Who can afford to live here and how can we all live together? Those questions formed the crux of the conversation among Asheville City Council candidates at a Sept. 18 forum where two issues garnered strong and varying viewpoints: the lack of affordable housing and persistent racial tensions in Asheville.
A proposal to provide more parking prompted a plethora of public comments at the Sept. 12 Asheville City Council meeting. Council also considered a subdivision in the Shiloh community and learned about the possibilities and pitfalls of bond refinancing.
“She understands what has occurred and what kinds of economic and social steps can help Asheville move forward versus being static or moving backward.”
“If you want to make downtown’s grating, gravel Pit of Despair into a pinnacle of pastoral park pleasure, vote for Cecil Bothwell for Asheville City [Council].”
“Dee Williams supports sustainable policies for all the people of Asheville, such as a living-wage minimum and affordable housing.”
“I believe the euphemism I’m looking for is, ‘Are you kidding me right now?’ An Asheville rental at $3,160?”
Asheville City Council passed a resolution condemning the actions of white supremacists and racial violence in Charlottesville earlier this month. Council members also resolved to support the designation of Big Ivy as a wilderness area, and voted to move forward with a phased approach to a greenway along Lyman Street to Amboy Road. A proposal to reduce the minimum width of residential lots by 20 percent citywide was sent back to the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission for further study.
At Asheville City Council’s meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 22, Council members will consider a resolution condemning the recent actions of white supremacists and racial violence in Charlottesville, Va. The Council will hear public comment on four zoning matters, including an amendment to the city’s zoning code intended to encourage small-scale infill residential housing development.
Proposed changes to Asheville’s zoning code discussed at the Aug. 2 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission aim to ease the city’s shortage of housing, especially affordable housing, by increasing the density allowed in residential areas. The Commission recommended that the city adopt the changes.
If trust is a function of time, an innovative approach to affordable housing may already be in trouble. On July 13, about 30 community stakeholders gathered in an echoey auditorium at the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center and took the first meandering steps toward establishing a community land trust. But the two-hour meeting produced […]
On Tuesday, July 25, Asheville City Council will consider a new zoning ordinance for the River Arts District, a referendum on establishing election districts for City Council, a new Tunnel Road hotel, a self-storage facility and a plan to leverage $10 million in bond funding to promote the development of 485 units of affordable housing, among other items.
“With the status quo untouched, the undeserving are to be driven out, and property speculators large and small allowed to run riot before moving on to their next victim, leaving our city a smoldering wreck in their rear-view mirrors.”
At its June 13 meeting, Asheville City Council adopted its 2017-18 fiscal year budget, which sets a property tax rate of 42.89 cents per $100 of taxable property value and includes funding for 15 new police officers to create a dedicated downtown police unit, as well as $630,000 for expanding the city’s transit system.
The second in a three-part series on innovative models for promoting affordable homeownership sponsored by the city of Asheville focused on housing cooperatives. The May 4 education and information event provided perspectives from national experts as well as representatives of the Dulce Lomita Mobile Home Cooperative in Asheville.
Asheville, NC
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved an economic incentive package and struggled with a rezoning request that highlighted zoning’s gray areas.
Recently, members of Artspace, a Minnesota-based property development, assent management and consulting organization, visited to Asheville to explore the possibility of an affordable housing project geared toward local artists.
Asheville
While 2016 statistics show increasing availability in the area’s rental housing market, Asheville renters say their choices remain limited and prices steep. Several city initiatives — including a $25 million affordable housing bond referendum approved by voters in November — aim to bolster the supply of affordable housing, while some private-sector players are pursuing similar goals.
At City Council’s first budget work session since city voters approved a $74 million bond referendum, elected officials considered how to move forward on planning for the use of the funds. In one key decision, Council members agreed to assess three properties for potential city-led affordable housing development.
Asheville