The First Baptist Church of Asheville and the Asheville YMCA are collaborating to build a major mixed-use and mixed-income development with affordable housing, a hotel, retail space, office buildings and a new YMCA building, according to plans submitted to the city. Approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 2, the Greenville-based developer The Furman Co. is now seeking final approval from City Council at its Aug. 22 meeting.
City leaders are considering tightening Asheville’s panhandling ordinances — which may include new regulations as to how and when drivers can give to roadside solicitors.
Four months after approving up to $20 million for renovations to McCormick Field, Asheville City Council is taking another step to fund improvements to the home of the Asheville Tourists minor league baseball team. As part of the consent agenda for its meeting of Tuesday, July 25, Council will consider a $3.7 million contract with engineering firm Ewing Cole Inc. for the design of several improvements to McCormick Field, including a new sidewalk for safe pedestrian access.
While it has been over six months since the winter water outage that affected thousands of Asheville residents, several questions still linger over how such an incident could have occurred and how long the remedy will take. An independent review committee found that inadequate preparation for cold weather and a lack of training in crisis communication were the most critical missteps that amplified the effects of the outage.
Members will vote on whether to temporarily ban LUIG grants for microhousing projects — those with individual housing units smaller than a studio apartment, or about 400 square feet — until the city can develop new standards for the category.
“If you are happy with the status quo, then reelect these failed leaders.”
An earlier version of the resolution, which was made public during the May 23 meeting, was withdrawn due to disagreement about its contents.
The occasion typically sees dozens of residents making their cases for enhanced spending or budget cuts on a range of city services, but was uncharacteristically quiet during the May 23 meeting of Asheville City Council.
“The best way to replace plastic bags is by making cloth and canvas ones. Cotton is a renewable resource.”
The hearing will offer residents the chance to weigh in on the spending plan, first unveiled May 9.
“The solution, to my mind, is to educate the public about the harm that single-use plastic bags can inflict on the environment, not to ban the use of these bags through legislation.”
“Is there any chance that Asheville City Council could maybe find some way to give the lower- and middle-class seniors a break from at least this usually yearly water increase?”
A study commissioned for the TDA by the Huddle Up Group, a Phoenix-based sports consulting firm, recommends consolidating the sports commission into the tourism body. The TDA already funds the bulk of the commission’s work, at roughly $230,000 per year. (The city of Asheville and Buncombe County each pitch in about $45,000 annually, while UNC Asheville offers its facilities as in-kind contributions.)
The decision comes after an extended back-and-forth between Council and staffers on whether the city could freeze rates for residential customers while still generating the revenue needed for water infrastructure maintenance and other expenses.
Together the projects would bring 281 units of affordable housing online.
“If they need more money, why not raise the prices on industrial usage?”
During Council’s last scheduled work session for the fiscal year 2023-24 budget on April 11, some members appeared to reverse course on a previous push to freeze residential water fees.
The direct filtration systems used by both the North Fork and William DeBruhl treatment plants may not be sufficient given the likelihood of more severe weather in the future. DEQ has called for upgrades to the plants, including the addition of sedimentation basins to capture eroded or disturbed soil washed out during storms.
“In my view, the overly tolerant approach to vagrancy and lack of concern relative to soaring bond issues, financed by property taxes, in Asheville can be traced to poor leadership.”
Residential customers pay higher rates for water than do commercial or industrial water consumers — $4.77 and $4.20 per cubic foot for single-family and multi-family housing, respectively, compared to as little as $2.29 per cubic foot for large manufacturers. Several members of Council said that the discrepancy was troubling.
Some projects outlined in the plan include a gateway to reconnect McCormick Field and Memorial Stadium with downtown, public art installations and commemoration of the neighborhood’s African American history. The plan does not include specific funding commitments for capital projects or investments.
