Today has no shortage of debates about local government and the future of our city. The three mayoral candidates meet at the Council of Independent Business Owners luncheon this afternoon, then have a rematch at tonight’s Get There Asheville forum, where they will be joined by the five Asheville City Council candidates. Follow live Twitter dispatches of today’s debates here.
Tag: Asheville City Council
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Asheville City Council: more agriculture, a festival search, and downtown crime
At tonight’s meeting, Asheville City Council approved new rules allowing urban farming and produce sales throughout the city. Council also approved starting the search for a summer event to replace Bele Chere. On a less optimistic note, the public and city officials discussed increasing issues of crime, policing and homelessness in Asheville’s core.
Asheville City Council preview: Of food and festivals
Next Tuesday, Sept. 24, Asheville City Council will consider an overhaul of the city’s agricultural ordinances to allow for growing more food in more places. Council will also contemplate making official inquiries into partnering with private organizations to find an event to replace Bele Chere.
Asheville City Council discusses dog park; moves Kenilworth rezoning forward
In a pre-meeting work session Asheville City Council opted to let a community group take the lead on the creation of a North Asheville dog park. In the short meeting that followed, Council endorsed a staff recommendation to rezone some properties in the Kenilworth neighborhood.
Asheville City Council preview: going to the dogs
Asheville City Council has a light agenda for its meeting tomorrow, Sept. 10, and an hour work session before the meeting devoted to discussing the proposed North Asheville Dog Park.
Eagle Market Place project gets the go-ahead
The Eagle Market Place project, a major affordable housing, commercial and community space development in the heart of downtown’s the Block neighborhood, got the go-ahead for funding from Asheville City Council tonight. The city will contribute $3.3 million to complete the project, and construction is slated to begin in October.
Asheville City Council preview: development for Eagle Street
Tomorrow night, Aug. 27, Asheville City Council will consider grants and a loan from its affordable housing trust fund for a project in the Eagle/Market Street area that includes 62 affordable-housing units along with business and community space. If the new funds are approved, the city’s commitment to the project could total $4.6 million.
Asheville City Council: landslides and Brewgrass
It was a relatively short meeting for Asheville City Council tonight, but they managed to consider issues ranging from the role of rising rents in homelessness to landslides to a different location for Brewgrass.
The Merrimon village was bad news for neighbors
Five Points Neighborhood would have loved to have an urban village built on the former Deal Buick site, and we tried to work with the developers to come up with a plan that wouldn't impose excessive costs on the neighbors [“Ruffled Feathers,” Aug. 7 Xpress]. But the 2007 proposal had two main problems, both of […]
Asheville City Council preview: Alcohol and old developments
Ending alcohol at large festivals in neighborhood parks and a rezoning related to a long-running Kenilworth dispute lead a relatively light agenda for Asheville City Council tomorrow evening.
Mike Lanning on why he’s running for Asheville City Council
Mike Lanning, a former Asheville Police Department officer, filed for Asheville City Council last Friday. Lanning says recent controversies about the APD’s leadership spurred him to run, “because there needs to be someone on Council who questions city staff.”
Meet the candidates for Asheville Mayor, City Council ***UPDATED***
With filing over last Friday, Ashevilleans now have a firm idea of who’s running for office in this year’s local elections. Three candidates are vying to be the city’s next mayor, and six seek to fill three open City Council seats. Here’s a rundown of the candidates and their statements (if they’ve issued one).
Asheville City Council: Disorder in the house
After a fairly uneventful meeting July 23, Asheville City Council had a brief ruckus at the end, as former Mayor Ken Michalove (pictured) accused the vice mayor, the city manager and a Council member of unethical behavior in granting $2 million to the Asheville Art Museum for renovations. (Photo by Max Cooper)
Gotta agree with Moffitt
Tim Moffitt is proposing to have the state impose district elections on our City Council [“Democracy by Decree,” July 17 Xpress]. He reasons that elected officials tend to favor whatever system put them in power, and it is hard to argue with his argument on that point. He says, “It falls on the state to […]
Asheville City Council preview: extending downtown, and monitoring transit
Asheville City Council has a light agenda for its meeting tonight, with the only public hearing concerning extending downtown zoning. However, the consent agenda includes meatier items than usual, like $450,000 (mostly from the state) for a new public transportation monitoring system, and $380,000 for a new sidewalk project in South Asheville.
Mail to the Chief
On July 11, Asheville City Council held “a special meeting [and] declared its support for Police Chief William Anderson, announcing that an internal investigation had found no evidence that he had engaged in a cover-up related to a March car crash involving his son, as alleged by Lt. William Wilke,” David Forbes reported. Many readers questioned the efficacy of the city administration’s oversight regarding the police chief’s behavior, and wondered what other details came to light in the closed session that preceded the announcement. (Pictured: Police Chief William Anderson. Photo by Max Cooper)
Done deal: Lessons from the 2012 district elections
As state Rep. Tim Moffitt contemplates a move to switch Asheville to predominantly district elections, similar changes he pushed for the Buncombe County commissioners continue to have far-reaching effects.
The district advantage
UNCA political science professor Bill Sabo sees definite advantages to district election systems in cities with populations over 100,000. But with Asheville well below that threshold, it’s less clear what making such a switch here might mean.
Democracy by decree: State lawmakers may impose new city election system
A June 3 email from Rep. Tim Moffitt to Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy revealed a plan that has city officials and some residents up in arms.
District elections: Beyond the rhetoric
The recent disclosure that state Rep. Tim Moffitt had drafted a bill to change Asheville City Council contests from an at-large system to predominantly district elections has triggered heated debate among both elected officials and the general public. Although Moffitt hasn’t yet filed the bill, which mirrors the state-mandated 2011 switch for the Buncombe County commissioners, he could follow through at any time, and the potential impacts are substantial. In the following articles, Xpress takes a closer look at what such a move might mean for this city — and for this year’s scheduled elections.
Jonathan Wainscott announces run for Asheville City Council
Jonathan Wainscott, a West Asheville resident and small business owner, announced July 12 that he plans to run for Asheville City Council.