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Neighbors pressed board on views, drainage and noise; approved Swannano permit includes shed relocation and buffering
Summary
Philip Fisher and other board members raised view loss, slope stability, drainage and noise concerns during the Swannano Apartments public hearing; the board approved the project but required the applicant to relocate a shed, place arborvitae nearer the slope crest, and implement erosion‑control and screening measures.
At the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment hearing on March 11, neighbor Philip Fisher outlined several site‑specific concerns about the approved Swannano Apartments development, telling the board that the proposed buildings will intrude into the western view from his property and raise drainage and construction‑access issues.
Fisher said he would not oppose development per se but requested careful mitigation: "I'm not opposed to development. I just want to be thoughtful, you know, considering the things that I've got," he told the board as he described the site's slope, sightlines and potential for runoff. He emphasized that the proposed arborvitae plantings at the toe of the slope would take years to mature and asked the applicant to consider moving trees to the crest where they would screen views and attenuate sound more quickly.
Applicant team members said they had tested multiple site iterations and that soils and imported fill limited building placement; they offered to move screening plantings and to install a fence at the top of the slope to improve buffering. The board adopted conditions that require relocating the existing shed if it encroaches, placing arborvitae closer to the slope crest as feasible, and ensuring detailed erosion‑control and stormwater measures in site‑plan review to limit construction impacts on adjacent yards.
The board emphasized that final technical measures (graded erosion controls, contractor methods and any noise‑buffering walls around condensers) must be provided during the county site‑plan and permitting process and that staff will include the agreed conditions in the formal order filed in the case record.
