“What the pragmatists I know want to see is the removal of unnecessary barriers to infill development so as to rationally encourage more multifamily housing, especially in locations where walking, cycling and public transportation reduce car dependency.”
“Zoning changes to encourage multifamily/multigenerational occupancy serve the economic and social needs of older and younger adult residents in particular.”
The forum follows the November release of a more than 150-page report from Opticos Design, a California-based company that found that Asheville’s existing zoning ordinances and other regulations encourage the construction of single-family housing over other types of housing, such as townhomes, duplexes and triplexes.
“But we can directly help our county’s workers, the people who drive our tourism economy — and thus drive contributions to the TDA’s coffers — by asking the TDA to give some money back to build housing for such workers.”
Currently, Asheville prohibits the replacement of any manufactured home by another after its spot has been vacant for 180 days. City planners want to ease that rule and others to “stop the slow attrition of affordable housing units that are desperately needed in our community.”
“Asheville can become a gilded city, where locals drink from gold-plated reusable straws and feel good about themselves, or it can strive toward a more inclusive vision.”
