Full announcement from StopAVLBID:

A rally and speak out on the proposed Business Improvement District will be held today at 4 pm and throughout the city council meeting. Food will be served and an information table set up. Attendants are encouraged to bring musical instruments of all kinds. We encourage everyone who views the Business Improvement District as a usurpation of public space, a privatization of public service, and an undemocratic delegation of power and authority to the wealthy to come out and make their voice heard.

The BID proposed by city staff will impact both the downtown area encompassed and the surrounding Asheville neighborhoods. A coalition of concerned residents and activists are holding this rally to allow for voices marginalized by the debate to be heard. Concerns include increased taxation designated for use by unelected property owners, the anti-democratic origins of the proposal, the privatization of public space, and the private security functions of the BID.

StopAVLBID is an ad-hoc coalition of community members and includes activists working within the Occupy movement, local cooperatives, community media, downtown employees, anti-poverty advocates, and the Asheville Homeless Network.