“We are in a crisis in North Carolina in terms of affordable housing,” Edwards told Land of Sky Regional Council members last week. “It is rare that I speak to any group of folks where I’m not asked, ‘What are we going to do about the housing in this state?’”
Edwards’ solution, which he says could make buying a home affordable for 1 million North Carolina families, is not going over well with towns in Henderson County or the North Carolina League of Municipalities.
The bill requires cities and counties to permit duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes in all residential districts, including those currently zoned for single-family homes. It also requires local governments to allow an accessory dwelling unit on a lot occupied by a detached single-family home and restricts local government’s use of conditional zoning.
Amid the throng of 140,000 trade exhibitors and shoppers at the show in the spring of 2019, a team of North Carolina industrial recruiters sought out Pratt & Whitney representatives and had a moment to chat. Word had gotten out that a major net engine maker was looking to site a major new plant, and the economic development team from the Tar Heel state knew that landing the company would be big.
It was more of a ‘fit and feel’ situation, as much art as science,” Chris Chung, president of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina and a leader of the recruiting team in Paris, said in an interview. “We seek out potential industries and meet with their executives. We didn’t know then exactly what they wanted.
Amid the throng of 140,000 trade exhibitors and shoppers at the show in the spring of 2019, a team of North Carolina industrial recruiters sought out Pratt & Whitney representatives and had a moment to chat. Word had gotten out that a major net engine maker was looking to site a major new plant, and the economic development team from the Tar Heel state knew that landing the company would be big.
It was more of a ‘fit and feel’ situation, as much art as science,” Chris Chung, president of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina and a leader of the recruiting team in Paris, said in an interview. “We seek out potential industries and meet with their executives. We didn’t know then exactly what they wanted.
Looking back: Henderson County s top stories in 2020
The past year managed to bring both hardships and victories to Henderson County.
Countless lives have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with thousands of reported cases, nearly 100 deaths, and many people losing their jobs due to the economic fallout from the pandemic.
The community lost some of its beloved leaders, including Henderson County Commissioner Charlie Messer, who died suddenly in July; former Fletcher Mayor Bill Moore; and Sheriff s Office deputy Ryan Hendrix, who was killed in the line of duty in September.
Some light has come out of 2020, from developments bringing jobs and housing to the county to increased calls for social justice and a focus on equality.
A long-running zoning dispute over housing on the Tap Root Dairy property finally came to an end while the land-use fight over an asphalt plant in East Flat Rock fizzled to an uncertain resolution. Downtown could be transformed by hotel and parking deck plans that neared the dirt-turning stage as the year drew to a close. Cloaked over every hour of every day from March 3 on was the coronavirus and its wide-ranging impacts. Covid-19 cases devastated long-term care facilities as the virus swept in. The pandemic claimed the Flat Rock Playhouse and Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra seasons, the North Carolina Apple Festival, prep football and more. Here are number 7, 6, 5 in the Lightning’s annual Top 10 news stories from an unforgettable year.