One of the biggest hurdles facing local advocates of building more multi-modal transportation infrastructure such is as sidewalks and bike lanes is a shortage of data. In order to help determine the need for improvements, the city of Asheville is seeking volunteers to help take a count of those currently using the local sidewalks, bike lanes and greenways.
Buncombe County Commissioner Mike Fryar announced Sept. 6 that his fight against lung cancer is going well.
With wild ginseng root fetching upward of $800 a pound, untold numbers of poachers have taken to local forests, overwhelming meager law enforcement resources and leaving the plant’s survival in doubt.
When it comes to their own pay, some Buncombe County Commissioners actions — or lack thereof — contradict what they said they’d do during last year’s campaign.
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.
The Eagle Market Place project, a major affordable housing, commercial and community space development in the heart of downtown’s the Block neighborhood, got the go-ahead for funding from Asheville City Council tonight. The city will contribute $3.3 million to complete the project, and construction is slated to begin in October.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners took a variety of actions Aug. 27. Here are some of the highlights. (Photo by Max Cooper)
Asheville City Council and the Buncombe County Commissioners meet simultaneously Aug. 27 to discuss very different issues.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will consider an energy policy update Aug. 27.
Gov. Pat McCrory spoke to the Council of Independent Business Owners this afternoon, asserting he was “stepping on some toes” to lower taxes and make the state run more like a business.
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.
To a packed house at the Diana Wortham Theater last night, leaders of local and state organizations condemned the policies of the North Carolina General Assembly and heard concerns from local citizens.
Longtime local leader Patsy Keever is stepping down from her post as the chair of the Buncombe County Democrats in favor of joining the state party’s leadership team.
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.
It was a relatively short meeting for Asheville City Council tonight, but they managed to consider issues ranging from the role of rising rents in homelessness to landslides to a different location for Brewgrass.
A newly appointed Buncombe County Board of Elections held its first meeting Aug. 12 without discussing one member’s controversial push last month to fire Elections Director Trena Parker.
Ending alcohol at large festivals in neighborhood parks and a rezoning related to a long-running Kenilworth dispute lead a relatively light agenda for Asheville City Council tomorrow evening.
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.
Commissioners unanimously voted Aug. 6 to begin transferring management of Buncombe County’s libraries, parks and recreation facilities to a new Culture and Recreation Authority (CRA). Their first move was appointing themselves to serve as the new board — an act that highlights questions over how the new entity will implement its power.
More than 200 people showed up Aug. 7 for Rep. Patrick McHenry’s first-ever Buncombe County town hall. Attendees asked pointed questions about his positions on health care and a variety of other issues.
Buncombe Commissioners unanimously approved spending $1.98 million Aug. 6 to buy land for a new school in Enka.
