Costco representatives met with Enka community residents to discuss plans for Asheville’s first Costco store at Enka Commerce Park, expected to be submitted to the city within weeks. The 25-acre site includes 839 parking spaces and preservation of the historic Enka clock tower. The city’s planning process may take 9-12 months, with construction lasting about a year after approvals. Residents voiced concerns about traffic congestion, as Costco stores can attract up to 600 vehicles per hour at peak times. A traffic study is underway, and Costco plans traffic mitigation and participation in the stalled Enka Heritage Trail greenway project.
Representatives from Costco and its affiliated development companies told local residents at a Enka community meeting Thursday night that the warehouse retailer plans to submit official plans for its first Asheville store to the city within two to four weeks.
The meeting, in which multiple residents expressed concerns about the prospect of increased traffic because of Costco’s popularity, marked the first significant update on the project since Asheville Watchdogbroke the news in March that the low-cost retailer had submitted plans to the city for a store situated on 25 acres within Enka Commerce Park, with 839 parking spaces.
At the time, The Watchdog had obtained plans that also showed the preservation of the nearby historic Enka clock tower, which officials reiterated was a priority Thursday.
Renee Rutherford, Costco’s director of real estate, told about 25 people gathered in a meeting space by the Enka-Candler Library that the project is moving ahead, but it will take time.
“This is the first part of a long approval process,” Rutherford said. “We haven’t submitted anything to the town yet.”
Nettie Boyle, a project manager with BL Companies, which is handling design and architecture elements of the project, said after the meeting that the entire planning and approval process with the city could take nine to 12 months. (Boyle is not related to this article’s author.)
Nettie Boyle, a project manager with BL Companies, which is handling design and architecture elements of the Costco project in Enka, said after the Thursday evening meeting that the entire planning and approval process with the city could take nine to 12 months. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle
“So this is the first process — the neighborhood meeting — and then I believe it’s 14 days later, we can submit our preliminary site plan to the city,” said Boyle.
Costco has not finalized the purchase of the land from the owner, Martin Lewis, but it has signed a nonbinding letter of intent to buy the property, Rutherford said. After the permitting and design process, construction could take another year, Rutherford said.
Will Palmquist, principal planner with the city’s Planning & Urban Design department, said previously that Costco had scheduled an early July review meeting with the city’s Technical Review Committee. Palmquist said the project would require a conditional zoning, as it’s more than 100,000 square feet.
Once plans are submitted, it will next head to the Planning & Zoning Commission. The commission’s recommendation would be forwarded to City Council for the final decision.
Traffic a huge concern
Many locals expressed joy following the initial announcement last spring, as the current nearest Costco to Asheville is in Spartanburg, South Carolina, about 70 miles away.
But multiple residents at the meeting expressed concerns about Costco’s potential impact on traffic because it will likely draw customers from a wide area. Rutherford said Costco stores, which are open seven days a week, can draw about 600 vehicles an hour, although she stressed that occurs at peak shopping times.
The Biltmore Lake neighborhood, which has more than 800 homes, sits just across Sand Hill Road from the proposed site.
“It’s gonna be quite devastating for Biltmore Lake residents to have 600 cars an hour (going there),” one resident said, adding that it seems “really irresponsible to add” thousands of vehicles a day onto local roadways.
“And I understand everything about the jobs and all that — all that’s great for the city, and I agree with that,” he said. “But there also needs to be something that’s going to be done about the increased traffic.”
Another resident voiced similar concerns, saying, “It seems grossly inappropriate to throw all the traffic from Asheville proper and all the surrounding areas — because everybody loves Costco — and plop it down right here in the middle of this beautiful area where they’re already struggling with development.”
Plans provided by the City of Asheville to Asheville Watchdog in March show the location of a proposed Costco.
Rutherford and Boyle said 80 percent of the traffic coming into Costco will enter off Smokey Park Highway, turning onto the former “bridge to nowhere” that opened earlier this year after years of dormancy. They also said the Costco would likely have two other entrances, one off of Sand Hill Road and another off Jacob Holm Way.
Rutherford said Costco stores typically hire about 200 employees to start, “and then it grows from there.”
Barbara Mosier, an associate engineer with Kittelson & Associates, said her firm is conducting the traffic study, which should be complete within about a month. The study will encompass the area around the commerce park, including multiple intersections and Smokey Park Highway east to the I-40 interchange, she said.
The methodology for traffic studies is fairly standard, but Mosier said allowances are made for Costco’s popularity.
“We have Costco-specific traffic rates, because we know that Costco is a very intense use,” Mosier said. “We know that there’s a lot of people who like it. It generates more use than a similar-sized other warehouse club. So we do have Costco specific rates that we use to make sure that we are fully capturing that impact, and we will reflect that in the study.”
Rutherford, Boyle and Mosier said Costco will consider mitigation efforts to make traffic flow smoother.
Costco also offered assurances that it plans to participate in a greenway project at the Enka Commerce site. Known as the Enka Heritage Trail, it’s supposed to span 2 miles of asphalt, starting at Sand Hill and Enka Lake roads, proceeding along Hominy Creek to its intersection with Sand Hill Road, south of Warren Haynes Drive.
Construction was supposed to start in 2023, with completion due this year. But the project has stalled.
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Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The content presents a straightforward, fact-based report on a local development project involving Costco, focusing on community concerns such as traffic and planning processes. It avoids partisan language or ideological framing, providing balanced coverage of both the benefits and challenges of the project without favoring any political perspective.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-08-22 08:31:00
North Carolina’s main route through the Outer Banks, N.C. 12, remains closed on Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands after Hurricane Erin caused flooding and sand buildup. Closures are between the Northern Ferry Terminal and Pony Pens on Ocracoke, and between Marc Basnight Bridge and Hatteras Village on Hatteras Island. Road reopening depends on sand removal and pavement damage assessment. As of 5 a.m., Hurricane Erin was transitioning to a post-tropical storm about 425 miles south-southwest of Halifax, with 90 mph winds and moving at 22 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended 125 miles from the center; tropical storm-force winds reached 370 miles. No coastal warnings remain.
(The Center Square) – North Carolina’s primary driving route through the Outer Banks on Friday morning remained closed on Ocracoke Island and Hatteras Island.
N.C. 12 was washed over by water and sand from the ocean following the pass of Hurricane Erin. The closure on Ocracoke Island is between the Northern Ferry Terminal and the National Park Service Pony Pens; on Hatteras Island, it is between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Hatteras Village.
In addition to sand removal, pavement damage would determine how long sections of N.C. 12 are to remain closed.
In the 5 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center, Erin was in the first stages of post-tropical transition about 425 miles south-southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and about 700 miles north of Bermuda. Maximum sustained winds were 90 mph, and the movement had increased to 22 mph.
Hurricane force winds of 74 mph or greater were up to 125 miles from the center of the storm, and tropical storm force winds of 39 mph or greater had grown to 370 miles from the center. A gust of 56 mph was reported on Bermuda at Wade International Airport.
No coastal watches or warnings were in effect on the Atlantic Seaboard.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article provides a straightforward factual report about the closure of N.C. 12 due to the impact of Hurricane Erin. It relays information from official sources such as the National Hurricane Center without editorializing or inserting opinion. The language is neutral and focused solely on the event and its consequences, without promoting or criticizing any political stance or ideology. This adherence to objective reporting indicates no discernible political bias in the content.
SUMMARY: On October 29, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to allow the Trump administration to cancel $783 million in NIH grants focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The Court set aside lower court rulings that had blocked the cancellations, citing jurisdictional issues and aligning with a prior decision involving the Department of Education. Democratic attorneys general and the American Public Health Association opposed the ruling, warning of harm to research and public health. Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett supported the administration, while Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissented, criticizing the Court’s rushed intervention and its consequences.
A Hickory woman is suing the city and three police officers over the 2023 shooting death of her son, Timothy Setzer Jr., who was shot 15 times after fleeing on foot. The lawsuit, filed by Charlotte law firms, alleges excessive, unreasonable use of deadly force violating Setzer’s Fourth Amendment rights. Despite officers’ claims that Setzer brandished a firearm, body camera footage and investigations show he was unarmed, fleeing with his back turned and never threatened police. No gun was found on him, only nearby. The complaint also accuses officers of failing to give a verbal warning, violating city policy. The lawsuit includes wrongful death and assault claims.
by Lucas Thomae, Carolina Public Press August 21, 2025
A Hickory woman is suing the city and several current and former police officers for the 2023 death of her son, who was shot and killed after officers fired dozens of times as he fled from them on foot.
Two Charlotte-based law firms that specialize in police misconduct filed the lawsuit in Catawba County Superior Court last week.
Attorney Anthony Burts told Carolina Public Press that U.S. Supreme Court precedent dictates that police cannot use lethal force simply to prevent a non-threatening suspect from getting away.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision Tennessee v. Garner established that under the Fourth Amendment — which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures — law enforcement officers “may not seize an unarmed, nondangerous suspect by shooting him dead.”
“We need there to be appropriate law enforcement tactics being used in our communities,” Burts said.
“When deadly force is used and someone dies, that person is never coming back.”
The man at the center of the lawsuit is Timothy Setzer Jr., who was 27 and working in construction before his death. Police were responding to reports of gunfire near a park in downtown Hickory shortly after midnight when they spotted Setzer walking and talking to himself, the lawsuit said.
Setzer matched the description of a suspicious individual who dispatchers reported being seen in the area, according to the lawsuit. Hickory Police Officer Austin Steele ordered him to stop and show his hands. Setzer raised his hands in the air but continued to walk away from the officers. After being ordered to stop again, Setzer fled.
Steele and Officer Isam Shamseldin gave chase, following Setzer into a nearby empty parking lot. According to the lawsuit, that’s when the officers opened fire with Setzer’s back still turned to them.
A third officer, Aaron Travis, who had just arrived on the scene in a patrol car driven by his trainee also fired at Setzer out of the passenger-side window of his vehicle, the lawsuit said, calling the maneuver “more suited for an action movie or first-person shooter video game.”
Altogether the three Hickory officers fired 28 shots at Setzer and hit him 15 times, killing him on the spot, according to the complaint.
The officers stated in their initial incident reports that Setzer had a firearm and had pulled it out of his waistband before they opened fire, but the lawsuit said a body-worn camera footage acquired from the State Bureau of Investigation tells a different story.
“Body-worn camera footage confirms that (Setzer’s) back remained turned to Defendant Officers, and he never (1) stopped running, (2) brandished a weapon, or (3) made threats,” the complaint stated.
Travis admitted in a SBI interview following the shooting that he never saw Setzer with a weapon and that his back remained turned to Steele and Shamseldin as he was running away, the lawsuit said.
An autopsy showed Setzer was shot several times from behind, indicating he was not facing the officers when they opened fire, the lawsuit said.
Further, the complaint alleged that the Hickory police officers never gave Setzer a verbal warning that they would use deadly force before they started shooting. Burts said violated the city’s use-of-force policy, which states that officers, when determining whether to use deadly force, should give a verbal warning “when feasible.”
No gun was found on Setzer’s person after the incident, but an SBI agent found a firearm in a wooded area near the parking lot using a 3-D scanner. SBI investigators also recovered an empty handgun magazine allegedly belonging to Setzer, although the lawsuit maintains that there is no physical evidence, including fingerprints, DNA or gunshot residue, linking it to Setzer.
“Unequivocally, there was no gun on Mr. Setzer’s person,” Burts told CPP.
Burts said he filed a petition to release the body-worn camera footage of the incident. Under North Carolina law, such footage is not a public record and requires a court order to be released.
“We want the public to be able to weigh in because Mr. Setzer is no longer here and never will be able to say what happened himself,” Burts said.
The lawsuit brings claims against three Hickory police officers — Steele, Shamseldin and Travis — for their use of deadly force, which it claims was unreasonable, excessive and violated Setzer’s Fourth Amendment rights.
The primary argument of the lawsuit is that Setzer was unarmed and nondangerous at the time of his death. Even if the firearm found near the site of the shooting had belonged to Setzer, that he did not have it on his person and that he didn’t threaten the officers should be enough to constitute excessive force, Burts said.
The complaint also brings state-law claims against the officers and the City of Hickory for assault and battery, wrongful death and negligence.
Hickory City Manager Warren Wood, who is cited in the complaint as the official who reviewed the shooting and determined it to be in compliance with the city’s use of force policy, did not respond to CPP’s request for comment before the publication of this article.
Neither Travis nor Shamseldin have active law enforcement certifications in North Carolina, according to the NC Justice Training and Certification Portal. The circumstances or timeline of their departures from the Hickory Police Department is unclear.
Steele still has an active certification associated with Hickory P.D. A public information officer with the department did not respond to a request for comment prior to the publication of this article.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
This content leans center-left as it focuses on police accountability and critiques the use of excessive force by law enforcement, topics often emphasized by progressive and reform-minded perspectives. The article highlights legal challenges to police actions and underscores civil rights concerns without adopting an overtly partisan tone, maintaining a fact-based narrative that aligns with calls for justice and reform commonly associated with center-left viewpoints.
