Steering committee narrows Swannanoa policy map: large resilience area, smaller corridor highlight

Buncombe County's Swannanoa small-area plan steering committee agreed to advance a two-tier policy map that pairs a broad resilience area with a smaller corridor-style highlight for land‑use and economic-development work.

Steering committee members and county planning staff said the resilience area — intended to guide flood, fire and landslide risk policies — will span a substantially larger footprint than the compact highlight area staff will use for targeted land‑use recommendations along the U.S. 70 corridor and nearby neighborhoods. Planning staff said they will refine the map using topography and the county’s steep‑slope overlay before releasing it for public comment.

The committee adopted the two-tier approach as a working direction rather than as a final, legally binding decision. Planning staff emphasized that the comprehensive plan’s growth, equity and conservation map (adopted by Buncombe County in 2023) remains a starting point, and that the small‑area planning process can amend that countywide map to reflect local priorities.

“Tonight, we are going to talk about finalizing the policy map,” planning staff said as they introduced the exercise, noting the presentation showed comprehensive‑plan growth areas superimposed on the Swannanoa…