Weaverville – More than 700 new dwellings were approved for annexation and zoning in several developments at this month’s Weaverville Town Council meeting.In what was to be the last Weaverville Council meeting for some members as the town held its monthly meeting on Monday (Nov. 20th), Vice Mayor Jeff McKenna filled in for Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons, who was absent.
McKenna, a council member for whom this was the last meeting, began the meeting with the continuation of several public hearings, which started at the Nov. 14th council workshop.
The first was an annexation of recombination of 2.5 acres in Reems Creek Village, and the second was an initial R-2 zoning of said property. With nobody speaking at either one, the hearing was closed.
Next was the annexation of 9.5 acres at 300 Hamburg Mountain Road and an initial R-3 zoning for the property. With the exception of a clarification from Councilwoman Catherine Cordell that this one would be a gated community and the streets would not be public, no one had any questions, and the hearings were closed.
Northridge Farms
Then, the council heard a petition for about 88 acres of annexation known as Northridge Farms in the Gill Branch valley south of Northridge Commons. About 560 house units in various styles are planned for this development. The county has already approved the development. Town Attorney Jennifer Jackson said it would be a gated community, and the council received several emails wanting the board to deny any routine access through Grill Branch Road.
Unlike the other hearings, several people wanted to speak about this annexation. Diana Young, a resident of 25 years on Gill Branch Road, was against any access except for emergency vehicles as the road is one lane and cannot accommodate the excess traffic. Roger Young also said, “Please leave our road alone.” He cited similar reasons as Diana. Gill Branch residents Bill and Becky Cheek echoed the Youngs’ concerns, especially the nearly 1,200 additional cars on the road.
When the council came to initial zoning, Jackson said the planning and zoning gave an option of R-3, or a conditional district, for Northridge Farms. She said that unless the developer agreed to abandon the Gill Branch Road agreement already in place, that was already part of the permit from the county. No one spoke, and the hearing was closed.
The last hearing was on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Update, and no one spoke, and the hearing was closed.
As the council moved on to the regular agenda, Councilman Andrew Nagle, who was also at his last meeting as a member of the board, questioned whether the Northridge Farms development should be on the agenda, given it was the largest project coming before the council in the last decade and Mayor Fitizsimmon was not present. He made a motion to pull it from the agenda.
Councilwoman Michele Wood said she also had concerns. Councilman Doug Jackson said it may be better to start a discussion to carry over to December. Wood agreed. With that, Nagle pulled his motion, and the agenda was approved.
Before Town Manager Selena Coffey went over the consent agenda, she presented Nagle and McKenna with certificates of appreciation from the town for their service on the council.
Under the consent agenda, the council approved budget amendments for the governing body and police department. Coffey also reviewed revisions to the fee schedule for the new community center and a deposit increase since the town is “continuing to see some damages, along with trash being left behind and renters not completing their responsibilities in maintaining the community center rooms after their events. I have directed that staff continue to keep the deposits for those who are significantly negligent. In some cases, we find that we must call our cleaning company to come in and clean the entire facility after events, and we are paying staff overtime now to clean up and set up between events due to negligence.”
Councilman Jackson asked what could be done when damages exceed the deposit amount. Coffey said the renter signs an agreement to assume all damages and, if needed, they can be taken to court to reclaim the damages.
The consent agenda also included an ABC Audit update where members learned that gross sales increased $264,297 (or 5.7%) over the prior year for a total gross sales of nearly $4.9 million. The town received $461,887 in distributions. Last were the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Resolution Updates. All were approved.
Coffey then went over her report, which included updates on the water rates study, short-term rental listening sessions, trail planning, Lake Louise Park improvements, and street improvement program, as well as an update on the river level for the water treatment plant. Coffey said she understands that people are concerned over the drought the area has been going through and that she would like to reassure them that “most recently, the Ivy River gauge, which is located approximately four miles downstream from our intake, has held at 2 feet in height and 30 cubic feet per second, and we are using 2.4 cubic feet per second… I will come to council with a recommendation if we find that we need to institute water conservation measures, whether mandatory or voluntary.”
Discussion and Action Items
With no one speaking during the general public comment period, Travis Keever, CPA, presented the annual audit, which his firm gave a good report, plus that the town has a fund balance of 121% of the town’s annual spending.
The council then took on the first of four annexations and zonings, this one being 492 Reems Creek Road. It passed without any discussion or comments. Next came Reems Creek Village recombination area annexation and zoning. Again, it passed without any debate or comments—the same for 300 Hamburg Mountain Road’s annexation and zoning.
However, the next annexation and zoning was at Northridge Farms, which took a great deal of time in the meeting. To summarize what happened, the developer for Northridge Farms, Robert Carpenter, addressed some of the concerns raised during the hearings, saying he would like to wrap this up in the evening meeting and not carry it over. With that understood, he said the developer was willing to limit the exiting vehicles to only eight lots next to the road, and he hoped that would appease the residents.
Nagle asked if all roads would be private. Carpenter said all roads would be private, which was pointed out to be contradictory to what was in the minutes of a meeting several weeks ago by Cordell. Carpenter said that they were working the details out.
After some more debate over road access and maintenance, McKenna asked if the council had gotten over any questions they may have had, and they said they had, along with members of the residents, who said they were also satisfied. With that and the changes discussed, Nagle made a motion to accept the Northridge Farm into the town, and it passed.
Jackson then updated the council on Maple Trace Subdivision annexation, where she said the roads needed to be tested before the voluntary annexation of 134 lots and eight common areas. Speaking on behalf of Maple Trace Homeowner’s Association, David King said they plan to take a snapshot of the current conditions of the road before moving forward with more costly testing. The council took no action.