Hendersonville Lightning: Legislature begins a shift in how state pays for roadwork

From John Hood at the John Locke Foundation, as published in the Hendersonville Lightning: When the North Carolina General Assembly enacted its budget revision for the 2022-23 fiscal year, it contained a major change in how the state funds roads. . . Change is coming. Under the budget revision Gov. Roy Cooper just signed into...

Hendersonville Lightning: Road advisers vote to dump Kanuga in favor of I-26-U.S. 64 interchange

From the Hendersonville Lightning (June 1, 2022): At its regular meeting earlier this month, the Henderson County Transportation Advisory Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the new spending blueprint bump the Kanuga Road improvement in favor of a new I-26 interchange at Four Seasons Boulevard to fix safety and congestions problems. Tristan Winkler, executive director...

Flat Rock Village Council to hold town hall meeting on May 12

From the Village of Flat Rock website: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Flat Rock, North Carolina, May 2, 2022—The Flat Rock Village Council will hold a town hall meeting for the village community on Thursday, May 12, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  This will be the first of two town hall meetings that the Council plans...

Hendersonville Lightning: Ecusta Trail ride reveals entrepreneurs ready to cash in

From the Lightning: ". . . Unauthorized “recreational use” of this 8.4-mile section is undermining efforts to extend the trail, Conserving Carolina wrote in a sternly worded press release earlier this month. The organization, which acquired the 19.4-mile trail corridor last year, informed residents that walking or riding on our county’s section is “prohibited at...

May 4 deadline for comments on draft of Village Comprehensive Land Use Plan

The Village Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) draft is available on the village website here for public review. Please take a look and send any comments to Council Member Susan Gregory at susangregory@villageofflatrock.org by May 4. The 2013 Village CLUP has been undergoing review by the Village Planning Board for revisions and needed updates. The Board presented their recommendations in a draft document...

Village Comprehensive Land Use Plan review

The Village Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) draft is available on the village website here for public review. Please take a look and send any comments to Council Member Susan Gregory at susangregory@villageofflatrock.org by May 4. The 2013 Village CLUP has been undergoing review by the Village Planning Board for revisions and needed updates. The Board presented their recommendations...

Hendersonville Lightning: City of Hendersonville seeks grant to connect Ecusta Trail to Oklawaha Greenway

From the Lightning: The city of Hendersonville is seeking a federal transportation grant to fund an eastern-most leg of the Ecusta Trail to connect to the Oklawaha Trail at Jackson Park and to the Historic Seventh Avenue District. The city is inviting the public to comment on the idea during a drop-in from 4 to...

Hendersonville Lightning: Edwards, Moffitt announce $7.5 million more for Ecusta Trail construction

From the Lightning: A new appropriation by the General Assembly adds $7.5 million to cover construction of the Ecusta Trail, state Sen. Chuck Edwards and Rep. Tim Moffitt announced Monday in a news release. The two legislators said they had secured further funding for Western North Carolina, adding millions to the original $292.2 million appropriated...

Hendersonville Lightning: Cabin Creek Road homeowners organize to oppose commercial zoning

Cabin Creek Road residents who oppose the rezoning are holding a meeting at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, at Camp Glen Arden. From the Lightning: Cabin Creek Road homeowners are organizing to oppose a proposed commercial development that they say would scar “one of the most beautiful, undeveloped and unspoiled parts of Henderson County.” Property...

Hendersonville Lightning: City OKs 70-unit four-story apartment project on Greenville Hwy. at Chadwick

From the Hendersonville Lightning: A project of 70 apartments in three four-story buildings on the southeast corner of Greenville Highway and Chadwick Avenue can go forward whether the developer wins a rezoning or not, startled Hendersonville City Council members learned Thursday night. As a result, the council voted unanimously to OK the rezoning, clearing the...

American Affairs: Exurbia Rising

Lots to think about in this article, Exurbia Rising by Joel Kotkin (click to read the entire piece): Perhaps nowhere is the gap between America’s cognitive elite and its populace larger than in their preferred urban forms. For nearly a century—interrupted only by the Depression and the Second World War—Americans have been heading further from the urban core, seeking...

T-N: Traffic is top concern for survey respondents in Henderson County plan

From the Times-News: Traffic congestion and road maintenance is the top growth-related concern out of the over 6,500 survey responses Henderson County has received for the 2045 comprehensive plan. The plan, which is required by state law, aims to provide guidelines for growth and development in the county. Around 73% of survey respondents listed traffic...

Tree trimming in the village

Duke Energy has begun trimming trees in the Flat Rock area, generally in the south and eastern parts of the village and a small section in the northwest corner (see map). The work is being performed by Asplundh Tree and the crew foremen will be communicating with customers as the work progresses. The work is...

Henderson County comprehensive land use plan schedule

The county's comprehensive land use planning process is taking place over a 14-month time period, which began in summer of 2021 and will wrap up in late summer / early fall of 2022. A draft plan is expected for review during the summer of 2022. The plan will be developed by county staff working with consultants and a steering...

Hendersonville Lightning: Top 10 stories of 2021: 10, 9, 8

From the Hendersonville Lightning: 8. No asphalt, no storage units Disruptive land-use cases again drew organized public opposition. After Southeastern Asphalt Co. owner Jeff Shipman refiled a rezoning request for an asphalt plant on Spartanburg Highway in East Flat Rock, homeowners, business owners and environmental activists fought back with yard signs, billboards, online petition, a...

Times-News: Henderson County planning board OKs 245-acre conservation subdivision near Locust Grove Road

From the Times-News: A 245-acre subdivision on a wooded mountainside in northern Henderson County is moving forward following a unanimous vote by the planning board Dec. 16, meeting the county's requirements for conservation subdivisions.  Ripple Falls LLC submitted the master plan for the project as a whole, and the first phase of 22 single-family lots on 83 acres...