County to appoint members to short-term rental committee

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will interview and appoint between nine and 11 members to a short-term rental (STR) ad-hoc committee at its meeting Tuesday, Aug. 20.

Interviews with 15 finalists — chosen from a pool of 113 people who applied to serve on the committee — are scheduled for noon in the first floor conference room at 200 College St. Commissioners will make appointments at their regular meeting, which starts at 5 p.m. in the same room.  The committee will help sculpt countywide regulations of STRs, which were put on hold by the Buncombe County Planning Board in April.

Finalists, chosen by Chair Brownie Newman at the Aug. 6 meeting, include real estate professionals, short-term rental owners and community members.

Commissioners agreed that two members of the planning board who applied — Chair Nancy Waldrop and Ken Kahn — would be appointed to the committee without requiring an interview.

The county’s nine-member Planning Board released a draft of proposed changes to STR regulations in December, which was met with both praise and criticism, sparking months of debate, as previously reported by Xpress. During a public hearing April 22, the county Planning Board voted to table the issue for 100 days, responding to complaints that the process was moving too quickly.

In other news

The N.C. Department of Commerce’s Recovery Housing Program awarded Buncombe County a $1 million grant to help Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministries expand its Transformation Village, which currently provides transitional housing for homeless women, mothers with children, and veterans.

Commissioners are expected to formally accept the funding at its Aug. 20 meeting, which will help build a four story, 64-unit building with 32 units dedicated to women and mothers with children in recovery from substance use, according to county documents.

The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (TDA) will update commissioners on the state of the tourist economy in Buncombe County, as well as outline its strategic imperatives for the current fiscal year. The commissioners are expected to choose a new member to the TDA board. Finalists for the post include  Himanshu Karvir, Joe Balcken and Randy Claybrook. The seat, which is being vacated by Scott Patel, must be filled by the owner or operator of a hotel, motel or bed and breakfast with fewer than 100 units, according to state law.

Commissioners will also hold a public hearing on the Tax Assessor’s schedule of values,  which will be used for the assessor’s 2025 tax reappraisal of all properties in Buncombe County.

Consent agenda

The consent agenda for the meeting contains four items, which will be approved as a package unless singled out for separate discussion. Highlights include construction of a compost facility at the Buncombe County landfill. The project is projected to take four months and costs about $147,000. If approved, the project will be paid for with funds originally set aside for a stormwater ditch establishment project, which will instead be completed through repair and maintenance, according to the budget amendment.

The full agenda and supporting documents for the meeting can be found at this link. The briefing meeting usually held before the regular meeting has been canceled.

In-person public comment will be taken at the start of the regular meeting, which begins at 5 p.m. in Room 326 at 200 College St., Asheville; no voicemail or email comments will be permitted. Both the briefing and the regular meeting will be livestreamed on the county’s Facebook page and be available via YouTube.