French Broad River Greenway is one of the coolest things that could happen to Asheville; linking the entire city through a park. Who wouldn’t want that? Which is why the appearance of “For Sale” and Realtor signs has West Asheville residents troubled. Mr. Robert Burris, whose family has owned the property since the 50′s, believes he is under the strain of legal and insurance liabilities of having folks walk, ride, swim and – well, “trespass on his property”. (Click Here to see a Panorama of the property)
Even though a North Carolina law makes it possible for landowners “to open their lands with less concern about liability in case of an accident or mishap. It is now possible for landowners to allow the public on their property for educational and recreational reasons, when no fee is charged”. (Read about NC Common Law regarding Trespassing)
However..
However, Mr. Burris feels forced to post signs and hang some ropes to mark the passageway off, and things are getting heated (from WLOS):
Robert Burris owns two parcels of land a 0.1 acre of land as well as another .14 acre lot straddling city-owned property which is smack in the middle one of Asheville’s largest Greenway endeavors: (click for larger image) French Broad River Greenway, Western Segment:
Click for larger image..
Thanks to Zen for mapping it out..
What we could lose:
The Western Segment consists of a 10’ wide paved trail that extends from the FBR Park (at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa River) to Hominy Creek Park (at the confluence of the French Broad River and Hominy Creek) for a total of 2.8 miles. The trail includes a short on-road section as well as a section that is incorporated into a private RV park.
The French Broad River Greenway system is Asheville’s major north-south alternative transportation corridor and overlaps with a portion of the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay Plan, a major urban waterfront redevelopment project.
click here for a PDFHis Gain?
Although the city has offered him a settlement of about $10,000 – Mr. Burris is looking to unload both of the parcels for $250,000. That comes to, my math was corrected, $1.7 million an acre. The property could be used for a number of limited business endeavors. The real estate agent representing the property pointed out there could also be some possible perks of letting the city use the walkway, such as special permitting and tax initiatives.
This is a situation that goes back over 20 years, when the property was first owned by Richard Burris’ father, who worked as a City Planner. He was apparently let go from his position for questionable Tax Lot* activity, according to Karen Cragnolin of Riverlink. The property was then grabbed up by a Quit Claim* when the bridge was rebuilt and has remained in the Burris family since. The Cauble family, who now owns the other lot in question, seems to have been friends with the Burris’s, have been quiet on the matter.
So, now what?
Riverlink has been involved offering renaming of the bridge, lots of legal advice and open conversation, but to no avail. Since everything seems to be evolving something has to give — unless someone has a quarter-million dollars available for a food truck lot with river access.
If anyone has any information: EMAIL US
Glad you asked
*Tax Lot: Along with the taxable purchase date, the typical tax lot will include the proposed date of sale, the cost basis associated with the security, and the transaction size that is involved with the proposed sale. In addition to these important details, a tax lot also can include a strategy for splitting or merging record lots in order to create the best tax situation possible. This is particularly true when the assets included in the financial portfolio include investments in property.
* Quit Claim: This type of real estate deed, the form, is used to transfer real property rights from one person to another. In real estate matters a person can be a natural person or some other legal entity such as a trust, a limited liability company, a corporation, or a partnership.
