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Residents press council to save landmark maple as Circle K site plan moves ahead
Summary
Residents and business owners urged Black Mountain officials to stop or modify a Circle K gas‑station site plan that will remove a large sugar maple at the town’s Highway 9 entrance; planning staff said the development is a by‑right use in the HBA zone and the approved stormwater layout makes keeping the tree infeasible under the current site plan.
Planning Director Michelle Kennedy told the council the Circle K proposal for the former SunTrust parcel is a use allowed by right in the Highway Business (HBA) zoning district and that the company’s approved site plan locates stormwater mitigation infrastructure where the large maple sits. "They are willing to do whatever they can do to be in partnership with folks," Kennedy said, but she added that "the tree does have to come down" under the plan.
Dozens of residents and business owners used the meeting’s public‑comment period to call for the tree’s preservation and stronger local tree protections. "I sit across from you today, and I cannot help but feel nervous," said Mandy Carter, a lifelong resident, while Mandy Carter and others pleaded for transparency and alternatives. Business owner Carissa Galata said the plan would replace the town’s welcoming treescape with "neon signs and concrete and gas pumps." Resident Reid Pomeroy said the maple is a "prominent" landmark and asked that developers modify the plan to keep it in place.
Opponents highlighted the tree’s ecological and cultural value and urged native, size‑appropriate replacements if removal is unavoidable. Local landscaper and tree‑advocate Emily Sampson urged a stronger tree ordinance requiring developers to replace removed canopy with locally native species proportional to biomass.
Staff described the project’s approved landscaping package — 13 new trees and 237 evergreen shrubs — and said an on‑site engineering study did not locate a stream despite a USGS water‑course marker on parcel maps. Kennedy said relocation of the existing maple would require a full site‑plan revision and re‑approval, and that the town lacks a mechanism to force that change.
Councilors emphasized the limits of staff authority: zoning and state/local law constrain what the town can deny. Several council members encouraged continued public engagement in the pending Unified Development Ordinance process to strengthen future tree protections and to attend planning‑board hearings on proposed UDO changes.
The council did not take immediate regulatory action on the Circle K site at the Aug. 11 meeting; planning staff said they would continue outreach with the developer and would report back to council as options — including potentially agreed substitutions of native species and discussions about salvaging the trunk or root base for a public‑art project — were explored.
Next steps: staff will continue to meet with the developer and community groups; any formal change to the approved site plan would require a new submittal and review under town land‑use rules.
