This page provides answers to some basic questions about the Blueprint Woodfin project.  This page will be modified as new questions arise over the course of the project.  If you have a question that is not answered below, please pose your question in the textbox at the bottom of the page and include your email if you would like a Town staff member to respond.  If enough people ask the same or similar question it will be added to this list of FAQs.

 

1. WHAT IS BLUEPRINT WOODFIN?

The Blueprint Woodfin project is an effort undertaken by the Town of Woodfin’s Planning and Zoning Department, with assistance from CodeWright Planners, Site Collaborative, and Tidewater Associates to prepare a new unified Land Development Ordinance (or “LDO”) and new Official Zoning Map to implement the Town’s adopted policy guidance and to establish new development rules and procedures.  The LDO is expected to bring greater procedural clarity and predictability to the development review process, easier administration, a wider range of housing choices, increased pedestrian orientation, stronger environmental protections, and increased development quality.

 

2. Why is the Project Called Blueprint Woodfin?

While the Town’s various development rules (zoning, subdivision, flood protection, steep slopes, etc.) have been updated periodically over the years, best practices in development ordinance drafting and land development regulation are always changing.  Many of the Town’s “easy-to-develop” parcels have already been developed, and the changing climate brings new challenges to address for both developed and vacant lands. The Town undertook this project to both modernize Woodfin’s and to better align them with the policy adopted in Woodfin Together (the Town’s Comprehensive Plan adopted in 2024).  Blueprint Woodfin result in a LDO that translates policy ideas—something abstract or conceptual—into a precise, technical regulations and procedures that others can reliably follow. The LDO is a ‘blueprint’ for how to create the Towns desired built environment.

 

3. What is a Land Development Ordinance?

A Land Development Ordinance (or the “LDO”) is an integrated set of laws governing the use of land within the corporate limits of the Town and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.  The LDO unifies and replaces several chapters in the current Woodfin Town Code (listed below) into a single consolidated document with one set of procedures, districts, uses, and development standards.  The LDO establishes the kinds of land uses that may be permitted, where those uses may be permitted, the process used by the Town to consider requests to establish allowable uses, how uses and land development activities may be operated, how sites and site features supporting land uses are to be configured, and how violations of the Town’s land use rules are determined and addressed.  In addition to the written rules, the LDO also includes the Official Zoning Map, or the graphic distribution of zoning districts (and thus allowable use types).  A link to the current Town Code of Ordinances is provided in the sidebar to the right. Readers who are considering filing an application for development or who have specific questions about the current regulations are strongly encouraged to contact Town staff.  The relevant chapters from the current Town Code being consolidated into the LDO include:

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• Chapter 14, Flood Damage Prevention

• Chapter 26, Outdoor Lighting

• Chapter 34, Signs

• Chapter 41, Stormwater

• Chapter 42, Streets and Sidewalks

• Chapter 46, Subdivisions

• Chapter 54, Zoning

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A link to the current Woodfin Town Code of Ordinances is available under the Helpful Links heading in the sidebar to the right.

 

4. What is “Adopted Policy Guidance”?

The Town’s adopted policy guidance is a set of Town Council-adopted documents and policies that identify the Town’s shared vision and direction for the future.  While adopted policy guidance like the 2024 Woodfin Together Comprehensive Plan is required by State law for local governments like Woodfin who seek to apply zoning controls, adopted policy guidance is advisory in nature.  The primary pieces of adopted land use policy guidance in Woodfin are:

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• TOWO 2025 Town Council Strategic Priorities

• Walk Bike Woodfin (2025)

• Woodfin Together Comprehensive Plan (2024)

• Woodfin Parks Master Plan (2019)

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Links to the various pieces of adopted policy guidance are available under the Project Background heading in the sidebar to the right.

 

5. What are the Blueprint Woodfin Project Goals?

The Blueprint Woodfin LDO project is intended to consolidate and unify the Town’s current development regulations into a single volume with common terminology, definitions, and a more intuitive structure. Changes are proposed to make the Town’s development rules and zoning map more user friendly, predictable, and focused on development quality.  The project includes the following seven goals:

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1. Make the development review process more predictable

2. Incorporate incentives for greater sustainability

3. Provide an increased range of housing options

4. Implement the Town’s adopted policy guidance (like Woodfin Together)

5. Raise the bar for development quality

6. Promote increased pedestrian orientation

7. Ensure legal sufficiency

 

6. Why is the Town doing this Project?

Woodfin is a diverse mountain community along the French Broad River north of Asheville.  The community’s desirable location and pleasing mountain character make it a popular location for new development.  Woodfin has long played an important role as a base for community services and industrial activity in Buncombe County.  The Town’s history, placement, and topography contribute to its diversity – there are hillside homes overlooking downtown Asheville, mill villages of cottages occupied by industrial workers, and manufactured home sanctuaries.  The pressure from increased growth and residential development is bringing higher land costs, coupled with increased concerns over public health and safety from the changing climate.  Woodfin seeks to retain its character as a functioning mountain community with places to live, work, and recreate.  Blueprint Woodfin will help the Town manage its growth pressures while protecting the environment and public safety.  The anticipated changes will help the Town establish a more vibrant core, stronger connections to the river, and increased pedestrian orientation.

 

7. How will the LDO Affect my Property?

Development in the Town’s planning jurisdiction is subject to the rules in the relevant chapters of the current Town Code of Ordinances.  While many of the rules in these current documents will likely be revised or amended as part of the updated LDO, lawfully-established development that pre-dates the updated LDO will be allowed to be maintained and continue as it exists upon LDO adoption.  Changes to existing development proposed after the effective date of the LDO will be subject to the rules in place at the time the application is made.  In some cases, existing development may not be able to fully comply with the rules in place, and in those instances, applicants may need to secure a variance, propose a conditional rezoning, or file a request to become nonconforming (subject to providing consent).  The new LDO will include a series of details about how development applications in process at the time of the adoption of the new LDO will be addressed.  Generally speaking, most development applications in process at the time of adoption may choose to follow the new rules or the prior rules.  Land that is vacant and not subject to a development application at the time the updated LDO is adopted will be subject to the rules and requirements in the updated LDO.  Landowners or applicants with questions about these issues are strongly encouraged to contact Town staff and discuss their individual situations.

 

8. How can I get more Involved?

Public engagement is critical to the success of the LDO project.  Town staff and the consulting team are devoted to making sure that anyone who wishes to be involved and share input or feedback on the project may do so at numerous points throughout the process.  Public engagement during Task 1, Project Initiation, is targeted to technical experts and interested parties and broadens to the general public during Tasks 2 & 3.  The project web page is built to share information about the project, includes draft work products, status updates, and many other elements designed to keep folks informed about our progress.  This webpage will be maintained and updated throughout the course of the project.

 

The project is overseen by the County’s LDO Steering Committee who will be meeting at least five times throughout the course of the project to consider draft work products and provide initial reactions to project concepts.

 

The ordinance portion of the project (Tasks 4 & 5) includes at least two public forums at key stages in the process. Public forums are structured as open houses where a summary presentation is given and there is time for informal questions and answers.  Some public forums (like those associated with the new Zoning Map) may be set up as public workshops with numerous different “stations” where residents and interested individuals can speak directly to Town staff or the consulting team.  All public forums will take place in person and be located in Woodfin.  Details on public forums will be posted on this webpage as the project progresses.  There may also be a variety of webinar and other virtual meeting options that will all be recorded and made available for viewing throughout the project.

 

There are also a series of office hours available for anyone to request a meeting during one of the consulting team’s trips to Woodfin over the course of the project.  Office hours are an opportunity to have a one-on-one meeting with members of the consulting team, or a brief presentation to a Town group.  Office hours are conducted during scheduled consulting team visits to Woodfin, and are 30-minute meetings held at Town offices at 90 Elk Mountain Road.

 

Office hours must be scheduled in advance by contacting the Town at 828-253-4887 ext. 1008.  Presentations to groups may also be scheduled in advance, and may be virtual, depending upon timing.

 

The adoption process includes at least two public meetings for interested individuals to attend and share input on the proposed regulations with the Planning Board of Adjustment or the Town Council during the Adoption task anticipated in Spring of 2027

 

More questions? Leave a message in the box below.