The Settings to move forward after settlement

The Town of Black Mountain is taking “initial steps” toward addressing the needs of The Settings of Black Mountain, the subdivision left unfinished by developers in 2008.

Providing a brief update to the board of aldermen last week, town attorney Ron Sneed said he is hopeful that a substantial portion of the infrastructure can be completed before winter.

In 2012, homeowners and the town filed a lawsuit against bond companies that refused to pay after the developers failed to complete the vast majority of the planned neighborhood. A Buncombe County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the town in October 2014, ordering Lexon Insurance Company and Bond Safeguard Insurance Company to pay the town $1.5 million. The decision was upheld in December by the N.C. Court of Appeals.

“The bond money is in the bank account,” Sneed said. “We’re going to initiate this process and get it all mapped out. Since the town has the money, we’re taking the additional steps of getting engineering estimates and plans and bidding the project out, as any city must.”

In an unrelated matter, the board unanimously approved an amendment to the Village of Cheshire master plan that will allow for the development of cottages on 0.8 acres of land.

“The plan has been developed by the same design team and civil engineering team (involved) since the beginning of the project,” Mike Anderson of Civil Design Concepts said. “We’re going to continue to follow the character that has been followed in the previous phases of Cheshire Village.”

Asheville-based Equinox, a development firm with a focus on conservation, was awarded a contract for the Swannanoa River Watershed Restoration Project. The firm will be tasked with developing a management plan that addresses nonpoint pollutant sources that affect water quality in the river.