Five Points community unites to preserve UNCA’s urban forest through development concerns

Concerned community members, students and environmental activists formed an organization titled “Save UNCA Woods” to preserve approximately 40 acres of UNCA-owned urban forest. They cited ecological concerns and a lack of transparency.

“The woods are something really special. It’s something that makes this community and this neighborhood really special,” Vice President of the Five Points Neighborhood Association Chris Cotteta said. “We don’t even know what we’re opposing. We don’t even know what they’re trying to do, but what they’ve already done is really destructive.”

According to Cotteta, UNCA’s lack of transparency regarding these developments caused frustration and unrest in the community.

“I think the university has just been really hostile to the community throughout this whole process. There’s just been a lot of carelessness, a lot of disdain. I don’t know, they’re not being good neighbors by any stretch,” Cotteta said.

Cotteta said the “Save UNCA Woods” movement spread rapidly through the community. With petitions, lawn signs and more than 2,500 Facebook followers, this organization received an official university statement and a response from the General Counsel, John Dougherty. 

“UNC Asheville has authorized a thorough assessment to better understand the characteristics of its property. This includes evaluating boundaries, topography, soil composition and utilities,” Dougherty said. “We want to assure you that this is an exploratory process only, and no decisions regarding future development have been made at this time.”

Environmental Engineer and Consultant Starr Metcalf, environmental engineer and consultant, said she doesn’t think this is the case. 

“The fact that there was a letter and a number indicates somewhere that they’re going to do specific work, a survey point, so it was obvious at that point that there was a plan,” Metcalf said. “You don’t do this kind of subsurface borings unless you have a plan of what size structure and what needs you’re meeting.”

According to Metcalf, she has previously been involved in other discussions regarding this area of the forest after the 2004 floods. 

“Being a neighbor for 20-something years, I have really been impressed with how UNCA has handled it in the past,” Metcalf said. “Through the listening sessions, we came up with solutions that were beneficial to everybody. The neighborhood and the university got what they needed, and we came up with compromises and a better outcome.”

Metcalf, who has extensive experience in construction oversight and environmental compliance, said she was taken aback by Bunnell-Lammons Engineering’s practices. The company is overseeing the deforestation project.

“As someone who has worked in construction for a long time, the practices that were used were so far out of what would be considered best practice,” Metcalf said. “They had basically just gone through with a chainsaw and an excavator, one guy by himself and maybe a surveyor that was putting tape up, and just drove down the trails and destroyed them.”

According to Metcalf, the man manning the excavator, nicknamed “Angry Jeff” by the community, aggressively responded to community members who asked any questions. Metcalf said she reached out to BLE to express safety concerns.

“He was aggressive with his excavator and aggressive with his words,” Metcalf said. “What he’s doing out there is unsafe. He is working in the woods by himself with an excavator and a chainsaw at night. That’s all against best management.”

UNCA Student and Mass Communication Major Olivia Goldstein said she also had a run-in with Angry Jeff before he left the construction site.

“For a couple days, while that mini excavator was out there, nobody asked any questions because we all trusted that if something was going to happen, we would be told,” Goldstein said. “Angry Jeff, or talkin’ Jeff, runs his mouth, I was the one that went up to him and was like, ‘Hey, what’s going on here?'”

According to Goldstein and Metcalf, Angry Jeff claimed the construction organization would clear-cut all 40 acres of the forest. Goldstein and Metcalf said they expressed their concerns about the claims, but the university denied them. 

“We lost 40% of our (treetop) canopy in Buncombe County alone, and the city of Asheville, within 10 years prior to the storm, had already lost 6.8% of its tree canopy to development,” Metcalf said. 

According to Goldstein, the urban forest area is home to coyotes, native butterflies, bears and cubs, great horned owls, and many native plant life that is important to the ecosystem of Western North Carolina. 

“It’s where I’ve made my community over the last few years. I’ve met really good friends in there. It’s where my dog has her friends, and it became a really sacred space to me,” Goldstein said. 

The UNCA student said she is deeply disappointed and hurt by how the administration went about these sudden changes.

“I am equally as in love with the experience that I’ve had, as I am disillusioned and completely disappointed and dismayed by the things that have gone on in the past couple of years at UNCA,” Goldstein said. “I feel like it’s time for UNCA students to be angry about what’s going on at the institution and be able to have voices about how money is being spent for our education.”

According to Goldstein, the neighborhood was under the impression that the excavator was clearing debris from Hurricane Helene’s damage.

“Their actions were extremely predatory because it was no mistake that they did that at a time where people thought that it was clearing of hurricane debris, and that is glaringly obvious to me. It’s also unbelievably insulting,” Goldstein said.

UNCA Blue Banner Alumnus and Ex-Citizen Times Writer Heather Rayburn said she was surprised by how fast the construction timeline moved.

“Where is the golden rule? If I do something on my property that’s gonna affect my neighbor next door, I contact my neighbor and I say, ‘Hey, how do you feel about this?'” Rayburn said. 

The Blue Banner alumnus said UNCA proactively cleared a spot on Broadway Street for the campus to use in future developments.

“Maybe they don’t feel this hurt for the wildlife and for nature. Maybe they haven’t been long enough here to feel it in their heart and their core, but they need to think about it,” Rayburn said. “One thing UNCA taught me is systems thinking, and what UNCA does to that forest is going to hurt all kinds of systems. That’s gonna mess with the ecology of the area.”

According to Rayburn, the university’s recent actions made her think about the famous quote from American Author and Essayist Edward Abbey.

Rayburn said, “My favorite quote is ‘Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.'” 

The organization created SaveUNCAWoods.org and shared the link with its supporters on Facebook and in person during a large meeting held at Grace Presbyterian Church on Jan. 28.

The “Issue” tab of the website states the organization’s mission in one final bolded message: 

“The Friends of the Woods respectfully and urgently ask that UNCA pause all work until it takes measures to listen to and address the cares and concerns of all affected stakeholders, including UNCA students, faculty, and the entire Asheville community.”