruce represented the Sweeten Creek neighborhood and expressed concerns over the traffic in the neighborhood. The N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) recently canceled plans to widen Sweeten Creek.
Spruce said he’s all for more housing, but the neighborhood’s already packed.
“We just have so much traffic on that road, and it’s not letting up. We see more and more developments and this is just another one. As you mentioned, NCDOT has completely eliminated that future widening from the budget, so how are we going to deal with all this congestion?” Spruce asked.
The motion was approved 5-2 with Council members Maggie Ullman and Turner voting no.
Turner said in an email to Xpress she voted no because of concerns over “displacing 23 existing homes and families, not building any affordable units, a lack of existing transit options to the area, and increasing vehicle traffic on a state-owned road that NCDOT recently announced will not be expanded.”
Public weighs in on budget
Council heard from the public during a comment session for the city’s fiscal year 2025-26, which runs from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. Council will hold a series of work sessions and a public hearing on Tuesday, May 27, to set priorities for the budget, as well as an additional $225 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. This year’s budget is $251 million.
Council members’ priorities, set during a budget work session Feb. 13, are: strengthening infrastructure; expanding housing solutions; economic recovery; enhancing food security; and maintaining sustainability. Those priorities were shaped by nearly 6,900 Helene Recovery Priorities Survey responses.
Five residents spoke at the meeting asking for programs to address the climate crisis, sustain the economy and improve transportation.
Patrick Burger urged the city to fund the now-defunct Blue Horizons Project or similar programs. The Blue Horizons Project was conceived in 2016 by the Energy Innovation Task Force (EITF), a working group consisting of representatives of the city, county and Duke Energy to find ways to lower demand or generate more energy. It also set a goal to postpone the need for a peaker plant, which kicks in when electricity demand is high. It has been removed from Duke Energy Progress’ 15-year plan.
“We call on the city to maximize funding opportunities like the $225 million Community Development Block Grant to move climate justice initiatives forward,” Burger said.
Nina Tovish said, “I ask you, for every budget decision you make, you look at it as a potential investment for a sustainable economy. Is it going to help us be more resilient? Is it going to contribute to the economy that won’t be decimated if we lose all of our visitors for six months?”
Jen Hampton, Just Economics housing and wages organizer and co-chair for Asheville Food and Beverage United, noted that the city doesn’t pay a living wage.
“The Just Economics living wage rate in Buncombe County in 2025 is $23.15 per hour. This is based on three times the HUD fair market rent for our county. Starting pay for the city of Asheville is currently below 80% of AMI … which means many city employees cannot qualify for a housing unit subsidized at 80% AMI,” Hampton said. “From public works, our water department, parks and rec, and first responders work tirelessly in the aftermath of Helene, and many of these same staff are not paid enough to live in the city they serve. This is unacceptable.”
In other news
- The city launched a website, AshevilleRecovers.org which lists progress updates on recovery, public meetings and Federal Emergency Management Agency deadlines, community resources and ways to volunteer.
- Council proclaimed the week of Feb. 24-28 to be Invasive Species Awareness week and proclaimed March as Procurement Month to honor individuals who source goods and materials for governmental purposes.
This story was supported by the Fund for Investigative Reporting and Editing.
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