News

County OKs 430-unit development on Asheville Highway

County Commissioner Rebecca McCall discusses the Baystone Glen development Wednesday while Commissioner Sheila Franklin considers plans for the project.

By Amy McCraw, Published: October 15, 2025

Henderson County commissioners on Wednesday voted to rezone property along Asheville Highway for a high-density development despite concerns they expressed two months about how sewer service would be provided and the number of apartments planned for the project.

Board of Commissioners Chair Bill Lapsley again recused himself from Monday’s discussion and vote as he did during an August meeting on the proposed Baystone Glen development saying he personally knew the owners of the property, Nancy and David Bayless. 
The four remaining commissioners  voted unanimously to grant a rezoning request that would allow 430 dwellings on 56 acres of vacant land between the emergency management headquarters and Tar Heel Lanes and across from the Jackson Steel Ferris wheel.
Commissioner Rebecca McCall and Commission Vice Chairman Michael Edney said they remained unhappy about the number of apartments planned for the development but voted yes despite their misgivings.
“Given the language here, I’m OK with it,” Edney said, adding that he thought that supply and demand will determine how many apartments are built.
McCall said she was not a fan of the apartments. Recent construction has created 1,200 apartments in the county and the Baystone project will raise the number to 1,500.
“I am overwhelmed by the number of apartments that have been built in our county,” she said
But McCall said she understood that the apartments planned for the development make the entire project more affordable.
She said she hoped creating more housing in the county will lead to lower costs for younger families interested in buying homes in the county.
“With hesitancy, I do approve this, mainly because of the location," she said, "because the last thing I want to see is farmland go for more development."
Commissioner Jay Egolf said he too thought the project’s location off Asheville Highway was a good fit.
“I’ve always been a fan of putting people on five-lane roads, which this does,” he said. “This is one of the things I campaigned on about development and where you put people.”
Egolf, Edney and McCall also said they did not want the county to be involved with providing sewer service to the project.
Commissioners at the August meeting expressed similar concerns about sewer service, the number of apartments planned for the project as well as concerns about whether the county was being overbuilt with new housing.
Tranquil Waters Development LLC and Boones Station LLC and their agent, Justin Rohde, asked the county to rezone the property from Regional Commercial to a Conditional District to allow the dwellings. The land is owned by Nancy and David Bayless and their children. Plans call for 30 single-family lots, 120 townhome units in 23 structures and 280 apartments in 10 structures, for a total density of 7.63 units per acre. Amenities include a clubhouse with rental office, pool, dog park, outdoor common area and sidewalks.
Developers have agreed to a list of 16 conditions from the county for the development to go forward.
Among other things, the conditions include a requirement that the development connect to public sewer service.
A representative from the developers on Wednesday said they have not yet determined a definite a path forward for sewer service but he said they hope to connect to the Hendersonville sewer service.
The city, pending final approval, will provide water service to the development, according to the county’s list of conditions.
Some of the other 16 conditions are standard for most developments while others are more specific to the Baystone project, according to members of the county’s staff.
One condition requires a fire access road between the apartments in the project and the townhomes, while other requirements address vegetative berms and buffers and trees to be planted along streets in the development.
The development’s proposal for 20 percent open space and 10 percent common space are also on the list of conditions.