The Asheville City Council chamber has seen its share of controversy … but helmets? Scores of people wore protective headgear to Council’s Feb. 26 meeting—not because of physical danger, however, but to show support for a new city bicycle plan. On a roll: Helmet-clad cyclists showed up in droves to support Asheville’s bike plan at […]
Tag: Asheville City Council
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Asheville City Council
They’re the bane of many city residents: drivers who ignore the posted speed limits on Asheville’s residential streets. But outside of more police enforcement, the methods used to slow speeders down often is too costly and too slow to come about because of a complicated and time-consuming process necessary to erect traffic-calming measures such as […]
Asheville City Council
How much of an impact did the partisan-elections backlash have on Asheville’s City Council? Enough that when Council member Brownie Newman brought the idea of a citizens’ commission on local elections to the table during Council’s Feb. 12 meeting, he got no support from even his staunchest allies. Not even a proposal merely to hold […]
Asheville City Council: Feb. 19 meeting preview
Inking a contract with an outside firm to develop a Downtown Master Plan, a report on regional economic development initiatives, and a Council discussion in preparation for a March 19 public hearing on city annexation, are among the highlights on City Council’s Feb. 19 meeting agenda.
Asheville City Council
As Asheville City Council members convened for a two-day retreat to chart their legislative goals for the year, word came that the city’s financial fortunes appear to be retreating as well. While the situation isn’t dire, Chief Financial Officer Ben Durant told Council members during the Feb. 4-5 planning session, the city may be facing […]
City Council retreat: Budget woes and yearly goals
As City Council members sat down this week for a two-day strategic retreat to chart their legislative goals for the year, word came that the city’s financial fortunes appeared to be retreating as well.
More power to you
Driving out the Leicester Highway from Patton Avenue, it narrows from five lanes to two, and the strip malls and fast-food joints give way to old-school mechanics and busted-up portable signs. Later on, that same highway continues up the mountains and around sharp curves into miles of old farmland that eventually lead up to Sandy […]
Asheville City Council
Despite numerous alleged incidents of serious police misconduct over the past couple of years, Asheville City Council members voted Jan. 15 against creating an official citizen-oversight board. Conceding that it is a “bit of a complex topic,” police Chief William Hogan nonetheless lobbied against the idea, citing several existing layers of police oversight and reiterating […]
Council nixes idea for citizen’s police-oversight board
Despite alleged incidents of serious police misconduct over the past couple of years, the City Council decided in a 5-2 vote at its Jan. 15 meeting to nix the creation of an official citizen’s police-oversight board.
Asheville City Council
Leicester residents again failed to win the Asheville City Council’s endorsement of their attempt to incorporate. But the closeness of the vote at Council’s Jan. 8 meeting and a subsequent discussion by Council members made it clear that the campaign has gained support in recent months and will most likely be heard from again. The […]
Asheville City Council: Jan. 15 meeting preview
Police Chief William Hogan will present his recommendations concerning a proposed citizen’s police-oversight board, and Council members will receive an update on an outside consultant’s evaluation of the Asheville Design Center’s proposed alignment of the Interstate 26 connector at their Tuesday, Jan. 15 meeting.
The public education of Bill Russell
With his first full-blown Asheville City Council meeting just a couple of weeks away, Bill Russell has a lot on his plate as he begins his four-year term—and his first foray into representative politics. As someone who ran to bring more political balance to Council, rather than address any specific hot-button issues, Russell admits that […]
Asheville City Council
The Asheville City Council’s Dec. 11 meeting—the last one in 2007—saw some shuffling of seats as the newly elected Bill Russell replaced outgoing Council member Bryan Freeborn, and incumbent Jan Davis got the nod as vice mayor. This seat taken? New Council member Bill Russell (right) takes a seat vacated by Bryan Freeborn as re-elected […]
Asheville voters: Don’t skip the ballot referendum!
Partisan or nonpartisan city elections? If you live in Asheville, today’s your chance to decide.
Asheville City Council
Asheville’s recreation centers will get increased security staffing, and the Asheville Police Department will hire two new officers charged with investigating gangs, City Manager Gary Jackson told Council members during their Oct. 23 meeting. Savings elsewhere in the department’s budget will pay for these positions, so no Council vote was needed. “We want to make […]
Asheville City Council
The Asheville City Council’s Oct. 16 meeting had all the elements of high drama—a controversial issue, an upcoming election, an overflow crowd, even a woman standing outside City Hall passing out placards decrying The Ellington. But in a scant 90 minutes, after hearing arguments for and against the planned downtown high-rise, Council members voted 6-1 […]
Asheville City Council
With little commotion, the Asheville City Council rezoned Montford Commons on Sept. 25. The roughly 10-acre, 220-unit residential and commercial development on the edge of the historic district will now fall under the “urban village” designation, which allows for higher-density residential areas. Signing up: As its stores grow larger, Ingles argues it warrants more signage. […]
Asheville City Council
At their two-hour Sept. 18 meeting, Asheville City Council members once again held off on rezoning portions of Merrimon Avenue and approving new rules governing development there after business and property owners reiterated concerns that the proposed changes were too stringent and would cause severe financial hardship. Merrimon’s future: Merrimon Avenue-area residents and businesses were […]
Asheville City Council
It was probably a long shot. After four months of controversy, it may have been too much to expect the Asheville City Council to approve The Ellington in one fell swoop. Despite several hours of presentations, public comment and deliberation at Council’s Sept. 11 meeting, the developers of the 300-foot-tall boutique hotel proposed for Biltmore […]
Asheville City Council
Two years after a community group shined the spotlight on some businesses’ violations of the city’s Unified Development Ordinance—and a year after those complaints were supported by a consultant’s report—Greenlife Grocery says it’s ready to take steps to address the problems. And Staples, which had not responded to several prior requests for a meeting with […]
Asheville wants to pick your brain
Asheville City Council has invited residents to a public information open house on Thursday, Sept. 6, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the City Public Works Building. On the agenda: a chance to provide input about the sites listed in the city-owned property initiative, including desired outcomes for each site.