Planning board clears conditional rezoning for 11.25-acre Olivette townhome node; board cites infrastructure, traffic concerns from neighbors

WOODFIN, N.C. — The Town of Woodfin Planning Board of Adjustment voted unanimously April 1 to approve a conditional rezoning for an 11.25-acre portion of the Olivette/Bridal Bridges property to allow a new townhome neighborhood node.

Planning staff presented the application as a conditional rezoning of two parcels (identified in Buncombe County tax records by the pins listed in the staff report) from Mountain Village to Mountain Village Conditional Zone. The exhibit and conditions attached to the rezoning show a site layout for attached single-family townhomes (61 townhome units), sidewalks on both sides of the internal streets, underground utilities, and a series of open-space tracts and trails linking the node to existing community amenities.

Scott Austin, who said he represents Olivette Riverside Community Farm and Olivette Development LLC, described the broader master plan and the company's approach: "We are sitting on 411 acres ... This is for 62 units" (developer materials and the town exhibit D identify the node as 61 units; staff corrected a data-box error in the application packet during the hearing). Brandon Bryant, representing Red Tree Organization LLC and identified as the builder, described product and pricing targets and construction approach. "We're working through pricing…