The Asheville City Council made short work of its March 20 meeting agenda. In a scant two hours, Council members ran through a number of agenda items, a couple of which will have a long-term impact on the city. Besides kicking in money for a new city park, Council approved the voluntary annexation of a […]
Tag: Asheville City Council
Showing 1639-1659 of 1662 results
Going for the green
A March 15 workshop led by staffers from the Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc. could point the way toward a substantive sustainability initiative for Asheville. Invited by the city’s Sustainable Energy and Environment Advisory Committee, company representatives led some 50 participants—including Mayor Terry Bellamy, City Manager Gary Jackson and many high-level city staffers—through a series of […]
Asheville City Council
With a slew of presentations and only a handful of formal votes, the Asheville City Council’s March 13 meeting harked back to the good old days when Council members used work sessions to get up to speed on issues facing the city. The meeting spotlighted a number of potential future initiatives, including a new park, […]
Asheville City Council
With nearly two dozen annexation foes on hand, many sporting red shirts in a show of solidarity, the Asheville City Council spent a good portion of its marathon Feb. 27 meeting examining its ability—or rather inability—to lawfully expand the city limits. Take me to the river: Gradual rezoning of Asheville’s River District could help transform […]
Asheville City Council
A proposed 162-unit gated community adjacent to the Asheville Country Club appears to be on hold after City Council indefinitely tabled the developer’s request for a conditional-use permit. Besides placing the ball squarely back in the developer’s court, the case also raised the possibility of updating of some of Asheville’s subdivision regulations. “This is one […]
The real appeal: Asheville City Council not taking “no” for an answer in water suit
Two weeks after a state Superior Court dismissed the city of Asheville’s lawsuit challenging legislation by the General Assembly, City Council has decided in closed session to appeal the decision to the N.C. Supreme Court.
New Year’s resolutions
It’s that time of year again when we have to endure the endless ramblings of friends, family and co-workers about all the positive changes they’re going to make in their lives in the coming year — not to mention the meaningless folly of people asking what our New Year’s resolutions are. But I really am […]
Asheville City Council
It’s no news that Asheville is getting more crowded, so it’s a given that such perennially thorny issues as rezoning and large-scale development will be conspicuous at Council meetings. Throw in environmental and energy concerns, and you’re sure to make the current City Council sit up and pay attention. Meanwhile, recent events have demonstrated that […]
Asheville City Council
After years of haggling, stacks of recommendations and a whole roster of committees and task forces, the Asheville City Council found itself on June 13 facing the specter of yet another Civic Center study. In response to some Council members’ concern about the cost of the options endorsed by the Civic Center Task Force, city […]
Asheville City Council
“A great effort was made, and I wish we were in a better place.” — Council Member Jan Davis After years of wrangling, Asheville has severed yet another city/county connection. At its March 28 formal session, City Council pulled out of discussions with Buncombe County concerning a possible “joint planning area.” The JPA was envisioned […]
Asheville City Council
Fresh from a weekend retreat where they outlined priorities for the coming year, Asheville City Council members bulled their way through a host of topics at the Jan. 24 formal session. Two new residential proposals — including a downtown high-rise condominium development — sailed through the approval process, greased by design details that Council found […]
Asheville City Council
After getting their feet wet with one formal session and a community meeting, it was back-to-school time at the Asheville City Council’s Jan. 17 work session, as Council members scrambled to prepare for their upcoming retreat and several looming hot-button issues. To that end, it was a long night of reports designed to get the […]
Asheville City Council
Trees dominated the agenda at the Asheville City Council’s Jan. 18 work session. From a discussion of what to do about a developer in Montford who cut a swath of trees after promising under oath not to, to turning thumbs down on a staff-initiated plan to hire a private firm to craft a forest-management plan […]
Nothing but the truth
At the outset of every conditional-use-permit hearing held by the Asheville City Council, City Clerk Maggie Burleson whips out the Bible. Sure, some Council meetings would try the patience of a saint. But Burleson isn’t seeking solace in scripture — she wields the Bible because North Carolina law requires it. It’s a sight familiar to […]
Sticking to their guns
“We’re going to have to pay up, guys.” — Council member Terry Bellamy on the need to raise the salary for the new city manager Despite making progress on two high-profile issues, Asheville City Council members came away with mixed feelings about the overall effectiveness of their annual retreat. Council did take action on the […]
Asheville City Council
What a difference a couple of years makes. In 2002, concerns about traffic congestion threatened to derail a massive, highly controversial east Asheville development project. Toward the end of a 14-hour public hearing and Council debate that played out before a standing-room-only crowd that overflowed into three adjacent rooms, however, the developer volunteered to scale […]
Asheville City Council
“Brevity,” wrote Shakespeare, “is the soul of wit.” That particular bit of wisdom, however, isn’t generally reflected in Asheville City Council meetings, which typically drag on and on, leaving those in attendance at — well, at their wits’ end. But The Bard would probably have approved of the Oct. 12 formal session, which clocked in […]
Asheville City Council
“When we start criminalizing poverty, we’ve gone too far.” — Council member Terry Bellamy It’s been said that admirers of law and lovers of sausage should watch neither being made. And the March 23 formal session of the Asheville City Council might serve as a case in point. It was well past midnight when the […]
Nightmare on Eagle Street
It began with a dream. A revitalized African-American business district that would pay homage to the memory of the one that had somehow managed to thrive there years before in the shadows of segregation. A vibrant, prosperous district that would empower Asheville’s contemporary black community — and, perhaps, help heal the ugly legacy of racism. […]
Asheville City Council
“It is no secret that I have questions about the whole project.” — Council member Joe Dunn An initiative designed to link Asheville to an evolving statewide rail network roared into City Council’s Feb. 17 work session, but unanswered questions and concerns about the plan’s viability prompted Council members to creep ahead cautiously rather than […]
Asheville City Council
“I’m afraid that what has happened to our community will happen again.” — EMSDC supporter Althea Goode “Basically, this is a routine budget amendment,” observed Planning and Development Director Scott Shuford as he introduced the evening’s main event. But then, after a pause, he added, “As if anything about this project could be routine.” Shuford’s […]