The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 on April 2 to invite private developers to partner on a $59.1 million complex for 200 affordable units at 50 and 52 Coxe Ave., directly across from the Asheville Regional Transit bus station and Rabbit Rabbit music venue.
At its meeting on Tuesday, April 2, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will consider launching a pilot program that could transition up to 20 units from STRs to affordable long-term rentals for residents in its first year.
County staff reported sales tax revenue growth continues to slow from a peak in 2022 and occupancy tax collections are down 3% year-to-date compared with last year. That, along with expiring funding from the American Rescue Plan Act has the county projecting essentially a no-growth budget.
Woodfin Town Council voted 6-0 at its March 19 meeting to approve the changes, creating a zoning overlay district to create more leniency around where manufactured homes are allowed.
At a Community Reparations Commission meeting March 18, the Carter Development Group identified four themes and outlined 10 “high priority” recommendations for actions local governments should take to cease harm to their Black residents.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted 5-1 to pay Charlotte-based education consultants Prismatic Services about $300,000 to provide a comprehensive report, including an analysis of the risks and benefits of consolidating Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools.
The possible consolidation of Buncombe County’s two public school districts will get a little more real on Tuesday, March 19.
Anger, fear and tears came spilling out of a tense Asheville City Board of Education meeting March 11 after the school board voted 5-2 to close Montford North Star Academy and send its students to Asheville Middle School next school year. Board members Liza Kelly and James Carter dissented.
One month after banning a book from all district high schools, the Buncombe County Board of Education unanimously agreed at its March 7 meeting to keep nine others available to students at Enka High School.
Parents are decrying a proposal that Superintendent Maggie Fehrman says could help the district address a projected $4.5 million budget shortfall next school year — merge its two middle schools. Fehrman estimated the merger would save the district $1.8 million to $2.3 million per year.
While the March 5 primary delivered few surprises at the top of the ticket, local races delivered some firsts for Buncombe County in an election that saw a far lower turnout than the previous presidential primary in 2020.
The new de-annexation movement is led by Chip Parton, who was in middle school when the west side was annexed in 2006. He says he wasn’t really paying attention to issues with the town until five or six years ago, when he realized town rules prevented him from putting a single-wide trailer on his parents’ property to live in while he waited to inherit a family home.
At its regular meeting March 7, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will begin the application process for federal funds that provide temporary housing for those in recovery.
News release from the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners: The agenda for the Board of Commissioners’ March 7th meeting has been posted at: https://www.buncombecounty.org/governing/commissioners/default.aspx Commission Meetings are held at 200 College Street, Room 326 in downtown Asheville beginning at 5:00 p.m. Public Comment is taken at the beginning of the meeting.
According to Just Economics of Western North Carolina, which has been calculating the local living wage since 2008, a single person working full time in Buncombe County needs to make $22.10 per hour to afford basic expenses. That’s a $2 hike over last year’s rate and more than double what it was when it was first calculated 17 years ago.
While one local public school district redraws its district lines and the other considers merging its two middle schools, Buncombe County is moving forward with a study to explore consolidation of the two districts.
Reparations commissioners unanimously approved a three-month public engagement plan to gather reactions and opinions from Black residents of Asheville and Buncombe County about the commission’s draft recommendations for local government leaders.
If passed, the county would send about 450-500 laptops it decommissions every year to Land of Sky Regional Council to distribute to households in need, according to a staff presentation.
The Asheville City Board of Education voted unanimously Feb. 12 to make 2% supplement increases permanent, despite a projected $4.5 million budget shortfall in 2024-25.
At its Feb. 8 meeting, the Buncombe County Board of Education voted unanimously to remove author Ellen Hopkins’ fictional 2009 book, Tricks. Three other books under consideration — Hopkins’ Perfect, Patricia McCormick’s Sold and Sarah Gruen’s Water for Elephants — remain on county high school library shelves, based on recommendations from the Buncombe County Schools’ Media and Technology Advisory Committee.
Thanks to open-space bonds passed in 2022 and generous landowners, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted to conserve 360 acres at its meeting Feb. 6.
