Several months ago, a neighbor friend and myself made yard signs and a banner protesting a steep slope development on Riverview Drive in West Asheville. The 15 house development clear cut over 3 acres on a steep hillside with approx. 40%+ slope. We talked to various neighbors about the development and asked if we could put a sign in their yard.

All the neighbors we spoke with were angered and frustrated with the development and sympathetic to our cause. Some offered to pay for the signs and some offered to help put them up. Folks driving by thanked us and gave us thumbs up. The sense of community was an incredibly rewarding experience.

As previously posted, an arsonist set fire to one of the houses last weekend. While I am not surprised by the fire and not very sympathetic to the developer, I by no means endorse the intentional destruction of private property. Arson is not a constructive means of protest and only serves to deteriorate a community and waste resources. The person responsible should be punished.
Mountain Xpress ArticleThe only positive I can see from this is more press and attention being paid to how we develop our land. Hills need trees.