Both Asheville and Buncombe County offer a number of tools to help residents avoid getting caught off guard by development. The following resources give early notification of development proposals and provide more information about each project’s movement through the overall approval process.
The following guidelines are best practices for getting public officials to tune you in if you are involved in a development issue. Each piece of advice is based on interviews with people who used to turn thumbs up — or thumbs down — on development projects and others with experience in the field.
Court rulings and state laws sometimes mean local governments can’t adopt zoning rules their constituents might like — and in some cases, it’s uncertain just how much authority municipalities have, say Asheville City Attorney Brad Branham and other lawyers working in the field.
Mountain Xpress, with support from the American Press Institute, is excited to offer a fully linkable online version of the Development Guide — your companion to local government land-use planning.
Watch this space for the latest 2022 primary election results for Western North Carolina and commentary from the Mountain Xpress news team. The post will be updated regularly throughout the evening.
While most nonprofits must stay focused on their specific cause, suggests board member Caroline Avery, the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina’s adaptable structure helps it pivot quickly to meet new challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Fred in 2021. “The community foundation is a charitable Gumby,” she says.
Xpress sat down with the heads of two local nonprofit news organizations to learn how the business model compares to its for-profit cousin and whether the concept offers a sustainable solution to an industry struggling to hang on.
About 35 acres of the nearly 450-acre tract — purchased by the nonprofit Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in 2020 and recently transferred to the town of Canton — are now open, including the Berm Park mountain bike skills course and a mixed-use hiking/biking trail.
The three applications were the first to be funded out of 105 projects that had been submitted in response to Buncombe County’s latest request for proposals for American Rescue Plan Act support, which closed April 12.
Jared Wheatley’s mural project seeks to stimulate conversations between Native and non-Native people.
The Buncombe County Board of Adjustment will consider a special use permit for a proposed terminal expansion at the Asheville Regional Airport Wednesday, May 11.
One referendum would authorize $30 million in borrowing for conservation projects while a second referendum would authorize $40 million in bonds for affordable housing efforts.
For survivors of Tropical Storm Fred, sustainability in recovery is more than environmental. Local governments, property owners and residents are also focusing on economic, community and cultural resilience.
Asheville City Council’s April 26 meeting brought a new wrinkle to the already shambolic process of establishing permanent supportive housing at an East Asheville Ramada Inn.
Architects, homeowners and neighbors discuss the influx and sustainability of tall, skinny houses in West Asheville.
After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Asheville was due for a spring cleaning. City government, along with area nonprofits, kicked off the first of four community cleanup efforts downtown April 18.
Candidates elected to the board will help pick a new superintendent, address Asheville City Schools’ achievement and opportunity gaps between Black and white students and face a wave of resignations and declining financial reserves within the system.
New construction at Deaverview Apartments, Asheville’s second-oldest public housing community, will consist of two three-story buildings and one four-story building containing 82 total mixed income units.
The late freeze in spring 2021 caused millions of dollars in damages throughout the region, as well as price hikes and supply chain issues for many local farmers and distributors. How worried should they be about WNC’s tumultuous weather?
A study conducted by MountainTrue found an average of 19 microplastic particles — pieces smaller than 5 millimeters, formed by the breakdown of larger plastics — per liter of water in local river systems. Exposure to microplastics has been tied to allergic reactions and other health impacts in humans, as well as negative effects on fish.
In September 2018, Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe placed its first needle disposal boxes in its bathrooms. “We were finding needles in the bathroom on the floor,” explains lead bookseller Justin Souther. Sometimes, people would open the top of the toilet tank and hide used needles inside, he says.
