Last Updated on April 20, 2026 10:44 am
The Boone Town Council meets Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. — an hour earlier than usual — with four zoning votes on the agenda, including a decision on the most closely watched affordable housing proposal to come before the council in recent years.
The council is expected to vote on all four cases heard at the March 23 public hearing after the Planning Commission made its recommendations at the April 8 continued session.
The first and highest-profile vote involves the Taft-Mills Group's proposal to rezone a 4.18-acre site at the corner of US Highway 421 South and Yosef Drive for Hemlock Ridge Trace, a 93-unit affordable housing development. All units would be restricted to households earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income — roughly $40,000 for a single person or $65,000 for a family of four. The Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval at the April 8 hearing, at which the applicant addressed earlier concerns about retaining wall height. The applicant now believes it can keep walls within the eight-foot ordinance limit, but requested a deviation to allow up to ten feet if necessary. The Taft-Mills Group faces a May 15 tax credit application deadline — a missed deadline would push the project back by at least a year.
The second vote involves Wynnefield Forward's proposal for The Villas at South Fork, a 55-and-older affordable housing development on Chestnut Drive and New Market Boulevard. The Planning Commission recommended approval 4-0 with conditions, including a Type C buffer along Chestnut Drive, an emergency entrance at a 45-degree angle, preservation of existing vegetation, a maximum of 60 units, and Energy Star certification. The project drew strong opposition from Chestnut Drive neighbors over the scale of the proposed four-story, 53-foot building and its proximity to an established single-family residential neighborhood.
The third vote covers annexation and conditional zoning for a new Town of Boone Public Works facility on a 15.5-acre site near US 421 and Bamboo Road. The town purchased the property in 2024. The current Public Works building on East King Street was sold years ago and the town has been leasing it back. The proposed facility would be approximately 43,000 square feet and include garage bays, equipment storage, and yard space for heavy equipment including snowplows and dump trucks.
The fourth vote involves a text amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance restoring language that was inadvertently deleted in a prior amendment. The change allows demolished nonconforming single-family homes — those that don't meet current setback requirements — to be rebuilt under pre-existing nonconformity rules rather than requiring a variance. The amendment is especially significant to residents of the historic Junaluska community, where at least one family has been waiting on its passage to place a home on family property that would not comply with current setback standards. The council directed planning staff in March to expedite the permitting process in anticipation of this vote.
Additional items on Wednesday's agenda include proclamations recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day, a presentation by Dr. Eric Plaag on the Digital Watauga Project, budget amendments including a $1.37 million Fire Department capital equipment purchase, and a closed session on attorney-client matters.
The Boone Town Council meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. The meeting begins at 5:00 p.m. at Town Council Chambers, 1500 Blowing Rock Road. Agenda packets are available through the town's meeting portal.
