Sylva Town Board adopts steep slope amendment
The board conducted public hearings on three issues: the proposed Sylva steep slope development zoning amendment, a planned unit development zoning overlay for a large housing development in west Sylva and a request for voluntary annexation of property at Skyland Drive and Mills Branch Rd., where another property owner plans medium income housing targeted for workers at the nearby hospital.
Steep Slope ordinance
The board received no public comment on the steep slope development ordinance, and approved the measure by a 3-2 vote.
The ordinance, designed after those in Waynesville and other small mountain towns, is meant to limit dense construction on steep hillsides for reasons of aesthetics and safety as well as environmental concerns. Jackson County last year passed a strict county steep slope development ordinance, but that ordinance doesn’t apply within city limits–and planning officials were quick to point out that planning for development in outlying communities and for “in town” are two different things.
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Learn more about Sylva’s steep slope ordinance and steep slope regulation in general
Southern Highland Reader: Steep Slopes and Public Input
Southern Highland Reader: Sylva leaders continue steep slope work
Southern Highland Reader: Sylva Board’s early look at steep slope amendment
Asheville Citizen-Times: Case gets stronger for steep slope regulation
Mountainside cuts in Sylva, each approaching 100 ft. high
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The most visible upshot of the ordinance for the short term will be the elimination of drastic hillside cuts like the ones recently executed along NC 107 south.
Longer term effects might include reworking of Sylva’s antiquated dated zoning ordinances to allow for higher density development in the “bottoms”–-the flat parts of town.
The ordinance was opposed by commissioners Ray Lewis and Harold Hensley, with Hensley moving first to table the issue indefinitely, and then to “forget about it.”
“I think there’s too much restriction on what you can and can’t do with your land in this town as there is,” said Hensley. “People are going to be paying high taxes on land [that's only use is] for people to drive by and look at,” he said.
Hensley’s motion failed 3-2. Commissioner Stacy Knotts then moved to approve the ordinance as presented.
The ordinance was written by Planning Director Jim Aust, refined by the town’s Planning Board, then further moderated by the commissioners during work sessions. Significant changes to the original document during those work sessions included the removal of the requirement of two-lane roads on roads that serve multiple houses, and moderation of language encouraging the protection and use of native plants.
Yellowbird Branch development
The board heard a lengthy description of plans for “The Crossings,” a 48-acre extension of an existing housing development in west Sylva, at the intersection of Yellowbird Branch and Savannah Drive. Cashiers-based Taurus Development Group, working with local landowner and developer Herb Ross, seeks to build 68 townhomes and 51 single-family homes on the property, aimed at a middle-income “young professional” market. Prices are to range from the mid $100,000’s to the mid $300,000’s.
The question before the board was whether to grant a residential planned unit development (RPUD) overlay of its current zoning plan, which would allow higher-density development on a part of the tract than current zoning allows.
Precedent was set for such an overlay with a development on Elm Street. Sapphire developer Art Pohl received a zoning ordinance amendment to build a series of more upscale townhomes just east of the Taurus project. Those units are now under construction.
The Crossing design has a “green” angle, and would aim to house young university and workforce families, who could use a north river road driving route to Western Carolina University’s campus.
The project, upon completion, could increase Sylva’s population by some ten percent.
Sylva Town Planning Director Jim Aust advocates the overlays, and Sylva’s planning board voted unanimously to recommend that the board approve an overlay to allow the multi-unit structures proposed by Taurus.
Lengthy questioning by adjacent homeowners, however, including the inference of the possibility of a legal dispute between Ross and a current property owner, led the board to table action on the RPUD until its next meeting, August 21. A time limitation on the proposal requires action at that time.
In brief, the dispute is between an adjacent existing homeowner who bought a partial lot within the development with the written understanding that future development would be limited to one dwelling per two acres. The plan for “The Crossings” calls for one dwelling per half acre.
Should the Board vote against the overlay, and assuming Taurus can reach an agreement with the unhappy property owner, Taurus can continue with the single-family dwelling phase of its project, because it conforms with current zoning regulations.
Mills Branch
The board also considered the request of a property owner to extend Sylva’s town limits to include his property in northeast Sylva, along Skyland Drive near Harris Regional Hospital. The board voted 5-0 in favor.
The property owner seeks to develop middle-income housing targeted at hospital employees.
Library Contribution
The Board decided, also by a 5-0 vote, to follow through with a previous board’s decision to contribute $105,000 toward Jackson County’s new public library, to be constructed behind Sylva’s historic downtown courthouse. Earlier plans called for construction at a location in Jackson Plaza, and Sylva’s leaders at that time voted to make the contribution.
Tags: Sylva
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