Buncombe planning board recommends rezoning of Clark's Chapel glass studio

The Buncombe County Planning Board voted to recommend approval of a map amendment to rezone a 0.73‑acre parcel at 60 Clark's Chapel Road from R‑3 (residential) to CS (Commercial Service), a change staff said would bring an existing glass‑blowing business into compliance with county zoning.

Planner Britton Sleuther of the county long‑range team led the staff presentation, saying the parcel is currently used as a glass studio and gallery and is served by public water and a private septic system. “The area to be rezoned is 0.73 acres. The current use is a glass blowing studio,” Britton Sleuther said, adding that the request aligns with the Buncombe County 2043 comprehensive plan’s Mixed Use Area 2 designation.

The staff report noted the rezoning would allow a broader set of uses and slightly different dimensional standards: minimum lot sizes would decrease if sewer becomes available, setbacks would change, and the maximum allowed building height would increase under CS. Surrounding parcels immediately across the road are already zoned CS and contain commercial uses including a mulch yard and a pottery and woodworks studio; adjoining property to the south includes Clark's Chapel church and cemetery. Staff identified a very small pocket (about 5,000 square feet) of moderate slope‑stability hazard on the parcel but said the remainder of the site is outside mapped moderate hazard and that the small area did not make the request inconsistent with plan policies.

Owner and applicant Michael Hatch, identified in the record as Michael Hatch of Michael Hatch Glass Company, told the board the studio has operated at that location for more than 10 years and that the rezoning would “bring their use into compliance with the existing zoning for the county.” He also said the only neighbor who approached him expressed concern about having their own property rezoned to commercial; Hatch told the board he explained the county would not rezone neighboring properties because of this request.

After closing the public hearing, a board member moved to approve the rezoning based on staff’s recommendation and a second was recorded. The board chair called for the vote; members present voted in favor with no recorded opposition. The board’s recommendation is advisory; the matter will be scheduled for consideration by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, which will hold its own public hearing and decision on the zoning map amendment.

Staff said the applicant will be notified when the commission schedules the item. No conditions or amendments to the request were included in the planning board recommendation.