‘Assessment’ work in UNC Asheville woods sparks fear, frustration among neighbors

ASHEVILLE – Clambering over downed trees and walking along the trails that thread the 45-acre property in January, Starr Silvis Metcalf pointed to the new disturbances that have appeared in recent weeks — excavator tracks, boreholes and cut vegetation.

Work at the beloved wooded parcel, located on UNC Asheville property in the Five Points neighborhood, raised immediate red flags for neighbors. Pushing for answers resulted in a statement from the university Jan. 16 that said UNCA was “taking steps to better understand the characteristics of 90 acres of undeveloped portions” of its property, which spokesperson Brian Hart confirmed included the wooded parcels.

It billed the work as a “thorough exploratory assessment.”

“No decisions regarding development have been made at this time,” the statement said.

In an update released Jan. 31, the university said it has completed soil boring and sampling and remaining assessment work is now limited to land surveying to confirm the property’s boundaries, which is expected to continue for a few additional weeks. It will necessitate the removal of some brush, the statement said, but no trees.

Metcalf has spent two decades traversing the woods, sometimes referred to as the “experimental forest.” It is bounded to the west by Broadway Street and WT Weaver Boulevard to the north and comprised of three parcels. The chancellor’s house and a USDA Forest Service research station sit on the northern side, closer to central campus.

The neighborhood was hard hit by Tropical Storm Helene, Metcalf said. While some trees and vegetation have been newly cut in recent weeks, others were knocked down in the storm’s high winds — trees torn from the earth, exposing muddy tangles of root systems.

When both her children were born, on their first day back from the hospital, Metcalf said she walked the woods with them. On that recent warm winter afternoon, she came upon her oldest, Simon, now 17, around the bend of a trail. Their dog, Balto, ran to Simon, ecstatic.

“Their entire life, they’ve been in these woods,” Metcalf said. “I love this area. And I’ve done everything I can to help it grow in a way that is best for everybody. And to see this, right on top of Helene, is really disappointing.”

As community frustrations mounted around ongoing work, the university’s board of trustees approved a resolution Jan. 27 affirming the chancellor’s decision to authorize assessment of the land.

At a virtual special meeting Jan. 27 of UNCA’s Board of Trustees, Chair Roger Aiken read the resolution, which reiterated it was an exploratory process and no decisions around future development had been made.

It was unanimously adopted by the five board members present.

UNC Asheville Board of Trus… by Sarah Honosky

A ‘community spot’

Near the Dortch Avenue trailhead, at the southern end of UNCA’s campus, a group of neighbors converged Jan. 29 on the dirt path, dogs straining on leashes to greet each other.

It was a chance meeting, but the kind that happens often in the woods. For the dogs’ respective owners, greetings are waylaid by volleys of information — fresh tree cuttings spotted down the path; equipment parked and idle; the fear of work near a tree suspected to house great horned owls.

The group, among them Metcalf and another neighbor, Chris Cotteta, spent a minute discussing plans. Most visit the woods daily to walk dogs and observe wildlife, like hawks and the family of bears that frequent the property. It is among the largest remaining urban forests in Asheville, Metcalf said.

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“It’s our community spot. There is so much heart here,” said Alix Doddridge, an organizer of the “Save the Woods” effort. In mid-January, the Facebook page had 10 members. Now it has 2,600. A petition calling for the forest’s preservation has garnered more than 6,800 signatures. Fliers and yard signs pepper the surrounding neighborhoods.

Doddridge described the woods as an “oasis,” one that would be “heartbreaking” to lose.

UNCA’s Jan. 31 statement said following the soil boring and associated tree removal, additional tree removal that was unrelated to the assessment took place on the northwestern edge of the property as part of its Helene response.

Tree removal has concluded in the area, it said.

“The University is also aware of concerns regarding the presence of owls on the property,” the statement said. “The University has cooperated with contractors to evaluate this concern and ensure that any nests, if identified, are not disturbed.”

Permits?

The city’s Development Services Director Mark Matheny said there is no recent permitting activity recorded for those parcels through the city. He said that permitting for university owned land would occur through the state — N.C. Department of Environmental Quality for site work and the State Construction Office for buildings and structures.

Hart said Jan. 27 that no permits were required nor issued for the assessment work.

NCDEQ spokesperson Kat Russell confirmed its regional office staff did not find any active erosion and sediment control permits for those parcels.

“As with all the University’s assets, we routinely evaluate the properties we own to better inform our decision making as it relates to the best interests of our students, employees, and the community,” Hart told the Citizen Times via email Jan. 24.

“As to the work currently being done on the property, it is a thorough exploratory assessment to better understand the characteristics of it, including boundaries, topography, soil composition, and utilities. We expect the assessment to be completed in the next few weeks.”

The Jan. 16 statement from UNCA said that in keeping with commitments to transparency and collaboration, as options are being finalized, the university will host listening sessions to share information about potential plans and gather input from community.

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When did work begin?

Doddridge sounded the alarm in mid-January, as did Metcalf, who sent a letter to the Chancellor’s Office and other university leadership asking for information.

Several neighbors said they first noticed activity Jan. 13 as an excavator began to clear paths that were later used as access roads for boring equipment. At first, some couched the work as debris clearing after Helene, but said they soon learned otherwise.

Mounds of pale dirt and trunks painted with numbers demarcate the boreholes. The highest Metcalf has spotted is No. 24.

Metcalf, an environmental engineer, said the work on the property goes beyond a survey and assessment.

“To do this kind of work, you need to have some idea of what goals you have, and what needs you’re trying to meet,” she said. On a meandering walk through the woods, with Balto traipsing at her heels, she pointed to churned earth from the excavator, to snapped and sawed tree limbs and vegetation, and new paths cleared through underbrush.

The work feels “significant,” she said, not consistent with the statement that posits removing a minimal number of trees and collecting soil samples.

“The words don’t match the actions,” she said.

Past plans to develop

In her 20 years neighboring the property, Metcalf said she’s no stranger to proposed developments there. In the past, UNCA sent letters to neighbors notifying them of prospective work, she said.

They held listening sessions. She herself helped facilitate brainstorming in 2004 when the university proposed building a 2.5-acre parking lot on the property.

A guest column from then-Chancellor Jim Mullen, which ran in the Citizen Times in May 2004, said after several meetings with neighbors and the city of Asheville, and a thorough analysis of options, UNCA determined it would not have to use the south campus property for parking.

It would, however, under guidance of the Board of Trustees, develop a long-term, land-management plan for the 100 acres of university property contiguous to the central campus, the woods among them.

“Community conversations will be part of these efforts,” Mullen wrote. “We must resist the temptation that is too often acted upon nationally to assume the worst of each other, accuse each other and question each other’s motives.”

In 2008, another story detailed the construction on the new chancellor’s residence, or Pisgah House, which sits on the northwest corner of the land, near the intersection of WT Weaver Boulevard and Broadway Street. The article, published that September, noted the site’s “history of generating some controversy with students and neighbors.”

While some neighbors and residents opposed the development, according to the article, “others say UNCA has made a genuine effort to notify them of their plans and be environmentally sensitive.”

What now?

“It almost feels like a different woods,” Cotteta, vice president of the Five Points Neighborhood Association, told the Citizen Times Jan. 27. Since the work began, some of the wood’s trails are changed or overlaid with excavator tread. New paths lead nowhere. Neighbors fear impacts to wildlife and native plants.

With new clearings, caution tape along trees and stakes in the ground, Doddridge likened it to a “construction zone.”

Cotteta maintains the university has not been transparent. In light of the lack of communication, he said it is hard to take comfort in the Trustees’ promises.

“What we really want is to have this land preserved forever, because it’s something that is really special,” he said. “It’s really meaningful to the people who live here. It’s meaningful to the students and faculty of UNCA. And it’s very meaningful to the city of Asheville for our climate resilience, especially in the wake of hurricane Helene.”

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Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email [email protected] or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Neighbors call for pause after ‘assessment’ in UNC Asheville woods