News

Sewer moratorium blocks Bo Time

By Bill Moss, Published: December 18, 2025

ETOWAH — While the developer hoping to build a Bojangles on Brevard Road in Etowah cleared a hurdle to win a zoning permit, the lack of sewer may mean it’s not Bo Time yet.

Property owner Cold Steel & Sunshine LLC of Brevard wants to build a drive-thru only restaurant on a commercial parcel at the southwest corner of Old Highway 64 and Brevard Road.

The Henderson County Board of Adjustment on Dec. 3 granted a variance to allow construction of the chicken-and-biscuits franchise without a passage lane around the drive-thru lane. The applicant needed the variance because right-of-way encroachment from both Brevard Road and Old Highway 64 reduces the buildable area from three-quarters to one-third of an acre. The developer’s representative, Duane Ensor, told the zoning board that the Bojangles would offer only drive-thru service and would need just six parking spaces for employees.

Without access to public sewer, however, the developer won’t be able to go forward. All of the Etowah sewer district is under a state-issued moratorium because its sewer plant is at capacity.

“We are not going be able to provide them sewer,” County Engineer Marcus Jones said Monday, although he did not rule out a solution based on the fact that the Bojangles site contained a building with an existing tap.

When the county bought the Etowah Sewer Co. in August 2024, it began to submit reports of sewage flow to the treatment plant as required by state law — reports that were less than precise before then.

“When we get the accurate information to the state, our current flow is a lot closer to our permitted flow than it was a year ago,” Jones said. “It’s not really a moratorium issue. It is an issue of exceeding our permitted capacity and violating our permit” if the county permits new sewer taps. “We communicated that to them. We’re trying to figure out ways to make it work.”

Despite Jones's characterization, the N.C. Utilities Commission, in a 4,331-word order it issued on Oct. 9 approving the transfer of the Etowah system to Henderson County, refers 10 times to the moratorium ordered by the state Department of Environmental Quality. In the order, the commission OK'd a series stipulations that settled a dispute between the county and the Etowah Valley golf resort, which had paid for sewer taps that the county cannot currently permit.

"The stipulation addresses payments made by WNC (Etowah golf resort), Psalm 128, and Emerald Venture to Etowah Sewer without being connected to the sewer system," the order said. "However, as the Etowah System is subject to a moratorium imposed by DEQ, Henderson County is currently prohibited from allowing additional connections to the sewer system."

The commission ordered Etowah Sewer to return the payments made by the three businesses — a total of $112,769.90 plus $15,028.98 interest. It also fined Etowah Sewer Co. $5,000 for transfering ownership of the sewer system to Henderson County without applying for and receiving written approval from the utilities commission as required by law.

The good news for the sewer system longer term, Jones said, is that the county is proceeding with a plan to replace the existing treatment plant.

“We’ve already started the process to replace the plant,” he said. “The upshot of the recent moving around of money has landed $12.7 million for the Etowah project.”

The unexpected windfall for Etowah came when the state Legislature shifted the $12.7 million grant from the proposed Edneyville sewer line to the Etowah system. As a result, “We’re very well on our way to having that project funded to replace the current plant,” Jones said.

Although Etowah does have a Domino’s pizza shop, a Bojangles would be its first fast-food franchise serving biscuits, sandwiches and chicken dinners. There’s no burger franchise in Etowah or Horse Shoe. Based in Charlotte, Bojangles has 800 restaurants in 17 states, including three in Henderson County.

Jonathan Cochrane, who represents the developer proposing the Bojangles, said sewer access would have to be assured before the company closed on the land purchase.

“We are running into a sewer issue,” he said. “We’re hoping to get it resolved. If we don’t, there’s going to be a problem moving forward with the project.”

The county got good news on another front Monday when Gov. Josh Stein announced a $2.1 million grant to help fund the $6 million Edneyville sewer project. The Board of Commissioners is expected to formally restart the project to serve Edneyville Elementary School in early 2026 after the loss of the $12.7 million grant scuttled plans for a more ambitious sewer system.