News

Although city won two rounds, Haywood Road zoning lawsuit survives

By Bill Moss, Published: September 2, 2026

Although the city of Hendersonville won two out of three rounds in its effort to persuade a judge to throw out the Haywood Road rezoning lawsuit, the case lives on.

A judge is expected to rule after hearing the developer’s argument that the zoning denial was arbitrary and capricious. No hearing date has been set.

“We are very pleased to announce that the city of Hendersonville’s motion to dismiss was granted in significant part, with two of the three counts in the lawsuit being dismissed,” the city said in a news release Tuesday.

Special Superior Court Judge Troy J. Stafford of Charlotte presided over a 3½-hour long hearing on Friday to year the city’s motion to dismissed the lawsuit brought by Advenir Azora Development LLC after the city council denied its rezoning request to build 180-unit apartment complex on Haywood Road. On Tuesday Stafford  issued an order dismissing two of three counts the developer argued in its lawsuit.

The judge dismissed one count alleging that the city’s action to deny Advenir’s rezoning application for conditional zoning was ultra vires, or not authorized by statute, and threw out a second count alleging that the city’s conditional zoning provisions were unconstitutional.

“Both counts were a direct challenge to the City’s ability to make local land use decisions in Hendersonville using conditional zoning,” City Attorney Angela Beeker said in a news release. “This is a positive step in preserving City Council’s local land use authority.”

Beeker acknowledged Advenir’s right to appeal the zoning decision.

“However, we are prepared to defend the authority of the council” members, she said. “They were elected by the people and entrusted with making decisions that are best for the community.” 

Craig D. Justus, the attorney for the Miami-based developer, said in his complaint against the city that a land-use decision is arbitrary and capricious “when it ignores fundamental zoning concepts” or is a “whimsical, willful and unreasonable action” unsupported by substantial evidence. The project satisfied all the standards of the city code, Justus added, and “there was no competent or substantial evidence showing otherwise.”

Justus asks the court to approve the project and the rezoning needed to permit it and to award the plaintiff attorney’s fees and other costs associated with the lawsuit.

Judge Stafford gave the city's attorneys 20 days to file a response to the developer's claims.