At a public meeting on Wednesday evening, dozens of community members called for the forest on UNC Asheville’s south campus to remain undeveloped.
The debate stemmed from the development of UNC Asheville’s Millennial Campus properties which includes 45 acres of urban forest.
Chancellor Kimberly van Noort, Board of Trustees Chair Roger Aiken, and Executive Vice Chancellor for Budget & Finance and Chief Operating Officer Paul Forte listened to the community's concerns.
Campus leaders have not yet made any decisions about the future of the forest, but they plan to “review all ideas, feedback, and concerns,” a university spokesperson told BPR in an email.
Wednesday’s event was the third and final input session, following two held for students and staff.
More than 100 people attended the listening session in the Blue Ridge Room in the Highsmith Student Union building. Event organizers said the session reached capacity with about two dozen people remaining outside.
Attendees who registered to speak were allowed three minutes for public comments. Some people voiced sympathy towards university leadership but also frustration with the lack of input and transparency.
“ Your legislature, the federal government, has made it abundantly clear that funding higher education is not a priority and therefore universities like UNCA have to find unique ways to be able to fund their mission moving forward,” Hildy Teegan said. “That being said, I urge you to recognize and to double down on the natural environment as the obvious unifying thread to lead this campus into the future. The natural environment is what attracts people to Asheville, North Carolina.”
Mary Grace Bigelow, a resident of the Five Points neighborhood for 13 years and a UNCA alumnae, said she felt compelled to speak because the forest was a place of solace during her last semester at the university.
“ It was how I got to school in my last semester of school, which was arguably one of the worst years of my life,” Bigelow said. “ Being able to walk to school through the forest and come home that way was such a wonderful way to relieve my stress and differentiate home and school.”
Part of a bigger picture plan
In 2021, the UNC System Board of Governors approved UNCA’s millennial campus designation for about 210 acres of university-owned property to enhance research, teaching, and the economic development of the region.
In addition to the 45 acres of forest, other properties with the designation include property close to the lookout observatory, a property along Broadway Street, and along Merrimon Avenue.
Although no firm decisions have been made about the 210 acres of land, the possibilities include affordable workforce and student housing, educational facilities, sports facilities, research industry collaborations among other options, Chancellor van Noort said in an op-ed piece in Asheville Citizen-Times in March.
In January, some residents like Bigelow began to notice changes in the forest including down trees and heavy machinery. Bigelow said she didn’t want to jump to conclusions.
“ I don't know what's happening,” Bigelow said. “Maybe they're just cleaning it up. And then as things progressed, it has become clear that they didn't wanna just clean it up. Something is happening.”
As more local residents raised concerns, it prompted a statement from UNCA officials in January.
“UNC Asheville is taking steps to better understand the characteristics of 90 acres of undeveloped portions of University property,” a statement from university officials said. “This includes assessing boundaries, topography, land composition, and utilities…the university has authorized an experienced external vendor to conduct a thorough exploratory assessment, which will require removing a minimal number of trees and collecting soil samples.”
No decisions have been made about potentially holding future input sessions and there is no timeline for future development decisions, a university spokesperson told BPR in an email.
