Food trucks to be discussed at Downtown Commission meeting (live coverage via Twitter)

Posted on by Jeff Fobes

The Asheville Downtown Commission meets today, June 8, to discuss possible regulations for food trucks downtown. Below is a moderated Twitter feed about ongoing discussions and what takes place at the meeting.

Ultimately, City Council will decide whether or not to approve food trucks in the downtown Commercial Business district. The Asheville Downtown Commission is an advisory board — what they recommend will be reviewed by the The Planning and Zoning Commission, which will be presented to City Council. Residents will have the chance to speak at a public hearing, and then Council will take a final vote.

 

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About Jeff Fobes
As a long-time proponent of media for social change, my early activities included coordinating the creation of a small community FM radio station to serve a poor section of St. Louis, Mo. In the 1980s I served as the editor of the "futurist" newsletter of the U.S. Association for the Club of Rome, a professional/academic group with a global focus and a mandate to act locally. During that time, I was impressed by a journalism experiment in Mississippi, in which a newspaper reporter spent a year in a small town covering how global activities impacted local events (e.g., literacy programs in Asia drove up the price of pulpwood; soybean demand in China impacted local soybean prices). Taking a cue from the Mississippi journalism experiment, I offered to help the local Green Party in western North Carolina start its own newspaper, which published under the name Green Line. Eventually the local party turned Green Line over to me, giving Asheville-area readers an independent, locally focused news source that was driven by global concerns. Over the years the monthly grew, until it morphed into the weekly Mountain Xpress in 1994. I've been its publisher since the beginning. Mountain Xpress' mission is to promote grassroots democracy (of any political persuasion) by serving the area's most active, thoughtful readers. Consider Xpress as an experiment to see if such a media operation can promote a healthy, democratic and wise community. In addition to print, today's rapidly evolving Web technosphere offers a grand opportunity to see how an interactive global information network impacts a local community when the network includes a locally focused media outlet whose aim is promote thoughtful citizen activism. Follow me @fobes
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17 thoughts on “Food trucks to be discussed at Downtown Commission meeting (live coverage via Twitter)”

  1. timothypeck

    Regulatory recommendations were approved with modifications: proximity to restaurants clause stricken, 10 gallon trash can mandate stricken, inverter generator mandate stricken, recyclable container mandate stricken.
    …………………………..

  5. mat catastrophe

    How so? It’s on topic and a valid question. You seem quite interested in the ins-and-outs of the food truck discussion, so one is led to believe you have a vested interest in the outcome. I don’t believe you own a restaurant, and you have stated in print that this is necessary as a job creation measure, so it’s just a natural assumption that you might be interested in running a food truck.

    And I would be interested in having the knowledge of which one so that when I return to Asheville I can participate in the free market by being able to make an informed decision as to where to but lunch. I would think that such a staunch defender of the free market would want nothing less from a consumer.

  9. Jeff Fobes

    I don’t know if there’s incivility or great dialogue going on here. I hope it’s the latter, but if not, then then I hope it will grow into as much.

  10. mat catastrophe

    Honestly, Tim, I don’t understand how you can possibly expect to continue making statements about every single issue under the sun without someone actually questioning you or challenging you.

    Have you just never had to defend a position? Have a discussion with someone who disagrees with you? Do you actually view disagreement as a personal attack? Is it just enough to be quoted in the Xpress as an “Outspoken Libertarian” or would you like to be taken seriously as a commenter?

    Because, honestly, I don’t think anyone takes you seriously if all you do is make these ridiculous “Moderator Alerts”. It just makes you look like you can’t even remotely back up your beliefs with any sort of coherent or logical arguments and it calls into question your reason for commenting in the first place.

  11. timothypeck

    I’m confident great dialog with ensue upon cessation of personal attacks and incivility. We’ll see. [holding breath..now]
    …………………

  12. tatuaje

    The interesting thing MatCat is that ol’ Tim Peck is running for City Council (according to the Twitter). Wonder if making statements without backing them up is going to be an ongoing strategy.

  15. Isle of Man

    Looks like the dominoes are falling. Still a ways to go, but everyone knows this is going to happen. Get used to it, nay-sayers. Your opposition will be nothing more than a foot note in the history of Asheville’s thriving downtown community.

  16. Margaret Williams

    Mat and Tim: Take a deep breath. Step away. Stay on topic. Go have a beer together and discuss your personal differences. Not here.

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