Letter: Hendersonville project is neither smart nor sustainable

Graphic by Lori Deaton

What about smart, sustainable growth?

There is a $4 million development proposal imminent before Hendersonville City Council for final vote on June 2. It involves decimating a 161-acre farm composed of gentle rolling hills, pastureland, forest and wetlands. The plan to build 461 dwelling units, composed of 300 apartments across 13 buildings and 161 single-family homes is ill-advised, impractical and, frankly, insane. This means that 900-plus cars a day would empty onto a 20-foot-wide minor thoroughfare, a road that now sees perhaps 15-25 cars twice a day. Of course, the plan to fit all these cars is to widen the road to 70 feet. This will involve clear-cutting a 50-foot-wide swath of first-growth mature trees in the forest.

There is a large wildlife habitat/corridor on the property and includes white squirrels, rabbits, possums, raccoons, deer, turkey, hawks, birds, waterfowl, cranes and herons. These animals, as well as a balanced aquatic ecosystem, are supported by the wetlands, a system of waterways emanating from Mud Creek. The wildlife habitat and aquatic ecosystem will most certainly be destroyed by development construction, reduced or absent canopy cover to guard against predators and the magnified noise level from construction.

Further, the development will empty the aforementioned 900-plus cars onto Tracy Grove Road, an already curvy and dangerous road. The intersection of Tracy Grove Road and Dana Road, as well as the Duncan Hill Road and Four Seasons Boulevard intersection, will be highly impacted as well. Even if road improvements were made and traffic were redesigned, this would take close to a year. Drivers in the city are already fed up with the maze of traffic problems that exist. We don’t need more development in the city when our streets can barely sustain what we currently carry.

These are just a few of the many reasons why this development is neither smart nor sustainable growth. This decision will impact the entire city, not just our neighborhood. Please contact all City Council members and the mayor with your resolute “no.” Your voice makes a difference. Go to [avl.mx/blp] for member contact information.

— Friends of Tracy Grove
Stephanie Sawyer
Hendersonville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

6 thoughts on “Letter: Hendersonville project is neither smart nor sustainable

  1. westworldemployee7

    The powers that be have no interest in preserving nature or considering the needs of the current inhabitants!

    Hendersonville has become overcrowded, filthy and overrun with drugs! Just saw the SWAT team out in Historic (hah!) West HVL – yet again!

    We need to ban AirBNBs…there are no rentals left! And people making a crappy $12/hr can’t afford $2,000/month rental homes!

    The pols must be getting very nice payouts from the greedy, corrupt developers! They’re determined to take down every tree!!!

  2. Kathleen T Kurke

    I’d like to write to city council. What is the name of the proposed development so I can refer to it correctly? Thanks.

  3. Dede Mcgowan

    Hendersonville project.. who exactly will benefit?
    Please say “NO”!

  4. Curious

    What price range will the apartments and homes in this development have? Is the need for new, affordable housing as acute in Hendersonville as it is Asheville? Did the Friends of Tracy Grove make an attempt to buy this property from the Thomas family to try to preserve it as a natural habitat?

  5. indy499

    Asheville has enough problems with housing, so we don’t need to deal with Hooterville.

Leave a Reply to westworldemployee7 ×

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.