Buncombe Board of Adjustment approves revised PUD for Arden Ridge Apartments

The Buncombe County Board of Adjustment voted to approve a revised special-use permit for a planned unit development at 101 Sumner Drive in Arden, authorizing Arden Investors 270 LLC to build 270 apartment units on a 25.45-acre parcel.

The decision follows a quasi-judicial hearing in which county staff and three expert witnesses presented evidence on site design, traffic impacts and property-value effects. Savannah Glantz, county planning staff, opened the case and certified that "this public hearing is properly noticed and all applicable parties are notified of the meeting in accordance with general statutes and county code." She asked that applicant and staff materials be entered into the record; hearing no objection, they were admitted.

The board’s approval matters because it revises a previously approved PUD that originally authorized fewer units and imposes conditions intended to address public-safety and infrastructure impacts.

Staff summary and applicant presentation Savannah Glantz told the board the revision is to ZPH-2020-518 (presented originally in September 2024) and that the project name was changed from River’s Edge to Arden Ridge Apartments to avoid duplication with another file in the county system. Glantz summarized staff recommendations and noted a late, minor modification to the clubhouse square footage had been submitted this week.

Craig Justice, representing the applicant, introduced three professional witnesses and summarized project changes from the prior approval. Justice said the prior approval allowed 180 units; after the parcel sale in December 2024 and the approval of an adjoining Windsor Autry…