Whether it’s four years on Asheville City Council, 30 years as a city official or eight years working in a downtown restaurant, all three candidates for mayor tout experience, though they define it in vastly different terms. In an interview with Xpress reporter Caitlin Byrd, the three candidates make their case. (Photos by Max Cooper)
At an open house last night on the city of Asheville’s plans to change development rules on the Haywood Road corridor found many community members taking a “wait and see” approach, even as they discussed some goals with planners and consultants.
Work continues near the intersection of Sunset Drive and Skyview Place in North Asheville to rebuild a major retaining wall and repair damage caused by a July landslide.
Information obtained by Xpress shows that out of 25 communications positions at the Asheville Police Department, 10 are vacant, leaving the department 40 percent short of its full number.
Yesterday, representatives for several local hotel chains dropped a lawsuit blocking the city’s sale of property near the Basilica of St. Lawrence to the McKibbon Hotel Group. According to interim City Attorney Martha Walker-McGlohon, the plaintiffs gave no reason for dropping the suit, and retained the right to sue over the matter again in the future.
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.
Recently, more property owners are requesting inclusion in the city of Asheville’s downtown zoning, meaning that denser, taller development will be allowed in more areas in the future. This may also prove to be the trickle before the flood, as the city is already studying a major extension to downtown’s official borders.
Asheville City Council and the Buncombe County Commissioners meet simultaneously Aug. 27 to discuss very different issues.
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.
The intersection of Cherokee Road and Sunset Drive in north Asheville is once again open to cars after it was closed for six months due to the reconstruction of a retaining wall.
At a Realtors’ luncheon on Aug. 5, Rep. Tim Moffitt admitted that state legislators changed a recreation-authority bill as retaliation for Asheville’s lawsuit over the forcible transfer of the city’s water system. “Until the lawsuit is settled, we took the authority away from the city,” he told realtors. This contradicts statements Moffitt had previously made that the matters were unrelated.
After the announcement of longtime Deputy City Manager Jeff Richardson’s departure Monday, the city of Asheville announced personnel changes in its upper management.
The Asheville CIty Association of Educators is holding a protest march today, gathering at Asheville Middle School at 5 p.m. The march is at the same time as one held by the NCAE in Raleigh to protest the latest education overhaul, including cuts, an end to teacher tenure, no pay raises, and no bonus for pursuing higher education.
As the final city-run Bele Chere approaches, rumors have swirled about a private company or organization taking it over. But according to the city of Asheville, so far they’re just rumors.
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.”
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
At a special meeting today, Asheville City Council announced that an internal investigation had found no evidence that Asheville Police Department Chief William Anderson engaged in a coverup surrounding a March car crash involving his son, as alleged by an APD lieutenant. However, the inquiry also found that when Anderson ordered the officer to meet with him, he acted inappropriately. Council members promised improvements to the general management of the department.
