FLAT ROCK – A developer’s plans to build a 200-lot subdivision on the Etowah Valley Golf & Resort will move forward, thanks to a split-decision 6-3 vote in favor of the project’s master plan by the Henderson County Planning Board on Oct. 19 at Blue Ridge Community College.
The next phase in the process for the developer, Tribute Development and Investment which is based in Wilmington, will be the development plan, which will be another long process of obtaining permits and having other plans approved.
Once the development plan is approved, construction can begin on the infrastructure.
After the meeting was officially adjourned by chairman Steve Dozier, Dozier asked everyone to wait for one more speaker to speak — Henderson County Commissioner Bill Lapsley, who directly addressed the Tribute team members.
“The community wants to be a good neighbor to you,” Lapsley said, as many in the crowd disagreed. “And I know you want to be a good neighbor to them. I would ask as you leave tonight, you consider lowering the density in any way you can.”
The current plan shows the 200 lots will vary in size with a minimum of 4,800 square feet and an average density of 2.69 units per acre.
More:Residents give more reasons they oppose a subdivision at Etowah’s golf course
While it wasn’t as crowded as the last Planning Board meeting in August where public comments were allowed and nearly 60 residents took the podium, this meeting still had hundreds of residents in attendance. When the final vote was tallied, some made their way out in disgust, and one woman shouted out, “Why don’t you build a sewer in your back yard?”
Those voting in favor in the master plan were Dozier, Hunter Marks, Jared Ownbey, Linda Bradley, Jim Miller and Trey Ford. Those against were Bruce Hatfield, Rick Livingston and Robert Griffin.
The project has seen a few changes and continued opposition from Etowah residents. In June, Tribute proposed a 343-lot RV park to go on the 83.5 acres of Etowah’s South Course. Just a few weeks later in mid-July, that proposal was withdrawn and replaced with a 200-lot subdivision. The latest project has the same amount of residential lots, with the only change being a third entrance to the development.
The golf course is owned by WNC Resorts, and one of its co-owners, Tim Rice, told board members at the August meeting that the course has been consistently losing money.
After the board heard from a spokesperson from both sides at the Oct. 19 meeting, Dozier asked the opinion of each individual board member. Many talked about a letter emailed to them by Tribute’s lawyer, Craig Justus.
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“My job is to do what’s best for Henderson County. To me, there’s a lot more to it than just checking the boxes,” Livingston said. “All of the board members got a letter from the applicant’s attorney. I, for one, don’t appreciate it. In my opinion, the intent of that letter was to intimidate us and tell us that we have no choice but to vote in favor of this project. I take issue with that, and I don’t appreciate that.”
With that, the crowd cheered and applauded. Up next was Hatfield who echoed Livingston’s remarks.
“I got the letter in an email. It’s intimidating. It is bullying. It was attacks personally, and I’m going to forward it to the state bar,” Hatfield said.
Miller said it all came down to the zoning laws, and the golf course is R-1, residential.
“Etowah residents asked to be R-1 a long time ago, and the county granted that. At the end of the day, if you buy next to a golf course and you don’t own the course, you’re subject to it changing,” he said. “It’s just like if you bought lakefront property at a lake owned by Duke Power. If Duke Power decides to drain the lake and plant corn, there’s nothing you do about it. That’s just something you take as a risk, just like buying golf course property without owning the golf course.”
Dozier told residents near the end of the meeting that it’s just the first part of a long process.
“I know it’s not what everybody wanted,” he said. “These are not easy decisions. There are more things to come with the development plan that we have more control over.”
Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.
