“Many people come in and have an idea of what kind of house they want: an older home like a Victorian or Arts and Crafts, a bungalow, a ranch, midcentury modern, a fixer-upper, a new green build,” says Stephanie Cochran, a broker with Mosaic Realty. “In many towns that pinpoints the area where you will look. But in Asheville, so many neighborhoods have a mix of many if not all of those.”
The Board of Adjustment soldiered through a more than five hour meeting that had Buncombe County residents rallying against multiple development projects.
The Buncombe County Board of Adjustment will consider conditional use permits for a 255-unit apartment complex in Arden and a subdivision with 54 homes in Riceville when it meets on Wednesday, May 10.
Community unrest continues over the Coggins Farm property, site of a highly disputed planned development in Riceville. Riceville residents and other conservation proponents have formed the Coggins Conversation Project, calling for 75 acres of the 169-acre site to be placed in a conservation easement.
After nearly eight hours of witness testimony, evidence and cross-examinations, the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment voted 6-1 to approve the proposed development of Coggins Farm in Riceville. During the hearing, the board had the opportunity to hear from neighbors concerned with the possibility of development affecting their own property values, flooding from Bull Creek and the increased traffic the project would create on roads that residents say are already dangerous.
The rezoning request for Coggins Farm, a mixed-use development planned for a 169-acre tract in Riceville known as Old Coggins Farm, has been withdrawn by the developer, Coggins Farm LLC. It was scheduled to go before the Buncombe County Commissioners on Feb.18.
As a development company plans to build a new subdivision in Riceville, the neighbors worry their rural community is changing for the worse. With the real estate market bouncing back, what does the resurrgence of development mean for the region?
Managers of the National Forest are familiar with the Shopes Creek forest and intend to log it. The area is one of the Asheville area’s great “secret” recreational sites.
