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Planning board takes up Haywood Road rezoning today

Homeowners packed two neighborhood compatibility meetings to oppose a rezoning that would allow 180 rental units on Haywood Road. [LIGHTNING FILE PHOTO]

By Lightning Reports, Published: October 8, 2025

A proposed development on Haywood Road that has drawn large crowds of opponents in two public meetings comes before the Hendersonville Planning Board on Thursday, one of two proposals the board will review for residential development. The other application before the board is for a new subdivision of 50 townhomes on Signal Hill Road.

Of the two, the request to allow 180 rental units on Haywood Road is by far the most controversial. Homeowners have organized to oppose the plan, saying increased traffic, noise, potential flooding, loss of tree canopy and loss of wildlife habitat make the development incompatible with the surrounding area of mostly single-family residential homes.

Applicant Advenir Azora Development LLC proposes 180 duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes accessible from a driveway cut off Haywood Road between Blythe Street and Maplewood Court. Planned amenities include sidewalks, a clubhouse and pool. The applicant has agreed to accommodate a public greenway through the center of the site along Brittain Creek, a planning staff analysis said.

A traffic impact analysis commissioned by the developer recommended that the developer build a west-bound left-turn lane into the site with at least 50-feet of storage and final design coordinated with NCDOT. The rental community would generate 1,321 trips a day, the traffic engineers said. City planners recommended that the developer also install an eastbound right-turn lane into the driveway.

Miami-based Advenir Azora that has built 2,300 residential units and has 5,000 more units valued at $1.2 billion in the pipeline, according to its website.

A homeowner who started a change.org petition opposing the development cited traffic, emergency access and other factors he urged the city to consider.

"This increase in traffic would stretch our infrastructure to its limits, reducing the quality of life in an area known for its peace and tranquility," he said. "The single entrance alone is cause for concern in the event of an emergency at the wrong time (such as snow, ice, or another tropical storm)."

Also on the planning board docket Thursday is a proposal from Travis Fowler of First Victory Construction and Development for Signal Townhomes, a 50-unit subdivision across from Signal Hill Storage, which is behind Home Depot. 

The zoning change from R-15 medium density residential to planned residential development would increase the permitted density on the 13.7-acre site only slightly, from 51 to 54 units. The development would preserve 31 percent of 531,923 square feet of tree canopy. The rezoning application shows the residential home lots, a parkland  area, common space and two parking spaces per unit — one garage and one driveway. A staff analysis determined that the preliminary plat complied with the city subdivision ordinance.

The planning board meets at 4 p.m. Thursday in the City Operations Center, 305 Williams St.