The tiny Village of Forest Hills has been presented with an option to purchase an overgrown golf course. The suggested price, depending on how much the village wishes to purchase, would run between $1 and $1.4 million. With a population of 300, that’s less than $5000 in taxes per capita! What’s more, there will be costs for clearing the land to make it safe, and then there will be annual maintenance costs. As it is, city leadership indicates they’re having problems fixing potholes and stuff. OK, so they’ll buy it on time.
The only reason the village would consider purchasing the land is the owner has offered to sell it. If that is done, riffraff might come in and build houses. The village incorporated in the first place so residents could zone out the riffraff from Western Carolina University, with all their frat partying and all. This is perfectly fine; it was a contract amongst consenting adults, unlike the top-down forced zoning the Buncombe County Commissioners imposed on their subjects against their will.
Should the village decline the generous offer, the zoning ordinance should protect the neighborhood from becoming income-diverse, as parcels may be no smaller than two acres each. But that might not prevent our friend, Beauregard III, and his frat bros from having bowling parties in the basement alley and drag-racing their souped-up Teslas at all hours.
