—The Etowah community in Henderson County continues its fight to save a local landmark, the Etowah Valley Golf and Resort. A Wilmington, NC, developer, Tribute Investment and Development, Inc., has submitted an application to Henderson County for a 242-home subdivision to replace the South Course at Etowah Valley. Last month the developer withdrew a previous application submitted in May that proposed a 343-site RV park that would replace the South and West Courses of the 27-hole golf resort. The golf resort and many of the surrounding homes were built 56 years ago. Many residents of Etowah say this newly proposed subdivision is no better than an RV park since the plan still includes a sewage treatment plant and adds more than 2000 additional vehicles on our roads per day.
Since news of the impending sale of the golf resort by its current owners to the developer broke in May, a non-profit “Etowah Valley Preservation Society” (EVPS) has sprung into action. Over the past three months, EVPS has been carefully strategizing, planning, and raising its goal of $100,000 to oppose the project. EVPS was well-represented at the Neighborhood Compatibility Meeting held on August 1, in the Thomas Auditorium at Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC). Residents of Etowah asked many basic questions during a Q & A period at that meeting, many of which were left unanswered by the developer’s representative. A recording of the meeting can be found at PreserveEtowahValley.com
EVPS members also plan to show up en masse at the Henderson County Technical Review Committee Meeting on August 15, at 2:00 p.m. at 100 N. King Street. Finally, EVPS plans to fight the project at the upcoming Henderson County Planning Board Meeting on August 24, at 4:00 p.m., in the Thomas Auditorium at Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC). EVPS encourages all residents of Etowah and the surrounding communities to attend these meetings.
Opposition to the proposed 242-home subdivision remains very strong:
- “No RV Park” signs line many Etowah streets and roads and continue to pop up at the corner of frequently travelled roads in Henderson County. The continued use of these signs emphasizes that a subdivision is no better than the RV park. It also indicates that concern and public opposition to the proposed subdivision extends well past the immediate vicinity of the golf course.
- The original petition in opposition to the project now has 2,680 signatures to date.
- The Planning Board meeting location will take place in a larger facility (Thomas Auditorium at BRCC) to accommodate the large number of attendees.
- A weekly newsletter goes out to more than 3000 households in the Etowah community and is posted in a public Facebook group “Preserve Etowah Valley” (which has over 800 members) and on the Nextdoor app.
- EVPS is over 3/4 of the way to reaching its $100,000 fundraising goal. Community-wide fundraisers have included a “take-out” BBQ dinner catered by the Etowah restaurant which would be impacted by the project, “The Salty Landing”, on July 24. Over 550 tickets were sold. Also, a blind auction took place on August 2. Over 100 attendees bid on local art and gift cards made by or donated by local artists and businesses. Future fundraisers are in the planning stages.
For more information about the Etowah Valley Preservation Society and its fight against the proposed RV park, please email
For the latest information on EVPS, the proposed subdivision, and Henderson County meeting dates, times and locations concerning the development of the Etowah Valley Golf and Resort, visit PreserveEtowahValley.com
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