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?”
“I am so grateful to all the DOT and city of Asheville employees who worked day after day through a pandemic on this project to beautify our town.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, just 0.2% of workers in the four-county Asheville metro area commute by bike, less than half the national average. But the owners of Asheville’s first electric bike dealership, as well as and regional transportation planners, think e-bikes are likely to change that number.
Newly formed Asheville nonprofit Accessing Needed Crisis and Critical Help Outreach and Resources is proposing a low-barrier, high-access shelter that would forego many of the usual rules for tenants. Start-up costs could reach $6.5 million, with annual operating costs of $3 million, and would initially be funded through Asheville’s approximately $26.1 million in federal coronavirus relief.
“The city’s role should be to facilitate, not impede, the landowners’ exercise of their rights and liberties, including property rights.”
“[M]oving the camps allows us to return to the comfort of putting our collective head in the sand as our city becomes unaffordable for more and more of us.”
For many Asheville residents, seeing a bear at their trash can is a bucket-list item, the pinnacle of mountain living. But as exciting as a bear sighting can be, interactions with the furry, four-legged natives can quickly spell problems for bears and humans alike.
The city’s proposed nondiscrimination ordinance is nearly identical to that passed 6-0 by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on April 20, which prompted extensive public comment from residents in both support and disagreement.
Asheville, home to more than 8,465 hotel rooms and counting, is providing a pathway for hotel operators to rack up some major brownie points by incorporating sustainable features and practices in plans for new hotel construction.
As the sometimes contentious discussions unfolded, members grappled with ambitious priorities for the upcoming year, and, perhaps more importantly, what their working relationships would look like for the next 18 months.
“[The funding is] intended to be a pandemic response; it’s not actually intended to end homelessness. It just is, happily, an opportunity for us to end homelessness, because that is also a response to the coronavirus,” says Emily Ball, homeless services lead for the city of Asheville.
