Council, developer butt heads over rent rates in rezoning proposal

Contention sprung from unexpected corners at the Asheville City Council meeting on Sept. 9, as Council members and a land developer stared each other down on rental rates and safety commitments for a proposed residential development on Sardis Road. Complicating the debate was the fact that about half the development falls within the city limits. The applicant — Winston-Salem Industries […]

Asheville City Council preview: dueling futures

As a renewed push to move the Interstate 26 connector forward continues, Asheville City Council gets its turn on Tuesday, March 25, to consider a joint resolution seeking to make the long-delayed highway overhaul a reality, even as a number of community groups vocally oppose the plan. Council will also consider what to do with vacant property on Haywood Street across from the Basilica of St. Lawrence, another contentious issue.

A plan for everything

Late last month, Asheville City Council passed the Haywood Road Vision Plan, a years-long effort by community members and city staff to outline the future of the corridor. It’s not a one-time event either: Such plans for different areas of the city are a main way city leaders hope to shape the Asheville of tomorrow, and it’s a plan they want to extend to more neighborhoods. Sometimes, however, these plans can also prove controversial.

Haywood Road overhaul: Asheville City Council takes up plan for area’s future

After months of development, a new plan for the future of West Asheville’s major corridor comes to Asheville City Council at its next meeting, Feb. 25. The plan calls for a new form of zoning, improved pedestrian infrastructure and keeping the area’s historic feel to make “a neighborhood leader for sustainability in the city.” If successful, other neighborhoods might get similar development overhauls.

Asheville City Council preview: turning down the lights

Initially, next week’s upcoming Asheville City Council meeting, on Jan. 28, promised a showdown over a controversial development near downtown. With that matter withdrawn, however, the remaining items on the agenda are changes to the city’s rules to encourage less light pollution and modifications to development guidelines to bring them in line with new state laws.