Incorporated towns and cities throughout Buncombe County continue to fight over perceived boundary lines known as their “spheres of influence,” dragging unwilling residents of unincorporated areas into what’s becoming a turf war.
With the prospect of securing bigger coffers from an enlarged tax base, the City of Asheville and the Town of Woodfin are prime examples of how forced annexation has produced an aggressive, winner-take-all mentality pitting nearby municipalities against one another.
Woodfin Town Administrator Jason Young said his tiny hamlet sought to acquire areas surrounding the town because aldermen were worried that Asheville would annex first, putting at risk the town’s fire service, currently provided by the West Buncombe County Fire Department.
“In our neck of the woods we have fire districts that serve most of Buncombe County,” he said. “We were afraid an annex would mean a drop in tax revenue for West Buncombe County.”
Young said the town’s board formally announced plans to involuntarily annex parcels in Erwin Hills and Leicester last spring. The board recently conducted meetings, where angry members of the public lashed out at town leaders.
Leicester resident Betty Jackson attended the meeting, making an impassioned plea for her tiny community.
“We will not have this off our chest until you stop trying to forcibly annex us,” she stated. “I ask you, I beg you, I implore you one more time — mayor, aldermen, walk away from this. Just walk away from this. You don’t have to do this. It’s not right.”
Erwin Hills resident Megan Richardson asked the Woodfin leadership to consider how unfair and unjust the annexation law stands at the present time.
“You are forcing taxes on a community that did not elect you,” she said. “It’s taxation without representation. You are stealing our hard-earned money.”
Longtime Woodfin Mayor Jerry Vehaun claims so many people came forward and opposed the idea of annexation that they stopped proceeding on the idea and decided to talk with officials at the City of Asheville about a formal annexation agreement concerning the areas.
Although both entities are talking, public meeting documents provided by City of Asheville Manager Gary Jackson reveal a basic mistrust between the city and town.
According to the report, City of Asheville Attorney Robert W. Oast Jr. said negotiations between Asheville and Woodfin started in 2005.
During that time, “staff from Woodfin and Asheville developed a line that essentially extended Asheville’s and Woodfin’s common boundary to the west and east, with reference to roads, ridgelines, and other topographical features.”
Although the proposal was never formally adopted, it was “incorporated into a draft agreement provided to Woodfin in 2007.”
The document also states both areas have knowingly crossed each other’s proposed boundary lines and have voluntarily and involuntarily annexed county properties.
Although Woodfin would have preferred slower growth, Mayor Vehaun said the City of Asheville had published other areas they want to annex that would effectively circle Woodfin and choke its ability for future growth. He said he’s willing to annex the land before allowing that to happen.
“They forced our hand to annex certain areas sooner rather than later,” he said. “We have to stand for what we believe in and hold our ground. Annexation is a strange animal. I’ve never cared for involuntary annexation, but sometimes you have to do what’s best for the town.”
This attitude — conquer or be conquered — has left county residents, such as Jackson and Richardson, feeling as if they are being pulled apart.
“They are gobbling up the land to widen their tax base,” Richardson said. “It’s not an altruistic move on either of their parts. It’s completely selfish. It’s so blatantly wrong and we are caught in-between.
“It’s ridiculous and we don’t even have a vote. America was founded on freedom. We should have a right to vote and a say in the process. If we claim to be a democratic nation and we go to war for it, then we should be practicing democracy at home.”
Jackson agreed.
“We’re in a tug-of-war between Asheville and Woodfin,” she said. “Both of them have looked over our territory. They are coming up with an annexation agreement on how they are going to divide it up right now.”
Jackson said the one thing that makes her angry is the leadership of both areas has continually failed to ask Leicester residents what they would prefer.
“Those of us who live in the community are not being allowed to participate in the discussion,” she said. “The leaders from both Asheville and Woodfin are claiming their negotiations are ‘not public meetings,’ however, our stance is they need to rise above the law to a higher conscience.
Even though the [forced annexation] law is there,” she added, “it doesn’t make it right. It doesn’t make it correct. The law is harsh. It’s very cruel and we would like to see them stop hiding behind the letter of the law.”
Although Woodfin has temporarily backed away from forcibly annexing Erwin Hills and Leicester, Jackson said the issue remains alive. She has joined www.stopwoodfin.org, a self-described “nonpartisan grass-roots organization of citizens who are opposed to forced annexation by the Town of Woodfin,” to help fight the local battle.
In turn, the group has decided to join with other organizations around the state that oppose involuntary annexation to bring the fight to state legislators in Raleigh.
“It’s not a dead issue and we are not letting our guard down,” Jackson said. “We’re keeping our eye on both municipalities. We are watching what they are doing. We have hooked up with other anti-annexation groups across the state to get this law abolished. We’re very interested in making it happen this year.”
Karen Welsh is a contributor to Carolina Journal.