Buncombe County board approves VAD application to protect 600 acres at Warren Wilson College

The Buncombe County farmland preservation board voted unanimously to approve applications to enroll 600 acres of Warren Wilson College land in the county's Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program to improve the project's competitiveness for state and federal grant funding.

The measure covers four separate conservation easements on the college's property; county staff and conservation partners said they are submitting four separate grant applications so each easement can compete independently. Jess Lagos, representing Southern Appalachian Highlands (SHC), said the organization has prioritized Warren Wilson for decades and that college leadership and funders are now aligned to pursue permanent protection. "Warren Wilson has been a top priority for SHC for protection for decades, and, we're kind of just now at this point where the stars have aligned," Lagos said.

Why it matters: being in the VAD or the enhanced EVAD program increases an application's ranking in the state grant process, giving projects additional points in a competitive funding environment. Lagos told the board the state funding partners indicated grants are tighter this year because some funds were reallocated toward Helene relief, so every ranking point matters.

Key details and board action - The board approved applications to place 600 acres into four conservation easements; the landholding remains a single parcel (one PIN) but will be covered by four separate easement transactions to allow multiple grant submissions. Board members and staff said the project does not subdivide the parcel's tax map identification and that the approach is intended to maximize grant competitiveness. - SHC and Warren Wilson are also pursuing a second phase to protect an additional 189 acres adjacent to the four easements discussed at this meeting. - The board heard that the VAD designation yields five ranking points at the state level, while the enhanced EVAD designation yields 10 points; the board approved the VAD application(s) at this meeting.

The board approved the motion by voice vote after a roll call of members. The meeting record includes affirmative votes recorded for Terry (board member), Mark (board member), Kyle (board member), Susie (board member) and Lucy (board member). The motion and second were not individually identified in the transcript; the recorded outcome was "motion carries" and the vote was unanimous among those recorded.

Staff updates and timeline County staff said Buncombe County has already contributed to transaction costs for the Warren Wilson project and asked the board to meet on short notice to help complete the funding package. Staff reported additional capacity is expected this summer: the county's emergency operations center (EOC) remains active through June 3, and Tetra Tech support has been added to the county's EWP program, which staff said will free time to resume farmland-preservation work. Staff said the county team is currently down about 25% because of vacancies and that one prior coordinator position (referred to as Avni's position) is expected to be posted in the coming months to restore staffing capacity.

Staff also described ongoing natural- and cultural-resource recovery work tied to recent emergency operations, including monitoring with Equinox and planning for stream-bank revegetation after Army Corps waterway debris removal.

The board did not take other formal actions at this meeting. Staff said they will proceed with the grant submissions and provide any required letters or documentation to partners.

Votes at a glance - Approve Warren Wilson College VAD application(s) covering 600 acres (four conservation easements). Outcome: approved (unanimous among recorded votes). Motion/second: not specified in transcript.