Ecusta Trail response

Editor’s note: The following guest column was written by Transylvania County resident Mark B.

Tooley, president of Friends of the Ecusta Trail.

At the Feb. 27 Transylvania County Board of Commissioners meeting some of the commissioners made comments regarding the Ecusta Trail, many of which need clarification. Two commissioners are against the trail for personal reasons and have stated that position during public meetings. To set the record straight and put an end to the misinformation that exists around the rail line and the Ecusta Trail, I submit the following responses to their comments based on the known facts.

Fact - The railroad corridor was “railbanked” with the Federal Surface Transportation Board prior to the sale from Blue Ridge Southern Railroad to Ecusta Rails2Trail, LLC. Railbanking was established in 1983 as an amendment to Section 8(d) of the National Trails System Act as a way to preserve thousands of miles of rail corridor that might otherwise have been abandoned. It allows for a voluntary agreement between a railroad company and a trail sponsor to use an out-of-service rail corridor as a trail until a railroad might need the corridor again for rail service. It prevents the railroad corridor from being abandoned and preserves the corridor for future railroad use.

Comment - The railroad never owned the property.

Response – Conserving Carolina paid to have a title search done on the rail line prior to their subsidiary’s purchase.

It indicated almost all the rail line in Transylvania County was owned by the railroad company.

This is consistent with the railroad’s previous claims. If they have questions or concerns, property owners should have their own title search done to verify the status of the rail line adjacent to their property.

Comment – Landowner’s deed contains a reversion clause (reversion of rail corridor to property owner upon abandonment by the railroad).

Response – The railroad has not been abandoned but rather railbanked. Conserving Carolina’s title search revealed a small percentage of the original deeds granting property to the railroad contained reversion clauses specifying use(s) of the corridor.

Some of the landowners may be eligible for compensation from the federal government in the legal action described in the next response.

Comment – People’s property rights are being violated.

Response — The only thing that has changed from over a hundred years of use by the railroad is the ownership and the use of the rail line. Ecusta Rails2Trail LLC obtained ownership of the rail line in 2021.

As the new owner, Ecusta Rails2Trail LLC has the right to use the property for uses defined within the railbanking agreement. If landowners believe they own land within the rail corridor, several law firms have come forward that will assist landowners in determining whether they in fact own the land, and, if so, to represent them in legal action against the federal government to seek fair compensation for land taken.

Comment - Landowners are paying taxes on the right-of-way.

Response — By N.C.

General Statute (105-333) the N.C. Department of Revenue performs an appraised valuation of the land that the rail line uses and sends that valuation to the local taxing unit whereby taxes are assessed to the railroad company. Whether a landowner is being assessed taxes on land the railroad is already paying taxes on is a question they should investigate with the tax office.

Comment – The trail will pass in close proximity to existing dwellings such as homes and out-buildings (a commissioner’s comment said the right of way goes through someone’s living room).

Response – Unless the structure was built prior to 1895, the location of the railroad and its corridor should have been known prior to locating a structure there. The rail corridor is 100 feet wide in most of Transylvania County and structures placed within that corridor should have been required to have a legal encroachment agreement with the railroad.

However, the city of Brevard and its agents will work with the existing landowners to minimize the trail’s impact on their property and activities.

Comment – There is no opportunity for economic development along the corridor. The land is farms and floodplain and has no access to infrastructure.

Response — The 2012 Ecusta Trail Planning Study and Economic Impact Analysis conservatively estimated a one-time financial impact of $42 million and an annual financial impact of $9.4 million with a nearly $2 million increase in visitor spending by an additional 20,000 visitors each year.

Users of the Ecusta Trail will have access to the businesses in downtown Brevard via connection to the existing Estatoe Trail.

Commercial nodes currently exist in Pisgah Forest, Penrose and Blantyre and are likely to see further development and expansion as the trail becomes a reality. Also, some rail trails allow the use of the rail corridor for installing new infrastructure such as fiber optic, water and sewer as a less expensive way to serve new economic development.

Comment – There are already hundreds of miles of existing trails in Transylvania County.

Response – Yes, there are hundreds of miles of trails in the county, however most are unusable for many users including novices, the elderly, the very young and those with disabilities. Most of the mountain bike trails in Pisgah National Forest, DuPont State Recreational Forest, Gorges State Forest and Bracken Preserve are highly technical and only usable by experienced and fit riders. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a well-traveled road with no shoulders and severe elevation changes. It too is only usable by the fit and experienced rider. The only equivalent trail in Transylvania County to the Ecusta Trail is Brevard’s Estatoe Trail. It currently extends from downtown Brevard to Pisgah National Forest and can frequently be seen serving the types of users that the Ecusta Trail will eventually accommodate. The Ecusta Trail is also planned to be a part of a much larger regional greenway system called the Hellbender which will provide connectivity between Transylvania, Henderson, Buncombe and Haywood counties.

Comment - Agricultural operations are being interrupted.

Response - There have been no changes in access across the rail corridor since the change in ownership in 2021 and none are anticipated except perhaps temporary interruptions during construction of the trail. That includes roads, driveways and field crossings.