Core Concerns with the Robinhood Development

Robinhood Residential is history. With the January 2024 purchase of the 17-acre property by a neighborhood group, the development plan described below has been shelved.

Compared to the previous plan, the latest version of the Robinhood Residential condominium proposal retains the three most central structures and proposes joining them together, again with up to 110 units. It eliminates the other four multifamily buildings and the five single family homes. It is sited on a steep-sloping 17 acre plot on the Asheville-facing side of Reynolds Mountain.   The property, identified by PINs 9740-28-8968 and 9740-29-9345, is within the town of Woodfin. However, it is bordered by and can only be accessed through the North Asheville neighborhoods of Sherwood Heights and Lakeview Park.

OUR CONCERNS – SUMMARIZED

• This proposal occupies a smaller land area than the 2016 Cornerstone project, but the risk to the Beaverbrook Road neighborhood and downslope is even greater than with Cornerstone due to more intensive disturbance of the mountainside with a greater number of dwelling units using that access. Residents of Reynolds Mountain above the site are also concerned about destabilization of the mountainside below them.

• While Woodfin has recently adopted a strong steep-slope development ordinance, this proposal was submitted before its adoption. The average slope of the 16 acre parcel is 43.13% according to the design plan notes. However since the proposal has been revised several times and has not been approved by the Planning Board or the Commission, we believe it should be subject to the new ordinance. The limits on disturbed and impervious surfaces in the current ordinance would not allow construction of this intensity. If not carefully controlled, development on steep slopes can lead to hazards to life and property, including rock falls, flash flooding, debris flows, mud slides and increased wildfire hazard.

• The developer plans for these residential units to be made available as short-term rentals (STRs). The Town has recently determined that STRs are not allowed in the Mountain Village zoning district. If the developer should prevail on this point, this could effectively create a resort facility adjacent to and and only accessible through our residential neighborhood.

• The land has been examined by the NC Department of Environmental Quality and has been found to have areas classified as both high and moderate landslide hazard potential.

• All runoff from this land ends up in Beaver Lake via streams passing through the Country Club of Asheville or Lakeview Park. Beaver Lake Dam is classified as a “high hazard dam” by the NC Division of Water Quality; it poses a significant and deadly flood risk to area residents upon failure.

• Existing downslope homeowners will face major risks—and are unable to purchase landslide insurance. Even single home construction projects on these slopes have resulted in mudflows pouring through downslope neighbors’ properties.

• Asheville taxpayers will have to bear the cost of upgrading or replacing the storm drainage infrastructure. They will, likewise, have to pay to repair damage caused to roads because of heavy construction equipment. However, no property tax revenues from this development will flow to the City of Asheville.

• The existing roads in that area were never designed to support the additional traffic—both from construction vehicles/equipment and from the project’s residents. This raises serious safety concerns. There are currently only 24 residences on Beaverbrook Road so this project would increase the traffic load five-fold where it connects to Windsor Road with an increasing multiplier the farther up you go.

• A viewshed is “an area that is visible from a certain vantage point, especially when considered valuable or worth preserving for aesthetic reasons.” The steep slopes of Elk Mountain are a prominent part of viewshed of the greater Asheville area. This project would replace 5 acres of that wooded hillside above 2600’ with structures up to 35 feet high that could require downhill foundation walls of 40 additional feet just to reach the ground floor. Add to that a three-level parking lot extending another 60 feet up the hillside just below the ridgeline. It is safe to say there is nothing approaching this visual impact in the entire Asheville viewshed!

Steep Slope Development

The land being developed has an average slope of 43%. Both Asheville and Buncombe County have had steep slope regulations for many years.  Woodfin adopted a steep-slope ordinance in February 2022 after the original permit application by the developer. If applicable, the density and disturbance limits of the ordinance would block this proposal as currently submitted.

Runoff and Erosion

Sherwood Heights homeowners already suffer personal financial strain dealing with runoff and erosion issues, but they handle it because it’s their responsibility to do so. Increasing the impermeable surface of this land will worsen the problems, adding additional liability for those downslope to handle runoff and erosion caused by the proposed development. The plan states that the impermeable surface will be 19% of the 16.9 acre parcel area. It also says that the “disturbed” area will be 5 acres. Since 19% of 16.9 is 3.2 acres, it appears that within the boundaries of the construction site, 64% will be impermeable.

While the county requires that stormwater control measures be put in place to limit post-construction runoff to levels that don’t exceed the pre-construction state, those requirements don’t extend to extreme rainfall events and are not applicable to the construction phase.

Asheville taxpayers may also feel the impact since the storm drainage infrastructure will have a larger burden to bear and will likely require upgrade or replacement. Additional silt and runoff can also affect Beaver Lake Dam. This dam, classified as a “high hazard dam” by the NC Division of Water Quality, poses a significant and deadly flood risk to area residents upon failure.

Landslides

This parcel has been examined by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and portions of it have been classified as having both moderate and high landslide potential. Since landslide insurance cannot be obtained by residents of North Carolina, the risk of personal loss by those downslope is severe. The downslope residents deserve assurance that their risk will not rise.

Construction

Constructing a large building complex housing up to 110 dwellings, a road, retaining walls, infrastructure and parking areas with up to 165 spaces on difficult terrain will not be a swift or discreet process. Residents can expect years of disruption from heavy machinery, industrial vehicles, and dozens of workers flowing through narrow neighborhood streets every workable hour. This raises safety concerns for residents throughout the building process.

Roads and Traffic

Anyone who has driven through Sherwood Heights is familiar with the condition of the roads: they are steep and twisting, offer very little visibility around tight turns, lack protective guardrails, and do not meet the modern NCDOT minimum standard requirements in some places. Access to Robinhood Residential site using these modest roads is a major cause of alarm for residents. There is a single point of entry for the development via Beaverbrook Road, a privately held road in parts.   Residents currently navigate this road with extreme caution and have been successful in avoiding the occasional head-on collision scare, but increasing traffic five-fold on this road brings a significant safety risk, not only for residents but also for emergency vehicles. Furthermore, a single point of entry increases the risk of blocked passage for residents of dead-end streets in the event of collisions, vehicles stuck in snowy conditions or fallen debris. Along with safety concerns, this development brings with it additional expenses on Asheville and private residents to maintain roads that were never intended for such high traffic.

Maintenance and Liability

The Robinhood Residential community is currently planned as a gated community that will be governed by a private HoA. All aspects of the community will be privately owned, operated and maintained, including but not limited to: roads, water detention system, retaining walls, trails, culverts, ditches, and so forth. The maintenance of this infrastructure on a steep mountain slope will be expensive and require constant diligence. Neighbors are concerned who will enforce the standards of maintenance for this community and what will happen if the homeowners neglect their responsibility.

Rentals

While Woodfin has determined that short term rentals are not allowed per the applicable ordinances, the developer indicates that it still plans to pursue that use. If it succeeds, it is likely that these units will be purchased for occasional use and rented for the remainder of the time. This is a significant concern to neighborhood residents, as short-term rentals invite a constant flow of strangers through the neighborhood.