Listed on Council’s agenda for Tuesday, March 22, is a presentation about Asheville’s “community cleanliness strategy.” The discussion comes two weeks after the Asheville Downtown Association released its annual survey, in which respondents gave the city’s core a 2.2 out of 5 in terms of cleanliness.
The volunteer Civil Service Board, which has authority over employee grievances, agreed with the city’s argument Feb. 22 that five workers had shown insubordination by refusing COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing in October. Asheville has since suspended its “test-or-vaccinate” policy effective March 2.
In February, Asheville unveiled a plan to reduce the number of advisory groups from 20 to four. Each of those boards would be capped at 11 members, meaning the number of residents who serve in a regular advisory role would be cut by roughly 80%.
Stay up to date with projects working their way through the Asheville and Buncombe County development processes — as well as when and where to comment on them — through the Xpress development roundup.
“Asheville city government appears to be failing its responsibilities as the custodian of homelessness funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
“It’s not enough to just ask for suggestions about ‘what to do with ‘these’ people.’ We’re talking about human beings with diverse needs and circumstances.”
“The homeless, their dignity, their civil rights and their belongings are regularly being bulldozed by those with power in Asheville.”
“Many activists, citizens, eco-groups, the Urban Forestry Commission and the Neighborhood Advisory Committee are justly appalled by and formally opposed to PUDD’s machination.”
“Paying taxes to the county for services which it does not provide city residents and paying twice for some of them is outrageous.”
With the notable exception of the IDA-certified dark sky park at the PARI in Transylvania County — one of only two such facilities in the state — no sky in Western North Carolina is untouched by light pollution. Central Asheville can reach as high as a 6 on the Bortle Scale, in which 1 is complete darkness and 9 is the Las Vegas Strip.
“I was surprised when I attended the concert that the vast majority of 6,500 people in attendance were not wearing face masks, and the city-owned venue is unable to enforce a face-mask requirement indoors.”
In fiscal year 2019-20, the most recent year for which data is available, the city emitted the equivalent of roughly 18,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Its target for the year was approximately 15,600 metric tons of CO2, about 15% less than the actual figure.
“I would like to know why North Carolina, Buncombe County and the city of Asheville don’t help people with disabilities.”
The city’s Minority or Woman Business Enterprise Certification, a process that officially went into effect on Jan. 1, is designed to help entrepreneurs build their businesses and get more opportunities for government contracts.
“The overall tax rate did go down some, but due to my taxable value going up — my total taxes are up 13.76%, and I’m sure theirs also significantly went up.”
More than two decades after the speedway closed, some of its most passionate supporters gauge the historical significance of “The River,” as well as the opportunities available to modern racing fans and drivers.
Currently, Buncombe recommends indoor masking as a response to COVID-19 but has instituted no legal mandate. The city of Asheville also plans to reinstate a similar requirement, while rules in other county municipalities would be left to their governing bodies.
The city’s urban centers initiative, as well as updates to open-space requirements for new projects, are meant to encourage denser development patterns, supporting less car-dependent communities and increasing the city’s tax base.
Scheduled for a vote at Council’s regular meeting is a series of revisions to the city’s noise ordinance that would set specific decibel levels for downtown, as well as commercial and industrial areas, as measured from any property away from the source of the noise.
“Should not the county/city focus on supporting citizen safety efforts before looking at marketing programs targeted at tourism?”
