Letter: Haw Creek development raises many concerns

I live in Haw Creek and am not for the proposed Meadows development.  The reasons are listed below.

I have lost five close friends who moved away due to rent increases that were not within their budgets; four went out of state. Another was able to move in with a good friend but passed away before we were able to get him into the VA.

Also the issue of affordable housing due to the above should be addressed. Increasing rent and unaffordable house prices are making it almost impossible for locals to remain in our area.

I have pictures that I made of the 2014 flooding in the Asheville area where the creeks and rivers flooded. In the Haw Creek proposed area of development, the top of the lower bridge was underwater at the entrance to Happy Valley on the east side of New Haw Creek Road. I don’t know how you would be able to get insurance or have a city agree to rezoning or develop roads or homesites in any of the low areas due to the possibility of flooding.

If they remove old trees, I doubt we’ll see much from any new trees for a few decades. But we wish that the City Council condition any approval on significant tree preservation. What will happen to the trees that because of size and age will never be replaced? Our area is considered tree-friendly, and our local area is conservative.

In the last few years, we in Haw Creek have had a great increase in animals, including bears, turkeys, coyotes, foxes and a variety of other wildlife.  If this development is approved, their habitat will be lost forever.

We hope the Council will be committed to balancing new development with improvements to maintain and enhance the Haw Creek community. This development is very large, exceeding the development criteria, requiring Council approval.

Having been a resident of Haw Creek since 1988, the experience of my children attending school here just reinforces my concern about the safety of being able to drive on the two main roads, with only two entrances to the valley. The estimated increase in traffic without a plan or improvement is unacceptable and a serious safety concern. Obviously, we will see a lot more traffic and more pollutants, and being a small valley, we will lose the air quality we have enjoyed.

According to the Haw Creek Community Association: “At present, NCDOT reports 6,300 cars a day use New Haw Creek Road. The addition of 95 homes is expected to add 847 trips per day, a 13% increase. There are already significant backups associated with drop-offs and pickups at the two schools located on this road. The developer nor the city nor NCDOT have any plans to make improvements to New Haw Creek Road.”

— Martin Beckman
Haw Creek
Asheville