By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — For at least a short while, individual vs. community benefit became a focus of the Blowing Rock Town Council’s regular June meeting, but by 4-1 vote the board of commissioners approved the Bennett family’s request to rezone two parcels they own between their house and the Blowing Rock Horse Show Grounds complex. The rezoning from R-15 (residential) to HSG (horse show grounds) enables the Bennetts to build a small barn in which to house a couple of horses.
While the lone dissenting commissioner, David Harwood, sought to have clarified what uses an “HSG” zoning permitted that might be detrimental to the community, as a whole, ultimately the other four commissioners were convinced that any risk of adverse consequences is minimal given the 102-year history of the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show next door to the Bennett’s property.
Harwood cited Section 16-23 of the Land Use Code in advancing a first motion to deny the application.
“In looking at Section 16-23, it is really clear that we can’t make this decision based on whether the change will help or hurt the private owner of this property. We really have to make this decision based on how the change will affect the whole community and not take into account Mr. and Mrs Bennett’s advantages or disadvantages in this. In my opinion, the private use of this (rezoning) is inconsistent with the public use of HSG,” said Harwood.
Harwood’s motion to deny the application did not receive a second, so did not go any further.
Editor’s Analysis: Harwood raised an interesting issue since Section 16-23.6.1 reads, “When considering proposed map amendments, the Board shall not consider any representations made by the petitioner that, if the change is granted, the rezoned property will be used for only one of the possible ranges of uses permitted in the requested
classification. Rather, the Board shall consider whether the entire range of permitted uses in the requested classification is more appropriate than the range of uses in the existing classification.” (Emphasis added)
While the Bennett’s stated goal is to build a small barn to house a couple of horses, among the potential uses of a property zoned HSG, for example, are the erection of various types of communication towers, staging of special events, or the temporary sale of merchandise. That said, each of those uses requires an HSG property owner to obtain either a Zoning Permit or a Special Use Permit from the Town, so approval of those uses is not automatic.
In addition, the opening paragraph of Section 16-23.6 advises the board of commissioners that the central issue before the Board is whether the proposed amendment to the Land Use Code is consistent with the town’s Comprehensive Plan or any other adopted plan. Given the 102-year history of the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show, the rich equestrian history of the Town of Blowing Rock, generally, the adjacency of the Bennett’s parcels to the horse show grounds and that any other use requires a Zoning Permit or a Special Use Permit, the 4-1 approval of this application seems appropriate.
Parking Enforcement Public Hearing
Based on direction from the Board of Commissioners at its regular May meeting, Police Chief Nathan Kirk presented proposed changes to the various ordinances regulating parking in the downtown area. The proposed changes included reducing the time limit on all public streets, including Main Street, from three hours to two hours, as well as proposed regulating the time frames for parking on the Maple Street lot (to three hours) and adjusted the fines (increased) for parking violations and failure to pay. At the end of the public hearing, none of the hourly limits were changed, but the fines were increased and the hours of enforcement were modified.
Kirk presented data showing that there are 253 parking spaces (including the 56 spaces in the Maple Street lot) on the seven primary streets downtown, as well as 280 parking spaces in public, off-street parking (i.e. American Legion decks, BRAHM, Broyhill Lake, etc.).
Presenting additional descriptive information about and from parking enforcement and administration vendors, T2 Systems and Passport, Kirk offered the Council members insight into how parking enforcement in today’s Blowing Rock can be carried out effectively, with advantages to the enforcement officers, the police administrators, the town and the people parking their cars downtown, including potential violators. He also outlined the initial and ongoing costs for administering the enforcement system.
During the public hearing, the commissioners heard from Robin Miller, CEO of the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce, who offered collective feedback from the more than 140 member business owners she had surveyed.
Town Manager Shane Fox clarified that except for the Maple Street lot, the town would not be changing the enforcement area from what it is currently, just changing the enforcement structure (how they enforce and hourly changes).
After some discussion, Commissioner Melissa Pickett moved to increase the monetary fines for violations, to purchase the software and equipment, change the enforcement times to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and leaving the time limits the same. The motion passed, unanimously.
Town Budget Public Hearing
Shane Fox presented the proposed 2025-26 Town Budget, assembled initially by town staff with tweaks, changes, additions and deletions during the course of budget workshops with the mayor, commissioners, and department heads.
Highlights:
- No property tax increase
- Diversified revenue sources between property taxes, sales taxes (slight increase) and TDA occupancy taxes (steady)
- Salaries will see a 2.5 percent cost of living increase
- 6% increase in Retirement
- 5% increase in Health Insurance
- Debt payment is flat, but total debt is shrinking
- Continuation of the Capital Plan
Other Notes:
- Fox presented an analysis expecting approximately $1.75 million in property tax revenue in FY2026, up from $1.69 million in FY2025, with a flat rate reflecting the addition of new construction during the year.
- Sales tax expectations are for a 10 percent increase, to $3.63 million.
- The town staff is cautious on TDA revenue expectations, budgeting for occupancy taxes to be “flat”, at $2.4 million (same as the current year).
- TDA was on track for a record year until Hurricane Helene.
- TDA gives one-third of occupancy taxes to the Town, or roughly $600,000. The rest is earmarked for tourism-related expenses and promotion, per state regulations. (Note: in 2021-22, the Town’s one-third allocation was $321,000)
- The Town’s one-third goes toward expenses relating to U.S. 321 landscaping, park attendants, Christmas decorations, streetlights, sidewalks, parking deck, new bathrooms, new playground, Memorial Park renovations, etc.
- Because of relatively high amount of revenues received from TDA (tourism), visitor spending is estimated to save each Watauga County property taxpayer $649 per year.
- General Fund Fees
- Review of final construction plans will increase from $200 to $500.
- No other changes to Planning and Zoning fees.
- Monthly recycling charges will increase from $10 to $12 per month.
- No changes to Parks & Recreation fees
- No changes to Cemetery fees
- No other changes in General Fund fees
- Expenditures are budgeted for $5.96 million, an increase of $277,000, mostly explained by the portion of Sales Taxes reimbursed to Watauga County on increased revenue forecasts and increases in legal, audit and information technology-related expenses.
- Expenditures, by department
- 30 percent – Public Safety
- 29 percent – Central Government
- 14 percent – Streets & Sanitation
- 11 percent – General
- 7 percent – Parks & Recreation
- 5 percent – Landscaping
- 3 percent – Planning & Zoning
- Expenditures, by Type
- 38 percent – Operating Costs
- 30 percent – Salaries
- 18 percent – Benefits
- 11 percent – Debt Service
- 3 percent – Capital Outlay
- Capital Outlays are budgeted for a slight increase over FY2025, to $415,554, for replacement costs in all departments, from police to streets & sanitation and parks & recreation.
- Capital Outlay needs listed included final one-half of finance software (Administration), one police vehicle (Public Safety), chipper truck (Streets), dump truck (Streets), snow plows (Streets) and cameras (Streets), 2 “minis” (Landscaping) and golf cart for Gator (Landscaping).
- Salaries and Benefits
- Cost of Living (COLA) increase of 2.5 percent ($120,000)
- Retirement and Health Insurance increases of $346,000
- Total Salaries & Benefits budgeted = $7.49 million
- No new full-time positions are expected.
- Benefits include medical, dental, vision insurance at little or no cost to the employee, as well as life insurance and a 5 percent 401K match. Blowing Rock Academy (child care) discount.
- Area comparables for Salaries and Benefits:
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- Blowing Rock (48 percent of General Fund Budget)
- North Wilkesboro (51 percent)
- Boone (57 percent)
- Hickory (60 percent)
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- Debt
- Blowing Rock has a AA+ credit rating or its equivalent with all three major rating services (Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch), which is the highest possible credit rating for a town of Blowing Rock’s size.
- At 0.55 percent of appraised (property) value, Blowing Rock compares favorably with other towns and cities in North Carolina.
- According to the state’s Legal Debt Limit calculation, Blowing Rock is permitted to have debt of more than $133.6 million. Blowing Rock’s current debt levels are trending down, budgeted for $8.96 million in FY2026, down from $10.03 million in FY2025 and $11.09 million in FY2024.
- Fund Balance is balanced, utilizing $194,000 in Fund Balance after $800,000 was added to Fund Balance subsequent to the June 30, 2024 audit.
- Water & Sewer
- Proposed 7 percent increase in rates
- Operating cost are up (chemicals and materials).
- Meters are installed and $156,000 in debt is included.
- Water & Sewer capital needs include a backhoe, a truck, and a leak detection system.
Public Comments
Local resident Janie Sellers, identifying herself as an officer of the Blowing Rock Civic Association, offered thanks for not raising property taxes then recalculated the net revenue sources to suggest that property taxes account for 57 percent of the town budget (instead of the 45 percent presented by Town Manager Shane Fox) after the legally mandated redistributions of sales taxes and occupancy taxes to Watauga County and the TDA, respectively.
(Editor’s Note: Town Manager Shane Fox has previously explained at town council meetings and in interviews with Blowing Rock News that the Town’s calculations presented in the report are what is legally mandated by the state. Sellers’ calculation, which is similar to what other BRCA members have presented in previous years, does not conform to the state-mandated calculation. The sales tax and occupancy tax distributions are contracted operating expenses, just like other operating costs. If a critic was to exclude other expense line items, in addition to the ones noted by Sellers and the BRCA, they could eventually get to a much higher percentage contribution from property taxes, even though it would be similarly non-conforming).
Sellers also asked that more detail be provided for some of the reported operating costs and comparable data, and that the budget information be made publicly available much earlier in the planning and approval process.
Local resident Jenny Miller, the former CEO of a large non-profits agency, thanked the town staff and the commissioners for their hard work in preparing the budget and appreciated the detail and explanations offered in the presentation. She suggested that because the information has been made available in advance of the public hearing, far fewer people attended the council meeting than might otherwise be expected. Miller also recalled hearing complaints from some residents about “how high” their property taxes are in Blowing Rock. She noted that the property tax rate of 40 cents is low and made possible by the diverse revenue sources, including sales taxes and occupancy taxes, as well as the high property valuations because the properties are in Blowing Rock and not elsewhere. “If you think this low tax rate is too high in Blowing Rock, you can always move to Sparta or down the mountain.”
After the public hearing was closed, the Board of Commissioners moved quickly to approve the budget as presented, unanimously.
NOTE: Our presentation of the budget information is intended solely to extract what we feel are key highlights. For a more comprehensive review of the presentation, as well as to review all discussion regarding the other issues, please click on the YouTube video link of the June 10 meeting of Town Council HERE.
