A provision tucked into the proposed budget passed by the North Carolina House of Representatives last week could mean the end of local oversight for development projects on the University of North Carolina-Asheville’s campus.

The budget includes an amendment to the state law concerning development and zoning regulations for public buildings. The change would create an exemption from local codes for state building projects managed by the State Construction Office or by the University of North Carolina system. It would apply only to Buncombe and to Watauga County, home to Appalachian State University; such an exemption already exists in Wake County, where North Carolina State University is located.

The potential exemption emerges at a moment of high-profile conflict for UNCA over its development plans: Its announcement earlier this year that it will seek to tear down a wooded area on campus in pursuit of an as-yet-unannounced project has triggered uproar among community members who see the woods as a crucial green space.

The provision to exempt Buncombe first appeared in the House version of the budget, though its provenance is hazy. Rep. Brian Turner, D-Buncombe, said he didn’t know who crafted the amendment.

“It just showed up in the budget,” he said.

He noticed it, he said, when the exemption for Watauga was added as part of a package that went through the House appropriations committee last week. (Turner, a critic of the provision, said he voted for the amendment package because of other elements, such as cancer coverage for firefighters and funding for sexual-assault cold cases.)

The change would likely strip Buncombe of its last bit of local say when it comes to on-campus development, a power that’s already both limited and fairly obscure, said Asheville City Attorney Brad Branham.

The university’s zoning already covers typical campus uses, he said. And four years ago, the UNC system’s Board of Governors approved the designation of more than 200 acres of UNCA, including the woods, as a Millennial Campus, a tag that opens it to even more types of development through public-private partnerships.

On private property, some proposed uses — such as a large housing development — could trigger a conditional zoning review, requiring the approval of the city’s planning and zoning commission and of the City Council. But state law already exempts state property from these conditional processes, meaning that local government has little to no legislative authority over what happens on campuses.

In practice, Branham said, the provision would likely exempt on-campus projects from local zoning rules and allow it to skip over the Technical Review Committee, a city body that ensures projects follow development regulations and city standards. Many of the rules would still be the same — these projects would still have to follow state building codes — but enforcement would be up to the state.

A further lowering of local review

“Right now, there’s already a lower level of review for college-owned properties,” Branham said, emphasizing that the implications would remain up in the air until an actual development proposal puts the law to the test. “This particular legislation, if passed, would broaden the allowance of what they can do and also lower the review even further.”

Turner said he assumed that the Buncombe exemption proposal was prompted by the debate over the future of the UNCA woods. But it mostly looks to be a “belt-and-suspenders” reinforcement for the development powers the school already has, he said, adding that it seems like overkill.

“I feel like it’s somewhat a little ham-handed, and that it’s going to almost (have a) Streisand effect,” he said, referring to a social phenomenon in which an attempt to hide information results in an increase in publicity. “It’s a 500-page document — you put this provision in there, and then when it’s found, everyone is like, ‘Why did you try to hide it?’”

UNCA spokesperson Brian Hart said in an email Tuesday that the school is aware of the proposal and was “reviewing this proposed provision to understand its potential impact.”

Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said the exemption, if enacted, would have “probably minimal” effect on the UNCA woods saga — the City Council has already expected to be left out of the process because of its minimal powers when it comes to campus development. But on a symbolic level, she said, it was frustrating.

“Obviously any time the legislature preempts local government control, that is challenging for local government leaders,” she said. “That occurred pretty frequently starting when the Republicans took control of the legislature several years back, and we’ve seen less of that in more recent years, so it’s disappointing to see this pop up now.”

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Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Jack Evans is an investigative reporter who previously worked at the Tampa Bay Times. You can reach him via email at jevans@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting during this crisis is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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