Is Macon County/Jackson County also growing too fast? (Asheville: transplants, sales)

[Maryelllen]

To anyone who knows:

I have been reading the threads about overdevelopment in the Asheville area of the mountains. Clearly, many people are quite upset about the pace of development and disregard for the environment. Is the same thing happening in places like Franklin and Sylva? I visit relatives in Franklin every year (as well as Asheville), and the town seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. Do people near the National Park also have environmental concerns about overdevelopment?

Maryellen

[chisoxfan]

My perception as a frequent visitor to the areas you mentioned is that the entire corridor on Route 23/441 from the Georgia border to Franklin and Dillsboro/Sylva and then 23/74 to Waynesville is growing faster than it should be. The influx of big-money Floridians continues, and don't forget that metro Atlanta is only a few hours away and still pushing north and east (a friend in Waynesville says they're getting almost as many Atlanta transplants as Floridians these days). Still, I don't think there's as much rampant overdevelopment in Macon and Jackson as there is in Asheville -- at least not yet. I've not visited Highlands or Cashiers -- those have a reputation as playgrounds for the rich, and the situation might be different there.

[Carolinawit]

I was just reading an article yesterday in the Waynesville paper about the mayor of Sylva being re-elected on a development planning platform. I think they are just starting to wake up about it. Unfortunately, that is just what has happened in Asheville, too little, too late and too many factions fighting for what to do about it. The interstate road expansion through Asheville has been delayed 8 years because too many people had too many ideas/diverse opinions about where the road should go. Differences are great, don't get me wrong but we are starting to experience traffic hell right now because of growth and the factions can't come up with an acceptable design eight years past the time the road should have been completed. I think it is good that they are addressing it in that area but probably not fast enough not to make some mistakes. Highlands seems to have handled the growth better than most as it seems tasteful and not as enviromentally unsound as some of the development they are trying to get away with here in Asheville.

[shwony]

We moved to Franklin, NC four months after Hurricane Katrina destroyed our community in Gulfport, MS. Little did we realize how fast this area would grow--seems like almost overnight the place has turned into a suburb of Atlanta. While there are still wonderful recreation areas here, great hiking, fishing and camping, the constant building and big-city style traffiic is ruining what is left of the Southern Appalachians. I work in Highlands and it sucks! Highlands and Cashiers are overrun with bulldozers, illegal aliens hanging out at gas stations waiting to go to work at construction sites (which used to be beautiful mountain vistas) and pretentious Floridians building second homes which they live in 3 weeks out of a year. Don't move here -- the place is awful and I can hardly wait to get rid of my house and land and move somewhere "real". Anyone wanting a 2002 doublewide on 3.5 acres let me know next January.

[abcornwell]

Realize that Macon County (the county seat is Franklin, the wealthy "resort area" is Highlands) has no zoning codes, and only recently has the county begun addressing basic zoning and code issues that most of us took for granted when we lived in non-rural areas.

Issues such steep slope development, width of roads so emergency vehicles can get to your house, building in flood plains, all are up for grabs.

If I had the money, I would buy 15 acres and build myself a home in the middle of it, so as to insulate myself against whatever might go up next to me, or across the road. Could be an asphalt plant, a lot full of junked cars and trailers, anything!

Development is happening like crazy, builders and developers refer to this as "the wild west" where anything goes. There is very little green or environmentally conscious development, and extremely shoddy work is seen everywhere, even in high end homes. Also, developers want to get in and get it done before any codes are put in place.

Realize, too, that Floridians now own more than 40% of land in this county. Since late 90's, Floridians have been cashing out of their highly appreciated homes, and bringing those large chunks of money up here and buying land, thus driving up prices. The average Maconian can't buy a home or land, and after awhile you realize why so many people here live in trailers.

The Highlands area (and over 64 to Cashiers (Jackson County), Sapphire (Transylvania County), and into Brevard, is extremely overdeveloped, yet they keep shoving million dollar homes into the mountain. What is being done to the Cullasaja watershed is abominable, and much of it is for homes that Floridians and Atlantans live in for, maybe, 6 weeks a year.

It's amazing how resilient and forgiving the Earth is, considering how we rip it up and overpopulate it every chance we get.

[Jeepman48]

You said it correct Abcornwell its sad and the locals are so used to being poor rather underpaid that the new development is a hugh payoff. They don't realize that some of the FAT CATS don't have the right to go up on little one lane mountain roads and build RESORTS not a small development, my example is over in Glenville up on Big Ridge Road....I grew up on Big Ridge and I now understand some CLOWN has bought and sold over one hundred small lots for as much as three hundred thousand and that doesn't include a home, just the land. They say they plan a RESORT, the little one lane road doesn't support that sort of traffic and only God knows tha their plan is to transport all of their human waste to Asheville or somewhere over that way to dispose of. All the sewage systems are going to drain into catch tank and be pumped and hauled overland to dispose. Wouldn't ya think that waste of that magtitude would be better not even being on our highways? This person that sold the lots has generated over I believe twenty to thirty MILLIONS DOLLARS in just two to three short years. I do believe he at one time was a caring human being but sold out ALL of his friends on the mountain to become a millionaire. How he sleeps at night is a wonder. You can go on GOOGLE EARTH and look up Big Ridge BAPTIST CHURCH and right before and above the church you can see all of the roads being cut into this beautiful wilderness. All of my family live on Big Ridge and they really have no comment but I do. The county tried to stop this sort of development last year and the contractors screamed foul...saying their families would go hungry if subdivisions were regulated in sorts. What they don't realize is sooo sad because the highways will not support the growth. The area was not meant to be a Denver or Miami it was meant to remain a wilderness. Does anyone reading this know how to fight this type of insanity with short term solutions. If something or someone does not step up to protect our environment these folks will ruin Western North Carollina. I am not saying their not welcome...just that there should be some sort of regulation to maybe only let them own mobile homes and live in parks not own mountaintops and build homes they only live in for a few weeks of the year. One of the previous posters stated the fact that the locals cannot afford to live where they were born and raised...this is a crying shame. Anyway one day one way I personally will fight this type of growth and vow to start with my beloved homestead of Big Ridge. Sincerely, J. S.

[toolady]

We moved to Franklin a year ago. We originally intended to move here in 2000, but an accident put me in a wheelchair for a few years. So that delayed our plans.

We were lucky to sell our home in Florida and move up here. Not all ex Floridians have "Big Bucks"!

We love the people here and the town. I, for one, am glad that the falling prices on homes in Florida is making home sales in Macon County slow also.

These mountains are still beautiful and I hope that the county government wakes up and puts some restrictions in place. It would be a terrible shame to wake up one day and find that ALL of our mountains were now dotted with homes.

There have been some pretty bad floods here, in the past. With the increased defoliation that development brings, any severe rain is going to cause worse flooding, in the future.

I say, that we need to think about development restrictions now, before we become another Asheville!