Council reviews

ASU’s future moves
By Frank Ruggiero
ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com

A town of Boone special public hearing became quite the hypothetical situation last Thursday.

With the Boone Town Council and Boone Area Planning Commission reviewing two cases concerning Appalachian State University, members did all but bite their tongues to keep mention of the university’s proposal for a new college of education building off the official record.

Since the cases only concerned rezoning and university growth planning recommendations, the college of education, though quite likely the subject of the rezoning, could not specifically be discussed by council and commission members.

Instead, the notion of a new college of education was considered hypothetical in nature by speakers and officials, allowing some questions to be asked on the matter.

Officially, the first request saw ASU file a petition to change the zoning classification of property east of College Street between Howard Street and Hamby Alley, which the university has determined to be the potential site for a new college of education, from R-3 (multi-family residential) to U-1 (university district).

Jim Deal, as chairman of the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees and the endowment fund, was the first to speak, saying the property in question is in an area institutional in nature, with the First Baptist Church parking lot on one side and a Presbyterian Church on another, though a single-family house neighbors the property.

He said rezoning the property would not be a case of spot zoning, since it is neighbored by university property, namely the university post office, library and parking deck.

University attorney Dayton Cole spoke next, asking council and commission members to keep in mind the town’s comprehensive plan. If the university had adequate space to accommodate all student needs, he said, such resources would be used and the university’s request would be moot.

Regarding concern of the university infringing on the downtown district, Cole said the property in question “cannot logically be characterized as part of the downtown area,” since the comprehensive plan fails to define its geographic limits. Cole continued, saying the property is further away from the core business district than any other parts of campus and much closer to the existing campus.

Further, the developed property could enhance the value of commercial property downtown, he said, adding that the university has no intention of acquiring other property in the downtown district.

“The university and town have grown up together over a century and share a common legacy as an institution and community that have cooperated to make this a great place to learn, work and recreate,” Cole said.

Eris Dedmond, who owns the single-family house adjacent to the property, spoke next, saying she’d lived on Howard Street since 1970.

“If this rezoning is approved, we as taxpaying citizens for over 35 years are losing all of our rights,” she said, before referring to a full-page, paid university advertisement depicting an artist’s rendering of the college of education building, with Dedmond’s yard landscaped and its large tree removed.

“You say, ‘Well, what is an architectural rendering?’ I call it architectural fiction,” Dedmond said the first time she and her husband were approached by the university to sell their property, they were told a significantly smaller building would be built.

“This violates our rights under the Bill of Rights and the fourth amendment, which says we have a right to be secure in our home, in our house and in our papers and in our person without violation,” she said. “And if this isn’t a clear violation of a citizen, then I don’t know what it is. There’s no consideration in this for property owners being disenfranchised. I think zoning rules are made to be kept, not broken.”

Dedmond noted that she is retired from ASU’s Reich College of Education, having first attended Appalachian State Teachers College in 1968. She took a leave of absence in the 1970s to finish her doctorate. “I don’t think any of us want the college of education not to be … I believe the college of education deserves a better location,” she said.

She questioned whether or not university officials were familiar with the area in which they sought to build the college of education, wondering if they were aware of present traffic gridlock by College and King streets.

Planning commission vice chairwoman Mary Ruth McRae said her problem lay with Howard Street, in that the roadway is substandard for increased auto and foot traffic. If zoned U-1, then the town would have little say in upgrading such infrastructure.

“With respect to Howard Street, I totally agree with you,” Deal said. “Historically, if you look at where we have built buildings as a university, we have improved the street – built better sidewalks, built grassy areas, planted more trees – that’s the best way to judge what we’re going to do here.”

Planning commissioner Skip Greene expressed his concern with any type of construction on the property, asking if the streets could be kept open during the development process. Deal said the streets could be kept open by means of staging construction.

Council member Janet Pepin observed the other uses allowed under U-1, which permits hospitals, clinics and bus terminals, as well as traditional university uses. “I know there’s a particular building on everybody’s mind, but if you look at the UDO, the permitted uses are quite different than what we’re talking about,” she said.

Planning commissioner Mary Wise asked why the university couldn’t place student housing at the location instead, and vice chancellor for student development Cindy Wallace said a 350-bed residence hall is already in the works near Coffey Hall, near the Plemmons Student Union. Cole replied that the university does want more student housing, but that there is no better location for a college of education building than the location on College Street.

The college of education, he said, is “a critical priority – not just for this university and community, but for the entire state. This is a balance and a compromise. We’re looking for the best possible solution, not the perfect solution.”

The Boone Town Council will reach a decision on the matter at its regular meeting Thursday, Jan. 17, at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at 1500 Blowing Rock Road.