Waynesville approves housing development

Construction is expected to begin soon on 59 units in

Waynesville. Town of Waynesville photo

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS EDITOR

A59-unit townhome development on 7.7 acres just off East Street in Waynesville has been approved over opposition from neighbors, several planning board members and a town alderman.

“I can’t recall an instance where the planning board was so divided,” said Waynesville Alderman Jon Feichter. “Based on the documentation in the agenda packet, there were four planning board members that voted to approve and three that voted in opposition.”

Feichter was the only alderman to vote against the project, noting that all of the comments at a March 21 planning board meeting were against the proposal. Concerns centered around traffic impact and the general impact to the neighborhood, according to Development Services Director Elizabeth Teague, who was present at the meeting.

Opposition came despite developers Quartz Properties LLC taking several steps to exceed existing zoning guidelines, particularly in unit density.

The development consists of four adjoining parcels that happen to lie in two separate zoning districts. In one, the maximum base density is 10 units per acre. In the other, it’s 16 units per acre. The development, as approved, comes in at just 7.7 units per acre, although developers could have theoretically asked for 77 or 123 total units instead of 59.

Developers also could have proposed three-story units, but opted for two stories instead.

Per town standards, a minimum of .39 acres would need to be set aside as civic space; developers carved out more than 2.1 acres, or 27% of the total land area.

As stated in the staff report addressing the project, the intent of the developer was to maximize open space in the development by creating lot sizes, widths and setbacks that are less than allowed by the town’s land development standards.

Additionally, the development’s road network is designed to minimize the total area of impervious surface (i.e. concrete and asphalt), which helps alleviate problems with stormwater runoff. No alleys, driveways or garages were proposed for the project.

In granting project approval, aldermen said that the development was consistent with the goals of the town’s new 2035 Comprehensive Land Use Plan, namely that it promotes smart growth principles by creating walkable neighborhoods from infill, mixed-use and context-sensitive development.

The comprehensive plan also encourages the development of diverse new housing stock within town limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction. Developers haven’t yet announced plans regarding the sale or rental of the units.

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BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS EDITOR

Following an April 21 vote from the N.C. Rules Review Commission, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission might not be allowed to implement a new rule allowing bear hunting in three Western North Carolina sanctuary areas that are currently off-limits to the practice.

The Rules Review Commission received a barrage of letters requesting legislative review of the rule, with the packet collating those letters totaling 439 pages. State law requires legislative review for rules that receive 10 or more letters requesting it.

Rules sent for legislative review have delayed implementation dates and could be struck down completely. According to state statute, the clock will start ticking when the N.C. General Assembly convenes for its short session on May 4. Legislators will have 31 days from the session’s start to file a bill specifically disapproving the rule. If such a bill is filed in that timeframe, then the rule cannot become effective until the General Assembly either takes an “unfavorable final action” or adjourns without ratifying it.

If a bill disapproving the rule is passed and enacted, then the rule cannot go into effect.

The N.C. Wildlife Commission approved the bear sanctuary hunting rule by unanimous vote Feb. 24. Under the rule, the state’s 22 designated bear sanctuaries would be renamed “designated bear management units” and permit hunts would be allowed in three of them — Panthertown, Pisgah and Standing Indian. Permit hunts are already allowed in the Mt. Mitchell and Daniel Boone sanctuaries.

The Wildlife Commission said the rule was necessary to slow the growth rate of the mountain bear population and cut down on negative interactions between bears and backcountry users.

However, the public overwhelmingly disapproved of the proposal, with 2,744 people weighing in during the public comment portion of the rule-making process — a level of participation that dwarfed the 379 people who commented on the second most-discussed proposal. Eighty-six percent of respondents opposed the rule.

A Help Asheville Bears video of a stakeholder meeting held April 5 in Murphy shows a roomful of hunters in attendance to discuss the issue with Sen. Kevin Corbin, Rep. Karl Gillespie and Wildlife Commission staff. At one point, Gillespie asked for a show of hands from those in support of the rule — and not a single hand went up.

That interaction was one of several key points in a form letter that made up a significant portion of the packet RRC members received. The letter also pointed out that the rule change stemmed from a 2018 request from the U.S. Forest Service pertaining to Panthertown only — not Pisgah and Standing Indian, which would also be included in the rule change — made in an effort to curb human-bear interactions in the popular backcountry area. However, the letter said, that issue had been resolved in 2020 by installing bear-proof food lockers, with no bear conflict complaints in the past two years and plans to install additional lockers. The letter also took issue with the rule’s ambiguity as to how many permits would be issued and stated that regulating the bear population through hunting is not necessary because bears regulate their own population by adjusting reproductive rates to the resources available.

Additionally, the letter claimed that the rule would hurt the state’s economy because bear season coincides with tourism season, and visitors will feel less comfortable with embarking on backcountry adventures when packs of hunting dogs are running loose.

The bear sanctuary rule was one of 29 changes proposed in this year’s rule-making process. The Wildlife Commission approved all of them. The bear sanctuary regulation was the only rule the Rules Review Commission denied.

Taxes, fees may go up in new Waynesville budget

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS EDITOR

Declining revenues and a growing list of capital improvements are both putting the squeeze on Waynesville’s finances, but a proposed 2-cent increase in property taxes might not be enough to address them all.

“I’m as surprised as you are,” said Mayor Gary Caldwell of town staff’s proposal for raising ad valorem taxes to .4592 cents per $100 assessed value.

The figure was presented by Town Manager Rob Hites and Finance Director Misty Hagood during a May 3 special meeting intended to acquaint aldermen with the status of the budget ahead of formal presentation.

Along with the proposed tax increase Hites and Hagood presented a number of revenue streams that have decreased over the past year.

Chief among them is the $275,000 hit the town’s recreation department took during the Coronavirus Pandemic, when many facilities were closed and programs canceled. Director Rhett Langston said the department is just now beginning to recover.

A $174,000 shortfall resulted from the cessation of commercial dumpster service, and a $99,000 decrease in the utility franchise tax was also apparent.

About the only good news was that most experts believe that the sustained surge in sales tax collections isn’t going away. The town in projecting a 5% increase through the next fiscal year.

However, an increase in fire taxes for districts outside the town will likely occur, due to increasing property values that came about as a result of the most recent countywide revaluation.

Residential sanitation rates have been steady at $8 a month for the last eight years, but may see a $1 increase this coming year.

Utility revenues in the town’s enterprise funds are also down, due to less consumption and lower collections. The town hasn’t resumed cutting off utilities since imposing a moratorium during the pandemic, and has hundreds of thousands of dollars in uncollected utility bills.

As a result, town staff proposed a 3% increase for water, 10% for sewer and a 5% hike in electric rates.

Employee compensation is something the town has paid particular attention to of late.

“We are having a hard time recruiting at the low end [of] streets and sanitation and meter readers,” Hites said.

That problem isn’t new. A recent pay study suggested the town was paying below market rate for many of its employees. Aldermen funded 40% of the pay increases needed to bring employees up to market rate, and will implement the other 60% beginning on Jan. 1, 2023 if approved. They’ll also receive a 2% COLA increase.

More than $11.4 million in capital requests were made by the various department heads, but less than $1.6 million were funded.

Alderman Anthony Sutton was successful in arguing for a $15,000 app called Police1, which not only serves as a direct-to-citizen communications platform but also as a data and tracking utility that reports crime stats. Sutton’s been enthusiastic about police transparency in light of citizen complaints about crime.

Alderman Jon Feichter wasn’t so lucky — his request for $275,000 for solar panels at the town’s recreation center won’t advance.

“I’d also like to make an investment in solar, but I’d also like to investigate grant funding,” said Alderman Chuck Dickson.

Dickson and Feichter said they wanted to work harder to find a way to eliminate the property tax increase.

A number of other capital requests were likewise left unfunded, including the completion of a site-specific recreation master plan ($2.4 million), a bridge replacement on Oakdale Road ($420,000) and a street sweeper truck ($300,000).

Feichter raised the point that by funding only $1.6 million in capital projects, the town will never catch up with all its needs. Last year, the town appropriated $1.58 million of its first installment of American Rescue Plan funding from the Biden White House, and has another $1.6 million coming later this summer.

Those funds will be appropriated toward all sorts of one-time costs, like new lifts at the garage, and Hagood projects a $486,000 balance of ARP funds at the end of the next fiscal year.

Feichter then brought up the idea of issuing a general obligation bond to knock out the long list of improvements needed. The bond would require roughly $70,000 in debt service per million borrowed.

Although the town has a healthy fund balance — almost 67% of yearly expenditures, compared to a same-size city average of 42% — there’s already $900,000 planned for use in next year’s budget, making fund balance asks precarious. Additionally, lowering fund balance too much could impact future borrowing conditions, costing thousands more in interest over the lifetime of the bond.

The recommended budget is expected to be presented to the town during the May 10 regular Board of Aldermen meeting.

Alderman Julia Boyd Freeman wasn’t present at the May 2 budget discussion.

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

Cherokee Central School was in the home stretch of a $22 million construction and renovation project on the 13-year-old campus when contractors found an unwelcome surprise — dampness on the walls of the old central office building, and inside them, mold.

“Right now, our project is on hold, and it’s probably going to put us behind several months, just to get the completion of the project,” said Yona Wade, community affairs director for the school system.

The school had taken advantage of the empty campus during the earlier stages of the pandemic to complete some significant construction work, including three new buildings. The project, done by Vannoy Construction, included building a new administration and multipurpose space, demolition of the round Gathering Place building and construction of a replacement structure, and building a two-story facility to house additional preschool classrooms and elementary Cherokee language classes. Vannoy also completed interior renovations at the middle school.

All that is done — the last stage of the project was a renovation of the nowvacant administration building so it could be repurposed for high school classroom and office space. It was during that renovation that contractors discovered the mold.

“It was clear there was a water intrusion issue,” said Wade.

The school system hired Terracon to evaluate the extent and cause of the problem and to recommend mitigation measures. Terracon will also assess the other buildings on campus to ensure the same issue isn’t occurring elsewhere.

Wade isn’t certain when Terracon’s report will be complete but hopes it will come out sometime in the next month or so. Until then, construction at Cherokee Central School is at a standstill.

“Right now, we are just trying to finalize the report, so our Vannoy Construction project is currently on hold,” said Wade. “We have completed everything else that we can complete on campus except for the renovations.”

The first students arrived at Cherokee Central School in August 2009 following completion of the $140 million K-12 campus. Located on what is known as the Ravensford Tract, the property had previously been part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It came into tribal ownership in 2003, when the National Park Service agreed to swap 218 acres of rugged land near Waterrock Knob for the flat piece of property adjoining the Qualla Boundary.