Business

City Council OKs Foxchase expansion

By Bill Moss, Published: July 3, 2014

The Hendersonville City Council on Thursday authorized 10 more homes and a duplex in Foxchase off U.S. 64 East, brushing aside an on-street parking prohibition that some current residents wanted and the Planning Board recommended.

A few residents of the completed Phase 1 of the adjoining Wolf Chase development had objected to the new homes on the grounds that the new construction would ruin the view of the meadow at the entrance and potentially create a traffic hazard. The Planning Board last month recommended a permit for the additional homes and added a ban on on-street parking. Council members objected, saying the parking prohibition would prevent someone from having family members or company for a dinner party.
On-street parking is allowed in the finished part of Foxchase, and some residents don't like it. However, that part of the development is a private street and the city has no jurisdiction over it. The new section is on a public street controlled by the city.
"That's a city street and in case of snow the plow has to come through there," said Stanley Leddon, of 78 Brookstone Court. "If there's cars parked on the street it's not going to get through."
Drew Norwood, one of the owners of developer Windsor Aughtry, said he would prefer the city not bar parking along the street, Half Moon Trail.
"We've got 38 residents in one section and 17 in the other," he said. "We didn't have 65 people raising Cain; we had two. I would say allow them to park out there."
The Foxchase homeowners association that controls the finished part of the development could bar parking on the street but has not voted to do so.
"Currently when you enter Wolf Chase it is attractive with the berms and trees on both sides of the street and there's nothing hindering your travel to the remainder of the neighborhood," Beverly Leddon said in a letter to the city. "We already have issues with vehicles parked on the street. This is already a very compact neighborhood."
Council members voted for the permit without addressing parking. They agreed they could use their power to regulate parking if traffic becomes a problem or if the homeowners ask for the ban.
Originally developed by Nappier and Turner Construction Co., Wolf Chase was a successor to Wolfpen. An investor bought the land after the 2008 crash and Windsor Aughtry became a partner. The South Carolina-based developer has had strong sales in phase one of Foxchase, offering new homes from 1,200 to 2,000 square feet ranging from $160,000 to $220,000.
Some of the lots in Phase 2 had "sold" signs in the ground even before the city's review and approval of the zoning case.
"In fact I got one guy right here that won't close until y'all vote," Norwood said.