I am writing to express my concern with and make your readers aware of the Blowing Rock Town Council’s vote, taken at the conclusion of November 12’s public hearing, to approve drama/c changes to the zoning provisions in the Land Use Code (“Code”). These changes endanger the historic one and two story buildings downtown, many of which are over 100 years old with several da/ng back to the town’s creation in the late 1800’s. My concerns stem from a place of deep seeded love for Blowing Rock and its charming, unique, and irreplaceable architecture and aesthetic. As a homeowner with multigenerational ties to this special place, I fear our town is in jeopardy of being destroyed by developers. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Rather than continue down a path of piecemeal and potentially dangerous and damaging zoning changes, I propose that the Town take a measured, holistic approach, and pursue an Historic Downtown District designation. Doing so will better protect what makes Blowing Rock, Blowing Rock, namely its quaint, charming streets, beautiful landscaping and architecturally distinct buildings, all of which draw thousands of tourists here annually to stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and shop in our stores.
At the public hearing and presentation on the proposed zoning changes, listed on the agenda as “Downtown Subcommittee-Phase 1”, Mayor Sellers offered an apology before calling up those of us who wanted to speak. He said that he recognized, as evidenced by the sentiment of the standing room only crowd and the number of emails he and council members had received from unaware and concerned homeowners, that going forward, the Town needed to do a better job of notifying all homeowners of any proposed zoning changes, not just those who own property downtown. As he said, “Blowing Rock IS downtown.”
The speakers asked the Town Council: “why now”, what’s driving these ostensibly development- oriented changes; to “hit the pause button” on the piecemeal approach; to pivot to get outside land use legal advice on how best to proceed in the short term; and to pursue a Downtown Historic District designation. Council person, Cat Perry, addressed her colleagues in a data focused, impassioned appeal, asking them to pause and go down the Historic Downtown path. Despite all this, they voted 4-1 to approve the changes, seemingly indifferent to the discussion they’d just heard and the feedback they had received. It was very apparent that they had made their decision before they stepped into the room.
It seems to me that historical preservation and zoning can go hand in hand and that in fact, the latter can and should support the former. I advocate pursuing the Historical Downtown District status enjoyed by many of our neighboring communities, including Lenoir, Valle Crucis, and Morganton, to name a few.
Let’s save and embrace Blowing Rock’s unique architectural heritage, rather than erase it.
Written by: Patty Butler, Blowing Rock