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Hendersonville aldermen reject annexation and rezoning for 1765 Avant Lane after hours of public comment
Summary
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted down a plan to annex and rezone 32.8 acres at 1765 Avant Lane, blocking a proposed 61-home development after residents raised concerns about traffic, stormwater, floodplain impacts and an endangered salamander.
Hendersonville’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted unanimously Sept. 23 to reject a proposed plan of services and a companion rezoning for a 32.8-acre parcel at 1765 Avant Lane, halting a proposed Crestwater comprehensive development plan that would have allowed as many as 61 homes.
The votes came after more than two hours of a public hearing and dozens of residents speaking against the annexation and rezoning. The board rejected Resolution 2025-32 (plan of services for annexation) and then failed to pass Ordinance 2025-18 (rezoning and the Crestwater comprehensive development plan). Both measures failed by unanimous vote.
Neighbors repeatedly cited stormwater and flooding risks tied to Drakes Creek, traffic and school-capacity concerns, and the presence of a state-listed streamside salamander in the creek corridor. “If we put a development on that 17, 19 acres, we would dump 17,000 gallons of water back into Drakes Creek,” resident Gary Dies told the board, citing his calculations on runoff for the site. Several speakers said half the property lies in a floodplain and warned that additional impervious surface would worsen flooding for adjacent neighborhoods and for roadways already cited by staff as congested.
Residents also raised traffic safety concerns for narrow feeder streets Misty Way and Kinsley and for the Drakes Creek corridor, noting high daily volumes and slow-moving school traffic near Beach High School. “We’re not ready for 60 more homes,” said Masias (last name not specified), a Durham Farms resident, citing projected vehicle trips and school impacts. Multiple speakers asked the board to require larger-lot, lower-density homes or to delay any approvals until planned road improvements are completed.
Several residents pointed to state protections for a streamside salamander found in Drakes Creek. Debbie Center, citing Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency guidance, told the board that surveys and seasonal work bans apply and that expanded riparian buffers and restrictions on impervious surfaces are required where the species occurs.
Century Communities, the developer on the proposal, and property owner Robert Avant spoke in favor. Josh Roland, representing Century Communities, said the concept plan offered benefits to the city including a new parking lot for the rugby field, a practice field, sidewalks and improvements to Avant Lane and that the design was intended to exceed base county standards. “We felt like it's better for this project to be a part of Hendersonville,” Roland said. Property owner Robert Avant said his family has occupied the property for more than a century and asked the board to approve the annexation and rezoning.
Planning staff and the developer told the board that, if the city denied annexation, the owner could pursue development through the county. Planning Director Keith Free explained that the site could be developed under county rules (a cluster subdivision or a county PUD rezoning) without city approval and that the developer could return with a different plan: “They have an option for a PUD rezoning, which is similar to the CDP process… or the cluster subdivision is a use by right,” Free said.
Several aldermen said citizen input and infrastructure readiness weighed heavily in their decisions. Alderman Oliver Martin made the motion to accept the plan of services; Alderman Dixon seconded. After public comment and deliberation, the board rejected the plan of services (Resolution 2025-32) and later failed first-reading of the rezoning ordinance (Ordinance 2025-18). Several members said they were open to a lower-density plan but not the proposal as presented.
Next steps: Planning staff said denial of the plan of services means the annexation cannot proceed as proposed. The developer may (a) withdraw and refile a substantially different concept before the city or (b) pursue the county process; Free said a resubmission substantially similar to the rejected CDP would generally require a one-year wait if denied and resubmitted without material changes.
The public hearing and votes underscore competing priorities for the city: managing growth and protecting existing infrastructure and natural resources while recognizing private property owners’ rights to develop land under applicable zoning.
