Firestorm Books & Coffee and The Steady Collective announced that they had formally appealed their notices of violation on Sept. 17. The appeals will likely be considered at the next meeting of the city’s Board of Adjustment, which takes place on Monday, Oct. 22. If the board rejects the appeals, the groups face civil penalties of $100 for every day they remain out of zoning compliance.
The Land Use Incentive Grant point maximum will increase from 140 to 200, with every 10 points worth a rebate of one year of city property taxes above a property’s pre-development total. But developers will also face stricter conditions when applying for LUIG money: The minimum period for which a project must guarantee affordable housing will increase from 15 to 20 years.
About 80 residents gathered to discuss 95 Broadway Hotel & Condos, a seven-story development of 30 guest rooms, 25 parking spots and seven condos proposed by property owner Victor Foo. Not a single attendee spoke in favor of the project, with criticisms ranging from practical concerns over parking to philosophical worries over the ongoing gentrification of Asheville.
Beginning Aug. 28 and continuing through Tuesday, Dec. 11, a series of monthly meetings will explain to City Council members and the public how Asheville allocates over $180 million to provide a range of services. The first session set the general context for the budget through a discussion of community demographics and major city revenue streams.
Slated to open on Saturday, Sept. 1., the lot will offer 100 new spaces with 24/7 access at $70 per month. Dana Frankel, downtown development specialist with the city, notes that there is currently interest in over 80 of the 100 available spaces.
Transit advocates called for the city to more strictly enforce its contract with RATP Dev, which manages the ART system, citing 539.5 hours of missed service in July. But city staff said the management company “is making a good-faith effort to work with us” and does not currently plan to assess a number of penalties.
A day after students at Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools return to their studies, Asheville City Council is scheduled to brush up on its own ABCs — as well as its AAs, BBs, and CCs. The consent agenda for Council’s upcoming regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 5 p.m. in council Chambers exhausts the standard alphabet, forcing three entries to take on double letters in a collection of 29 items.
As Asheville gears up to begin a new chapter in its administration, Xpress asks what lessons, if any, can be learned from Jackson’s time as the city’s top employee. But given the reluctance of so many current and former city officials to discuss either Jackson’s firing or his legacy, any final assessment of this recent history may have to wait.
On Aug. 13, the Planning & Economic Development Committee recommended that staff throw out the kitchen sink from the current definition. Council members Gwen Wisler, Vijay Kapoor and Julie Mayfield moved to adopt a new “maximum flexibility” definition for kitchen spaces.
The plurality of Asheville city government’s greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal year 2017 — roughly 9,100 tons — came from burning fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, to create electricity. That number could drop to zero by the end of the next decade, however, should Asheville adopt a resolution currently under development by the city’s Sustainability Advisory Committee on Energy and the Environment.
Although the exact footprint of the building is still under consideration, existing plans call for a first floor of businesses (16,000 square feet in total) topped by 26 efficiency, 93 one-bedroom and 61 two-bedroom apartments. A total of 327 parking spaces, some underground, would service the complex.
The N.C. General Assembly cut funding for landslide mapping in 2011, a decision area officials and scientists attribute to a combination of revenue shortfalls and lobbying by development interests. The state is now allocating $3.6 million for a new mapping project in the wake of multiple landslides this summer.
The ambitious proposal would increase bus service hours by 44 percent starting in fiscal year 2020, construct a new $50 million operating facility by 2024 and double the current fleet by 2029. Elias Mathes, transit planning manager for the city, says these bold changes are needed to make Asheville Redefines Transit a viable alternative to automobile commuting for the city’s future.
Candidates from across the country have until Monday, July 30, to apply for the most powerful staff position in Asheville city government. The role, currently filled by interim City Manager Cathy Ball, oversees all of the city government’s daily operations and advises Council members as they develop long-term plans.
Two weeks before the Fourth of July, the meeting’s agenda promises a grand finale of rhetorical explosions over two matters of unfinished business. The first is the Asheville city budget, which Council member Brian Haynes has said he will not support as long as it contains funding for additional officers to staff the Asheville Police Department’s downtown district. The second is a series of resolutions to rescind and replace the three motions on police policy previously proposed by Young and passed by Council on May 22.
On Tuesday, June 19, Council will put the result of its planning process to the test as its members vote to adopt the proposed budget. The document must account for $180,388,554 in spending, enough to fund the current work of over 1,200 employees and invest millions in the city’s future.
The Asheville City Council will make one of its most consequential decisions when it hires its next city manager, a powerful administrator with broad authority for most aspects of city government. To inform its search, the Council is gathering input from residents.
City residents will comment on Asheville’s $180 million spending plan at Council’s regular meeting in council Chambers at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22. Police equity concerns and Strategic Partnership Fund grants are also on the agenda.
Roughly 80 attendees had lunch on the city while hearing updates related to development, design and construction at the May 17 city manager’s development forum. City officials said permitting activity is significantly lower in the current fiscal year than last year.
For now, the work sessions and haggling are over. Interim City Manager Cathy Ball will present the city’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018-19 to Asheville City Council and the public at Council’s regular meeting in Council Chambers at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15. The document reflects Council’s consensus on issues such as parking […]
Funded by a $10,000 grant from Mountain Area Workforce Development, a $5,000 grant from New Belgium Brewing Co. and $2,400 from the city Transportation Department, the project established a 6-foot-wide trail on the Town Branch Greenway surfaced with fine gravel. The trail will serve pedestrians and cyclists until its planned removal in 2020 to make way for the greenway’s permanent path.
