The long road toward harmony

When I was someone else’s employee, co-workers and I would often hold gleefully scathing discussions over cigarettes in the alley behind the business where we worked. We mostly focused on what stupid decisions the boss was making and how clear it was that we would make much better ones while being a lot more generous and less frantic concerning money.

Ah, how wistfully I look back upon the blissful ignorance of the “W-2 mentality.” What lovely innocence and righteous indignation I enjoyed, unsuspecting that they would soon be cruelly shattered by the realities of owning my own businesses.

In much the same fashion, I voluntarily and unwittingly stormed into the public-service arena, certain that I could find quick, effective solutions where others seemed to flounder. What do all those silly public officials do all day, anyway?

These days, though, I love to gaze ruefully at Downtown Commission Chair Pat Whalen while reminding him how he ruined me by inviting me to sit down at a Downtown Social Issues Task Force meeting, which I’d only crashed in order to put in my 2 cents’ worth about graffiti. Little did I know it would turn into 18 months of work on the issue.

Six years later, I’ve served on several such committees, including most recently the steering and advisory committees for Asheville’s Downtown Master Plan. I’m also a member of the Downtown Commission, which asked the city to fund the process of developing the plan. In the course of this experience, my bedfellows have grown strange indeed.

But what I really want to say here is that if a dyed-in-the-wool, fringe-dwelling, ex-punk, ex-hippie, ex-goth, pseudo-intellectual tattoo artist like me can manage to digest and accept the recommendations in the Downtown Master Plan, you can too. This process has been an exercise in eye-opening, understanding and perspective. It’s meant listening to the needs and opinions of people I thought I agreed with but in fact didn’t totally, and to those of folks I couldn’t possibly have agreed with yet actually did. They (you) were all there, putting in more than 4,000 hours of input, time and care.

For me, the high point of the whole experience came midprocess when, in mediation, we hashed out some key issues over which there was serious disagreement. Again and again, I’ve seen the city go out of its way to make sure a situation was handled with integrity, and this was no exception. I sat in intimate, guided discussions with people who, in my extremely liberal upbringing, had been equated with the evil Empire from Star Wars, yet we were able to find some common ground.

Check it out

To view the proposed Downtown Master Plan, go to www.ashevillenc.gov/downtownmasterplan. City Council will hold a public hearing and vote on whether to accept the plan as part of its regular session Tuesday, May 26, at City Hall, starting at 5 P.M.

True, we disagreed on many points, and I still wish the consultants’ recommendations called for taxing developers more to force them to support arts and culture and other community benefits. But I’m pleased that the proposed requirements for new construction will help preserve important aspects of the quality of life we now enjoy down here on the ground. In addition, the proposed development process would be efficient, clear and would involve the public earlier on. I believe these changes will benefit both the development community and the community at large.

What’s more, the consultants managed to renew my faith in the whole concept of consulting (not an easy thing to do). With each new wiggle of community sentiment and each emerging issue, they patiently revised their work, well past the limits of my own patience. And while various extreme points of view are perhaps less in evidence than their proponents might wish, there is much in the plan that we can work with and much that we can do. All in all, the proposed master plan is a useful tool that can address the fears and concerns of many lovers of Asheville while making the most of what development can offer (and that’s a phrase I never in a million years imagined I would ever say!!!).

If you haven’t already participated in this process, however, it’s not too late to make a difference. Read the plan! (See box.) Incredibly, this amazing document manages to honor an array of passionate, wildly disparate opinions while presenting a graceful middle ground. It has much potential that interested parties can and should use to further meaningful projects for Asheville, and I encourage you to make good use of the opportunities it represents.

But at this point, it’s up to us to help make those recommendations reality. I urge everyone who cares about downtown Asheville to attend the May 26 public hearing, speak up for the plan, and help realize its potential.

[Downtown business owner Kitty Love is executive director of Arts2People and serves on the Downtown Commission. You can contact her at kitty@arts2people.com.]

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Webmaster
Mountain Xpress Webmaster Follow me @MXWebTeam

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

2 thoughts on “The long road toward harmony

  1. Cecil Bothwell

    I applaud the work done by the DTMP steering and advisory committee members and many aspects of the proposal. It is long past time to shape development so that it enhances rather than demeans our city. The devil is always in the details, of course, and the plan won’t actually accomplish anything unless the City Council enacts ordinances and modifies the Unified Development Ordinance to mandate the intended results. Many of us remember the 2010 and 2025 plans, arrived at with much fanfare and … hmmm.

    What we should not do is remove even more oversight from City Council, an erosion of accountability that has gone on for several years. The plan as currently written takes more decisions off Council’s plate and hands them to appointed boards or commissions. Council should be the people’s voice in shaping our city and every decision removed from direct control weakens participatory democracy.

    Specifically, in the current version of the DTMP, a developer whose plan is rejected by the Planning & Zoning or the Downtown Commission would be permitted to appeal the decision to Council. We must include a provision that plans approved by such committees can be challenged by citizens who also have the right to appeal to Council.

  2. AvlResident

    What a thoughtful, articulate, generous-spirited commentary by Ms. Love. Her views carry the weight of experience, time spent on the process and a obvious willingness to listen and consider other opinions.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.