The Blue Table didn’t resolve their differences of opinion.

Some detested putting so much emphasis on downtown Waynesville, while others were bothered that the Main Street area was labeled a tourist trap. Others thought private property owners should be able to do what they want with their property, while some said controls on how things are built is OK. Some argued that it is useless to argue with City Hall, while another told how he had gone there, followed the rules, and got what he needed.

The first of four public input sessions in the development of Waynesville’s comprehensive land-use plan may not have gone exactly as anticipated, but the two meetings last Thursday at the town’s new recreation center did provide a lively exchange.

“I’d say it was a very vigorous, open-ended debate,” said Rex Feichter, the chairman of the land-use study task force and the town’s planning board. “There was a lot of synergism.”

The meetings are being held so the task force will be able to take into account the desires of the town’s citizens. Julie Cogburn is a planner with Benchmark, the company hired by the town to aid in the development of a land-use plan.

“The three are-as of emphasis as we develop a plan are land use, the environment and infrastructure,” she told those gathered at the meeting. “We want you to think about those subjects as they have to do with northeast Waynesville and be planners for a day.”

Two professional planners sat at three tables (each labeled by a color) and facilitated discussion among the residents who attended the meetings. One of the most vocal critics of the plan at the Blue Table was Lynn Noland, an attorney who owns property in Waynesville but lives in Crabtree.

“I want to know who will pay the expense for the town of Waynesville’s growth? Ya’ll are going on the assumption that what helps the town of Waynesville helps all citizens,” Noland said.

In addition to criticizing what he views as the town’s intent, Noland also charged town aldermen with trying to protect downtown businesses at the expense of those on the outskirts of town.

“One of the biggest concerns of people just outside of town is that you are attempting to control commercial development and keep down competition for businesses in the downtown area,” Noland said.

Noland also said the town’s population is approaching 10,000, and once it does it will be able to increase its extra-territorial jurisdiction from one to two miles.

Keith Plemmons was also highly critical of downtown.

“Downtown is basically a tourist trap that sells candles and baskets,” he said.

Kaaren Stoner, who owns Twigs and Leaves Gallery on Main Street, disagree with Plemmons.

“I own a downtown business and I make pots. I don’t consider myself a tourist trap,” Stoner said.

Others called for taking steps to increase commercial development on the town’s outskirts, but Jim Pierce, who moved here three years ago from Mississippi, said that would be a mistake.

“The last thing I want is for the town to make an interstate out of the Old Asheville Highway,” Pierce said. “Russ Avenue may drag in business, but it is total chaos.”

Some at the table worried that once a plan was passed, there would be no recourse for those who might disagree with certain aspects of the plan. Richard Miller said that belief was wrong. Miller, a contractor, retail store owner and downtown property owner, said that you can work within the system to get what you need.

“I got them (the town) to change, and that’s what these meetings should be about - setting up a process so that you can get your problems addressed,” Miller said.

In the end, facilitators from each of the tables publicly presented the concerns of the citizens, which ran the gamut from designating more property for commercial growth to protecting green spaces. After the upcoming three meetings, the task force will finish the plan and aldermen hope to adopt it by this summer. Adopting a plan is Phase I of the process. Phase II is a re-write of the town’s zoning ordinances, which is also expected to take an entire year and finish in summer 2002.

 

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