ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —

Participants are reporting progress in negotiations between a developer and a group of concerned neighbors, and now the Asheville City Council is expected to postpone action on a controversial subdivision proposed for the New Haw Creek area.

Since late last year, members of the Haw Creek Community Association have been raising concerns about the “Meadows at Haw Creek,” a plan that originally called for 95 homes on a 27-acre site at 767 New Haw Creek Road.

Hundreds of people have turned out for public meetings earlier this year, acknowledging the need for more housing in Asheville but raising issues about the proposed density, the loss of tree canopy and wildlife habitat, traffic, public safety, access roads and more.

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With the encouragement of city officials, community association members and developer Kevin Jackson have engaged in ongoing negotiations. That included a May 30 meeting joined by Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer and City Council members Antanette Mosley and Sage Turner, the association said in an update on Wednesday.

According to that progress report, a revised development proposal would reduce the number of homes on the east side of the project, from 60 to 49, protect 4.3 acres of forest canopy, eliminate a contentious entrance via Alpine Court, and make other changes to address community concerns.

“We feel like there’s some good progress being made,” Chris Pelly, president of the Haw Creek Community Association, told 828newsNOW on Thursday. “Certainly, the community feels like they’ve given a lot and now we’ve gotten something back from the developer, too,” Pelly said.

Pelly said, “We’re not all the way there yet,” but that he was hopeful for a final compromise that works for both the developer and concerned residents.

The Haw Creek Community Association will host a public drop-in session from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 14, at the East Asheville Library to review various options.

According to a tentative agenda for a City Council meeting on Tuesday, June 11, at Harrah’s Cherokee Center, a planned public hearing on conditional zoning for the 767 New Haw Creek Road project is expected to be continued to July 23, 2024.

During a council agenda briefing teleconference Thursday morning, Mayor Manheimer told council members there had been progress in the negotiations “so we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”

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