Buncombe County staff lay out Swannanoa small-area plan focused on flood recovery and resilience

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. — Buncombe County planning staff on a April 2025 Planning Board agenda presented a Swannanoa Small Area Plan that staff said is being prioritized for recovery and resilience work after damage from Tropical Storm Helene, with a planning consultant expected to start July 1 and a target adoption date of August 2026.

Planning staff described the project as a focused small-area planning process that will add a recovery and resilience emphasis to the county’s existing comprehensive-plan framework. "This has been prioritized as 1 of the first small area plans that we're gonna focus on," said Nathan Pennington, planning staff, describing the plan’s aim to "work with the community to come up with recovery actions, with resiliency, goals and policies." The presentation said staff will begin pre-budget work now, issue an RFQ for a consultant, begin early stakeholder outreach in May, and seek a July 1 contract start for a consultant.

Staff told the board that, once budgeted funds are available, public engagement will expand to include a kickoff week, a resident steering committee, pop-up events, an online participation option and a design charrette currently proposed for December. Pennington and other staff said steering-committee applications would open in the next couple of months and that staff will coordinate with existing community groups to avoid duplicate meetings.

Why it matters: Swannanoa sustained concentrated damage in the storm and county staff said the area requires both the detailed, parcel-level work of a small-area plan and additional recovery-focused steps (hazard mitigation, infrastructure repair and trauma-informed engagement) not present in a typical plan. Staff noted the plan will align with multiple county efforts — a countywide recovery plan, a pedestrian plan and parks-and-recreation master plan — and will incorporate technical review from agencies such as NCDOT and Metropolitan Sewerage District.

Board members asked about timing, funding and outreach methods. Staff said the county has requested funding in the next budget cycle and is pursuing potential grants, including technical-assistance grants from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission; staff estimated more information on outside funding by May or June. On outreach, staff said they plan to meet people where they gather, use social media and direct mail within the small-area footprint, host pop-up events and provide online surveys and translation services once funds are available.

Public comment included a reading by Didi Styles of a Groundwater Section manual passage: "Groundwater in the Piedmont And Mountain Region of North Carolina occurs in a complex underground environment that is difficult to understand and explain," and a longer statement by Dee Dee Scott, a Swannanoa resident of 77 years, warning that adding impervious surface on steep slopes increases runoff and sediment: "As more impervious surface is added to the steep slopes, more water is going to come down faster." Both commenters asked that the plan keep those drainage and slope dynamics central to decisions.

Staff said they will provide the board with layered maps that show overlay districts (steep slope, protected ridge), contours and potential graphics showing what limited allowance of a second unit on lots would look like on valley floors versus steep slopes. Staff also committed to a field visit and virtual "before-and-after" materials; they said the board will be invited to a field trip after the steering committee is formed.

Ending: The planning board indicated it wants a work session at the next meeting to review more detailed materials and a slide deck with layered maps. Staff will return with the marked-up draft text amendments and layered graphics for the board’s review and with a schedule for steering-committee recruitment and the consultant RFQ.