Growth is inevitable, how we grow is a choice
Jon Feichter.
Guest columnist
I appreciate my colleague taking the time to explain his vote (“Why I voted to annex Queen’s Farm,” April 22 SMN) to annex Queen’s Farm. These are the kinds of decisions that deserve a full and open discussion.
We agree on many of the challenges facing our community. Growth is happening. Affordable housing is scarce. And we have a responsibility to provide services without placing an unnecessary burden on taxpayers.
Where we differ is on what this decision represents.
The 2035 Plan is important, and I supported it when we adopted it. But a plan is just a guide. It’s meant to inform our decisions, not dictate them. It doesn’t relieve us of the responsibility to look at what’s in front of us and decide whether it makes sense today. After all, when the 2035 Plan was adopted, this kind of large-scale development wasn’t on anyone’s radar.
For me, this vote came down to a bigger question: not whether we grow, but how we grow. I said it during the hearing, and I believe it: growth is inevitable, but how we grow is a choice.
The kind of growth we see in these developments is something we’ve seen play out across Haywood County. It pushes infrastructure outward, increases long-term obligations, and changes the character of the community in ways that are here to stay.
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And when I talk about “character,” I’m not just talking about what you see, although that beautiful farmland becoming row after row of houses is certainly part of it. I’m also talking about the people who live here and the connections between us.
On housing, affordability is absolutely a concern. But this type of development doesn’t meaningfully address that problem. The median sales price of homes in Phase 1 is over $440,000, and that means far too many families in Waynesville can’t afford the monthly payment that comes with it. These homes may be an option for some, but they do little to address the need for housing that’s accessible for working families in our community.
When it comes to taxes, we shouldn’t assume the choice is between this kind of growth and raising the tax rate. These developments bring revenue, but they also bring ongoing costs — police and fire protection, garbage collection, and maintaining water and sewer systems, to name a few. And those costs are often higher because infrastructure has to be extended farther out.
It’s true that the developer will build the greenway and install the initial water and sewer infrastructure. But there’s a big difference between who pays to build something and who pays to maintain it. Once those improvements are turned over to the town, the ongoing cost of maintaining them permanently falls to Waynesville taxpayers. Developers move on. We don’t.
Not all growth pays for itself, and part of our job is to consider not only the revenue a development will bring in, but also the long-term costs before making decisions. What good is it to grow today if we can’t afford to maintain it tomorrow?
There is another way. The way Waynesville has traditionally grown — house by house, street by street, a little at a time — also increases revenue, but costs are lower because we’re building onto existing systems rather than stretching them farther out. That allows us to grow responsibly, expand the tax base, and stay true to the character of this community.
In the end, my vote was based on what I believe is in the best interest of Waynesville, not just today, but for decades to come.
These aren’t easy calls, and reasonable people can disagree. But the choices we make today — about where we grow, how fast, and who this community is being built for — will shape Waynesville for decades to come. Growth is inevitable. How we grow is up to us.
(Jon Feichter is a Waynesville alderman.)
