Council will consider revising an agreement with the nonprofit after the group decided to drop one affordable housing proposal after significant community pushback.

Council will consider revising an agreement with the nonprofit after the group decided to drop one affordable housing proposal after significant community pushback.
The 186-unit project would also include roughly 4,500 square feet of commercial and retail space, 230 parking spaces in an underground garage and six parking spaces on East Chestnut Street.
On an upper floor of Zeis Hall on the UNC Asheville campus is a small room containing many birds. None of these birds are alive. Each one is dead, preserved through taxidermy and stacked side by side in individual Tupperware containers. The room, smelling faintly of formaldehyde, is a biological specimen laboratory. The collection is […]
“What is the point of envisioning the future if, when the future arrives, the plans are changed and can’t be counted on? People lose trust.”
“As we collectively move to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in Asheville, my hope is that actual Indigenous people and the issues they confront are at the forefront of what we do, how we reflect and how we acknowledge the deep responsibility we have to the land we inhabit.”
The zoning ordinance drew criticism from property rights advocates and lawyers representing some business owners whose properties are located in the newly rezoned areas.
APD’s policy now states that officers “will not destroy personal or abandoned property unless it poses an immediate danger to officers” or the public — a change made in response to criticism over destruction of medical supplies and food at a protester medic station.
Asheville’s Planning and Zoning Commission narrowly voted to approve the proposed zoning amendment in a 4-3 vote Sept. 1. If the change is approved, they will hold a subsequent public hearing to consider rezoning several properties totalling 122 acres to the new district
Starting Friday, Sept. 24, local organizations can submit projects in the following categories for grants from the federal funds: affordable housing, care for aging residents, climate change, city infrastructure, domestic violence prevention and assistance, food systems, homelessness services, public engagement, revenue losses, small business recovery and workforce development.
Four hotel projects, sized between five and 115 rooms, are still waiting for review under the new standards.
“I urge City Council to take the time to review its decisions before making a huge mistake that will affect our neighborhoods for years to come.”
“It is my opinion that the City Council should start to show some support for the AVL police who are serving our community while being stretched to the maximum.”
“As if our city needed one more example of citizen voices being sidelined, on Aug. 24, Asheville City Council pushed through the nomination of George Sieburg for the Asheville City Board of Education just hours after the vacancy was known to anyone.”
“As with water and air pollution, noise pollution is a recognized public health issue that contributes to increased risk of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, sleep disturbance, depression, stress and hearing loss.”
The office finds itself without any permanent staff and has no public process for hiring new employees. The vacancies come after a wave of resignations, as well as public criticism from former employees and elected leaders about a lack of support and accountability for equity work.
The approval allows the existing Four Points by Sheraton hotel to more than quintuple its current size with a mix of uses including apartments, condominiums, extended stay hotel rooms, parking and ground-level commercial space.
The vote on the proposed $9.75 million emergency shelter project was delayed so that members of Council have more time to review the proposal and understand community concerns.
While each of the speakers at the meeting commended city leaders for taking steps to help Asheville’s homeless residents, some who were also residents at nearby apartment complexes voiced concern about the proposed shelter’s location.
The city’s urban centers initiative, as well as updates to open-space requirements for new projects, are meant to encourage denser development patterns, supporting less car-dependent communities and increasing the city’s tax base.
Highest on city staff’s list of potential funding priorities were affordable housing, public engagement, homelessness, public and mental health, small business recovery and workforce development.
The new rules will take effect Wednesday, Sept. 15.