Advisory board reviews parks master plan timeline and how acquired storm-damaged parcels may be used

Buncombe County Parks & Recreation advisory members reviewed a consolidated master plan that bundles parks and recreation, greenways and trails, and open-space guidance and were briefed on how storm-damaged properties acquired through the federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program could be managed. Joseph Peterson, who summarized the plan to the board, said the project timeline began in 2023 and resumed this spring after a pause for storm recovery, with drafts expected for advisory review and a hoped-for county commission adoption this summer.

Peterson said the plan process has been delayed by staff turnover and the effects of the storm known in the discussion as “Helene.” He described the plan as a 10-to-15-year framework that will include short-, mid- and long-term goals for staffing, conservation and hazard mitigation and said the department is revising the documents to be more actionable rather than just a textbook of background data. “These plans will then be summarized into a system wide master plan,” Peterson said, adding that drafts should reach advisory members “in the next couple months” and that the advisory board will provide feedback before a planned July review.

On storm-damaged parcels acquired through HMGP, Peterson told the board that the federal and state processes determine final lists and approvals. He said municipalities are offered first right of refusal; if a municipality declines, properties may be conveyed to the county. Many parcels under consideration are hazard- or landslide-prone and some will require interim management such as fencing and signage. “A lot of them are on the side of a mountain that you can't even get a vehicle up to,” he said, noting the county’s recovery office is actively coordinating approvals and next steps.

Peterson outlined alternative interim options under consideration, including nominal leases to HOAs or agricultural uses when appropriate, and emphasized the county is still awaiting some state approvals and final lists. He cautioned that many details—including the exact parcels and acreage that would become county property—remain subject to change while federal and state processes progress. “We're making game plans,” he said, “but there's so much still subject to change.”

Board members pressed on the plan’s intended purpose. Peterson and others said the document is meant both as an aspirational 10–15-year vision and as a tool to justify funding requests, with concrete near-term actions that will help the department compete for grants and budget allocations. The presenters said a public review period is expected this summer and that adoption by the county commission (if on the current timeline) would enable the county to pursue specific funding and capital plans that flow from the master-plan priorities.

Next steps: advisory members will receive draft documents for review, a public review is planned for summer, the advisory board is expected to provide feedback in July, and staff said they will present the plan to the county commission with an adoption goal later this summer. The meeting transcript shows discussion but does not record a formal vote on the plan during this session.