Mountain views would stay clear in Buncombe preservation plan

SANDY MUSH -- Scenic mountain views in Western North Carolina threatened by housing developments may be preserved by a new land conservation program in Buncombe County.

County commissioners are expected this week to approve spending almost $2 million to help pay for conservation easements on 1,212 acres, mostly in the rugged Sandy Mush area southeast of Asheville. The properties are worth an estimated $5.5 million, though landowners are willing to give up their ability to develop them for half that amount.

"This is prime land," said David Gantt, a commissioner who has been pushing for the project. "It's a huge step for the county to be so forward-thinking about preserving land just because it's the right thing to do, particularly in light of all the development that's going on everywhere."

Commissioners created the Land Conservation Advisory Board in 2004 to identify areas in need of protection. The result was a plan to protect forests, farmland and scenic views by working with conservation groups and private donors to buy development rights from land owners.

The easements would provide tax credits or other compensation to property owners who agree not to develop or subdivide their land. If the property is sold, the easements would bind future owners to the same agreement. The easements cover 1,123 acres around Sandy Mush and 89 acres near Bearwallow Mountain in the Cane Creek area.

More than $1 million has been pledged toward the project by private contributors, leaving the county to pick up the remaining $2 million.

"It's a good deal for taxpayers. To purchase it outright would cost 10 times that or more," said Nathan Ramsey, chairman of the county Board of Commissioners. "At the end of the day, this is the only way you can preserve land. You can't do it through regulations. You can't tell somebody they can't use their land at all."

Kate Jayne, who runs Sandy Mush Herb Nursery, said she was eager to sell development rights to a 392-acre tract she and her husband purchased in 1966, even though development could be more profitable.

"It's an opportunity for us to do what we always wanted to do, which is preserve the land," Jayne said. "This is for the benefit of the Earth. Asheville can look out and see these mountains left unsullied by development. We want to keep it beautiful for everybody."