NC groups initially united behind a federal designation to protect a stretch of the Nolichucky River. But fears voiced in Tennessee put a snag in those plans.
Council to consider denser zoning along South Tunnel Road
Asheville City Council will consider rezoning roughly 128 acres of property along South Tunnel Road, including the sites of the Asheville Mall and a Whole Foods, to Urban Place zoning.
Buncombe continues mask mandate amid record COVID spread
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners members unanimously voted Jan. 4 to extend the county’s indoor mask mandate through Wednesday, Feb. 16. The extended mask requirement does not contain any language regarding enforcement, nor does it specify the type of face covering that residents should wear, despite health experts saying cloth masks are insufficient against the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Weaverville reconsiders water treatment expansion plan
A proposed doubling of Weaverville’s water treatment capacity has met with cost concerns from town officials and environmental worries from some local residents.
N.C. House vacancies pave way for new faces in 2022
The planned retirements of Reps. John Ager, Susan Fisher and Brian Turner — all three multi-term Democratic members of the N.C. House from Buncombe County — mean the county’s state-level representation is set for a big shift in the upcoming election.
Buncombe hires attorneys to help with redistricting
The Jan. 4 agenda for the county Board of Commissioners lists “a discussion of Board of Commissioner districts and structure,” accompanied by a letter of engagement with Raleigh-based law firm Poyner Spruill dated Dec. 1.
Year in Review: Security felt elusive in 2021
When Xpress asked community members about safety and security in 2021, the questions were intentionally left very broad. After all, concepts like safety and risk can mean very different things to different people depending on their circumstances. Would respondents opine about public safety? Housing security? Financial security? Sexual assault? Homophobia? The resulting responses take the […]
Year in Review: WNC looks back on employment in 2021
As WNC heads into yet another year of economic uncertainty, Xpress asked regional business leaders, government figures and laborers about their takeaways from 2021 in the world of work.
Year in Review: Residents and local leaders reflect on Asheville’s growth and tourism
With growth comes worsening traffic, rising housing costs and long lines of tourists waiting at locally beloved bars and restaurants. But it’s not all bad, as 2021’s Year In Review participants note in their reflections on Asheville’s development and tourism sector. These residents and local leaders shared their growth gripes and hopes as they look forward to the coming year.
Council OKs Ramada proposal despite transparency concerns
With only Antanette Mosley opposed, Asheville City Council members voted Dec. 14 to approve the conversion of an East Asheville Ramada Inn into permanent supportive housing for at least 100 homeless residents — a project first floated to the public less than two weeks earlier.
Council to consider new Ramada shelter proposal, homestay updates
The city has been under contract to purchase the 148 River Ford Parkway property since August, and is now considering converting the hotel into permanent supportive housing.
Green in brief: State budget brings millions in environmental funding to WNC
Among the largest allocations are $12.2 million to accelerate the purchase and opening of Pisgah View State Park in Buncombe County, $7.2 million for the removal of hazardous dams in WNC and $5 million to upgrade the city of Hendersonville’s wastewater treatment plant.
Commissioners set budget priorities for fiscal 2022-23
Affordable housing, climate change, environmental protection and workforce apprenticeship programs were among the top focus areas identified by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners during a Dec. 9 budget retreat at A-B Tech.
County authorizes nearly $1.7M in pandemic funding for economic development
The funding supports three different economic development projects.
Volunteers operate Code Purple emergency shelter for six nights
For more than half of nights in November, the Asheville-Buncombe Homeless Coalition called Code Purple: an emergency protocol, triggered when temperatures drop below freezing, to increase space in homeless shelters beyond normal capacity. But for all of those nights, people sleeping on Asheville’s streets had no officially designated place to go. The two Code Purple […]
Buncombe seeks staff expansion for affordable housing
On Tuesday, Dec. 7, the county Board of Commissioners will consider creating three new planning positions at a cost of roughly $164,000 per year. The staffers would help manage feasibility studies as Buncombe pursues affordable housing on county-owned land.
WNC wrestles with light pollution
With the notable exception of the IDA-certified dark sky park at the PARI in Transylvania County — one of only two such facilities in the state — no sky in Western North Carolina is untouched by light pollution. Central Asheville can reach as high as a 6 on the Bortle Scale, in which 1 is complete darkness and 9 is the Las Vegas Strip.
From CPP: NC Elections Board to review results of new election audit tests
The N.C. State Board of Elections considers a new election security measure through county-level tests, including in Buncombe County, and works to figure out whether and how to incorporate it into state practices.
City forum highlights Asheville’s growth despite pandemic
This year’s event — the first since the start of the pandemic — covered affordable housing, hotel regulations, Urban Place Zoning and more.
Repurposing vacant commercial property could help combat sprawl, create affordable housing
Countless existing structures of every shape and size remain vacant throughout the city, many in decrepit condition after years with no occupants. According to the National Association of Realtors’ Q3 2021 Commercial Real Estate Metro Market Report, 26% of Asheville’s currently available commercial space is vacant, including industrial, multifamily, retail and office properties.
Off-year elections shake up local municipalities
Western North Carolina bustled with electoral intrigue in 2021. From Woodfin, Asheville’s neighbor to the north, to the Jackson County seat of Sylva in the west, challengers bested incumbents in many nonpartisan town council and commission races.