City of Asheville documents
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In this July 26 letter, City Attorney Bob Oast requests that Buncombe County District Attorney Ron Moore release part of the undisclosed Asheville Police Department evidence room audit containing recommendations for improving the facility’s practices.
The request followed the July 24 Asheville City Council meeting, where auditor Mike Wright presented a report that showed the evidence room in deep disarray. At that meeting, APD Chief William Anderson noted that access to Wright’s recommendations could help his staff improve evidence room procedures.
Local media, including Xpress, have sued Moore and the city for their failure to release the audit. That lawsuit goes to court Sept. 4.
The contract for the audit of the Asheville Police Department’s evidence room.
The Asheville Police Department’s rules on vehicle pursuits.
PellyNeighborhoodsProposal.pdf
In these plans, six local organizations, including finalists Ponderwell and Xpress, present their ideas for providing community media services in response to the city of Asheville’s Request for Proposal.
These documents from the city of Asheville, including a summary of the April 12 closed session, an April 1 legal memo and a Dec. 14, 2010 legal update, reveal deliberations behind the settlement of a sexual harassment case by a former APD officer against her then-superior and the city of Asheville. The city settled the case for $52,100 and demanded the return of all documents given to the officer and her attorneys.
In 1981, Buncombe County, the city of Asheville and individual water districts in the county came together and created the Asheville/Buncombe Water Authority. In 1995, Henderson County joined in, creating a historic regional group. Here’s the 1996 “Restated and Amended Supplemental Agreement” to the previous year’s “Regional Water Supply and Water Service Agreement” adopted by Asheville, Buncombe and Henderson officials.
96agreement.pdf
In 1981, Buncombe County, the city of Asheville and individual water districts in the county came together and created the Asheville/Buncombe Water Authority. In 1995, Henderson County joined in, creating a historic regional group: Here’s the Regional Water Supply and Water Service Agreement adopted by Asheville, Buncombe and Henderson officials in 1995.
In 1981, Buncombe County, the city of Asheville and individual water districts in the county came together and created the Asheville/Buncombe Water Authority. Here’s the Supplemental Water Agreement signed in 1987.
About 25 local faith leaders and several Asheville City Council members gathered today, Jan. 25, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ to advocate for “full equality for all Asheville citizens.” The resolution pushed by the group — People of Faith for Just Relationships, whose members represent a variety of traditions — calls for City Council to take four specific actions, including “extending the city’s employment non-discrimination clause to include sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity or expression.”
Here’s the full resolution:
In 1994, the Asheville/Buncombe Water Authority, the city of Asheville and the county of Henderson entered into an historic regional water agreement. Here’s the text of that agreement.20110112_1994_Water_Agreement.pdf
In this 12-page set of guidelines, originally adopted in 1993 and updated in 2007, the Asheville Police Department spells out its policies on the use of force by officers, including deadly and non-deadly weapons, acceptable and unacceptable tactics and a review process.
Asheville City Council member Cecil Bothwell’s draft resolution for creating a public-financing option for municipal elections.
In this letter from City Attorney Bob Oast to Pack Conservancy Chair Guy Clerici, Oast writes that the Conservancy must work out a plan to pay about $2 million it owes the city of Asheville before it can take over management of the Pack Square Park.
This is the Conditional Zoning request for the Larchmont development submitted by Mountain Housing Opportunities.
The project proposes 60 residential rental units in two buildings and 71 parking spaces off East Larchmont on the east side of Merrimon Avenue and asks for zoning modifications for landscaping buffer, setback requirements and entrance location requirements.
Click here to see the Conditional Zoning request.
In February 2010, the Pack Square Conservancy gave its approval of the Asheville Art Museum’s design of a new glass structure that will serve as both a giant window onto the heart of downtown and an inviting entrance into the museum.
A large glass wall is the biggest outward change to the museum on Pack Square, but it’s just one part of a multi-million dollar renovation plan that will double the museum’s space in the Pack Place art center from 24,400 square feet to 50,900 square feet. The museum plans to transform its promenade, increase its permanent exhibition space and add a rooftop sculpture garden and cafe.
The plans call for the museum to move into the space now occupied by The Health Adventure science and health education center for children. The Health Adventure is currently building a new home for itself on Broadway called Momentum.
Work on the museum is scheduled to start about a year from now, and should be complete in 2013. The museum has been communicating with area businesses about construction plans. Downtown businesses have been affected by years of construction on the new $20 million Pack Square Park.
Click here to download a PDF of the museum’s announcement of its expansion plans.
This is a PowerPoint presentation by Asheville City Council member Gordon Smith supporting domestic partnership benefits for city employees included on the Feb. 9 Council agenda.
Click here to download a PDF of the presentation.
This is a study of the impacts of domestic partner benefits from Mecklenburg County government.
Click here to download a PDF of the study.
This is a report by the Alliance for Full Acceptance on the economic impact of South Carolina’s LGBT community and LGBT friendly tourism.
Click here to download a PDF of the report.
This is a Dec. 24 email from Council member Brownie Newman to Asheville City Attorney Bob Oast discussing the issue of financial conflicts of interest and recusal from Council votes.
Click here to download a PDF of the letter.
In 1999, neighbors living adjacent to former electroplating facility called CTS of Asheville discovered an oily substance in their drinking water. When the Environmental Protection Agency responded, they found levels of trichloroethylene, a toxic substance and suspected carcinogen, at 21,000 parts per billion: more than 4,000 times the safe standard for potable water.
Those neighbors have since switched to the city water supply, but the source — groundwater contamination that persists beneath the CTS site — has not been adequately addressed, according to some critics. A system designed to remove hazardous vapors from the soil was installed at the site in 2006, but contamination levels in the neighboring spring have measured higher in recent testing than previously detected.
“Despite being entered into the state’s superfund program in the early ‘90s, very little cleanup has been accomplished,” wrote Hartwell Carson, RiverLink’s French Broad Riverkeeper, in a Sept. 6 letter to Rep. Heath Shuler.
What follows is just a few of the hundreds of pages of documentation regarding the CTS of Asheville site.
• This page from a 1991 Environmental Protection Agency study summarizes the agency’s findings at the CTS of Asheville plant on Mills Gap Road in south Asheville. The final sentence, recommending “no further remedial action,” may seem perplexing, given the hazardous chemicals listed. According to the EPA, this evaluation was done to determine whether the site should be placed on the National Priorities List—a roster of the worst hazardous-waste sites in the nation. Based on sampling results, CTS of Asheville did not make the cut.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• This October 2007 letter from attorney William Clarke to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners outlines the clean-up action at the former CTS site. Clarke represents Mills Gap Road Associates, which bought the property from CTS Corporation in 1987.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
•This November 2007 letter from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Division of Waste Management to the chairman of the board of the CTS Corporation explains that hazardous substances from the site were released into the environment. The letter demands a full site assessment and outlines what’s required. The state says in the letter that “the Division considers the Site to be a high priority for assessment.”
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• This December 2007 letter from attorney William Clarke to attorney Gary Davis discusses details of Mills Gap Road Associates acquiring the former CTS property.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• This is attorney Gary Davis’ letter in response to attorney William Clarke’s letter regarding the sale of the former CTS property to The Biltmore Group.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• This is an August 1998 “notice of inactive hazardous substance or waste disposal site” from the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources to John Powell of law firm Powell & Deutsch.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• This is an August 1998 letter from the law firm Powell & Deutsch to the Superfund Section of the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources regarding a plat of the property.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• This is a December 1997 letter from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources to Mills Gap Road Associates, the owner of the former CTS plant property, notifying Mills Gap Road Associates that the state deems the property an inactive hazardous substance or waste disposal site.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• This May 1998 letter from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is a notification to Mills Gap Road Associates that the owner of the former CTS plant property had not yet responded to an order from the state requiring the group to submit and record a notice of inactive hazardous substance or waste disposal site.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• This April 1995 letter from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is a response to questions from Stan Greenburg, a member of the Mills Gap Road Associates and the owner of the former CTS plant site property. The letter lists concerns about concentrations of chemicals found in soil and surface water samples. “Due to these concerns, the site must remain on the Inactive Hazardous Sites Inventory until further investigation is conducted to determine the degree and extent of contamination at the site,” the letter states.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• This document contains background and history on the former CTS plant site. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This document is a map of the former CTS plant site. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• This fact sheet and frequently asked questions handout were distributed to residents living nearby the former CTS of Asheville site at an informational meeting held July 17, 2008, by the state Division of Waste Management. The Division is responsible for overseeing the remediation at CTS, a hazardous-waste site that is the source of ground-water contamination.
Click here to download a PDF of the FAQ. Click here to download a PDF of the fact sheet.
• This resolution, drafted by the county’s CTS citizen’s monitoring board in May 2008 for the county commissioners to sign, calls on the EPA and DENR not to let CTS go into “voluntary remediation,” a process that would likely leave taxpayers bearing most of the cost of cleaning up the contaminated former CTS of Asheville site. Some activists and members of the CTS monitoring board have asserted the county has ignored the resolution and not taken significant action to pressure the federal and state governments to speed up the clean up.
Click here to read the resolution. There were several documents provided as supporting documents to the resolution, including the following: Click here to read a letter summarizing the CTS situation; click here to read a letter from the Community Advisory Group to the state; click here to read a letter from the state to the federal Environmental Protection Agency; and click here to read state statutes regarding hazardous waste sites.
• In this April 9, 2009 draft agreement for a voluntary re-mediation deal on the contaminated CTS of Asheville site, the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources lays out the terms that the site’s owners will have to abide by: they must present a plan for cleanup and follow it. However, some local activists have criticized the plan, asserting that it will leave local taxpayers footing the bill, and delay the much-needed cleanup. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• This map, by local activists protesting local, state and federal officials’ handling of the cleanup of the contaminated CTS of Asheville site, shows over 70 cases of cancer within a mile and a half of the abandoned factory. They assert that these cases are caused by the presence of TCE, a suspected carcinogen, in the groundwater for many years. An official 2008 analysis by the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry covering a 1-mile radius around the site was found no increased rate of cancer, but was admittedly “very limited.” Click here to download a PDF of the map.
• In May 2009, a group of Asheville residents collected about 3,100 signatures on a petition demanding “full, proper and time-critical cleanup” of the CTS site in south Asheville. The 5-pound package was sent to North Carolina Gov. Beverly Purdue and the state’s Division of Waste Management.
Click here to see the letter accompanying the petition from the Community Action Group. Click here to see the Asheville City Council resolution supporting the petition. Click here to see the Buncombe County commissioners’ resolution supporting the petition.
Click here to the letter supporting full clean-up of the CTS site from the Limestone Council. Click here to see UNCA’s Student Senate letter in support.
U.S. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina sent a letter requesting an investigation into the EPA’s handling of the site over the past 20 years. Click here to see the letter.
• The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Inactive Hazardous Site division, released this August 2009 update on the CTS site off Mills Gap Road. DENR indicates the following: a Phase I report has found high levels of TCE in at least one monitoring well, state officials have delayed a decision on a clean-up agreement with CTS until the Environmental Protection Agency decides whether to list the site on the National Priorities List, and a link to state/federal responses to questions posed by residents at a Buncombe County Commissioners meeting earlier this year. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
The 516-page Phase I report can be found at http://www.wastenotnc.org/CTSMillsGapRoad/.
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Click here to download a PDF of the document
A lawsuit filed in response to a 2007 decision by Asheville City Council to annex the Biltmore Lake subdivision in Enka will be heard in Buncombe County Superior Court on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
The 2007 action was stalled by a petition from residents, who have not had to pay city property taxes in the intervening time.
The group Biltmore Lake Community Action Committee, through the site StopAsheville has been crusading against the annexation, and lobbied for approval of an annexation moratorium by the N.C. General Assembly.
Click here to download a PDF of the lawsuit.
Asheville City Council began its annual planning process Jan. 8, 2010, with a stark assessment from the city’s top management: The recession has exposed “structural weaknesses in the city’s financial foundation” that will require a long-term City Council strategy to repair.
In a white paper titled “Asheville, NC 2010: A Financial Crossroads,” City Manager Gary Jackson and the city’s top managers lay out the city’s history. The report, drawn up last Ocotober, explains how factors such as annexation, population growth and state and local tax structures have impacted city finances. The managers’ aim was to detail the disparity between the city’s goals and the funding it has to execute those goals. The seven-member City Council, which includes three new first-time members, plans to discuss the report on Jan. 9 as part of its retreat meeting.
Click here to download a PDF of the white paper.
Click here to download a PDF that shows the city’s strategic plans and the estimated cost of implementing each plan.
In April 2009, the city of Asheville presented the results of a consultant’s study of the Asheville Transit System. Click here to download a PDF of a document showing the proposed changes to the city’s transit system.
Click here to download a PDF of the executive summary of the consultant’s study.
Click here to download a PDF of the recommended improvements to Asheville’s transit system.
The Asheville Planning and Zoning Commission recently voted to recommend that Asheville City Council approve the state minimum of a 30-foot stream buffer for all developments that disturb more than an acre of land.
Click here to download a PDF of the N.C. Buffer Table. Click here to download a graph showing the relationship between buffer width and its efficiency in removing pollutants from water.
Here’s a look at some of the key dates in the history of the Parkside condo project. Critics have decried Parkside’s proximity to City Hall and the new Pack Square Park, as well as Buncombe County’s low-profile sale of public parkland to Parkside’s developer.
The documents are culled from hundreds of pages of documents obtained under North Carolina’s open-records law by Mountain Xpress and People Advocating Real Conservancy, a local watchdog group.
Nov. 21, 2006: The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners sells an alley and a slice of land adjacent to the Hayes & Hopson Building to developer Stewart Coleman‘s Black Dog Realty for $322,000. The action is taken as part of the consent agenda. No public comment is taken at the time of the sale. The usual public notice is given of the sale, and there are no upset bids. Coleman had already bought the Hayes & Hopson Building from Wallace Hyde, who notified the commissioners of the sale in March of 2006. (The county had previously held discussions with Hyde about buying the building.) Coleman plans to build a mixed-use, 11-story structure with retail space downstairs and residential condos above.
Click here to download a PDF of the minutes of the county board’s meeting.
Click here to download a PDF of the county’s resolution to sell the property, as well as the signed deed.
May 30, 2007: Assistant City Manager Jeff Richardson sends an e-mail to city staff members alerting them that Pack Square Conservancy Chairwoman Carol King had called him because she was upset at the county’s sale of property to Coleman.
Click here to download a PDF of Richardson’s e-mail.
June 2007: Buncombe County appraises the land bought by Coleman at $600,000. Black Dog Realty appeals the valuation, and the tax office resets it at $306,000 as of Jan. 1, 2006 (the effective date of the last revaluation). The change saves Black Dog Realty about $3,200 a year in taxes, according to the tax office.
July 2007: As public concern about the sale of the land sale to Coleman grows, Mountain Xpress quotes an e-mail from Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Vice Chair David Gantt to a concerned resident. “I had no idea that the land mentioned was in the park when the [Board of Commissioners] voted to sell it. It was billed as the old jail site when presented to us,” wrote Gantt, adding, “We screwed up when that land was sold.”
July 31, 2007: Handwritten notes from Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene detail a March 6, 2007, meeting she had with Coleman and his attorney, former Asheville Mayor Lou Bissette. Also present were members of the Downtown Commission and the Pack Square Conservancy, a local nonprofit charged with overseeing the creation of Pack Square Park. The meeting notes show that the group discussed a road requested by fire officials that would run in front of the proposed Parkside building, as well as other details about the building. The group also included conservancy board members Carol King and Karen Tessier and Executive Director Marilyn Geiselman. The meeting notes also include this statement: “In May, the conservation [sic] seemed publicly surprised SC was planning this building.”
Aug. 3, 2007: A large magnolia tree on the parcel sold to Coleman is the focus of a ceremony by a group of about 30 chanting Wiccans, who encircle the tree. Coven Oldenwilde’s members say the event is aimed at strengthening the tree against removal.
In a Sept. 20, 2007, e-mail, Assistant County Attorney Michael Frue advised County Manager Wanda Greene on how to present the Buncombe County commissioners’ stance on the Parkside proposal to the Pack Square Conservancy.
Sept. 28, 2007: Heirs of George W. Pack file a lawsuit against Coleman and Buncombe County for having violated the terms of Pack’s 1901 gift. Pack conveyed land to the county in two deeds executed in 1901. One of them stipulates that if the land were ever sold for private use, it would revert to Pack family ownership. The county maintains that its right to sell the land was based on the second deed, which may have removed the covenants included in the first one.
Click here to download a PDF of the lawsuit.
Oct. 15, 2007: Coleman sends and e-mail to Asheville city planner Alan Glines that outlines delays in his project review by the Pack Square Conservancy.
Click here to download a PDF of Coleman’s e-mail.
Sept. 20, 2007: In an e-mail to the county manager, Assistant County Attorney Michael C. Frue confirms Greene’s memory of the county board’s position on the Parkside proposal. Frue writes, “I think it is common knowledge that the County would like to see Coleman’s project in principal [sic] move forward (we sold him the land and had the PSC concept plan in mind when doing so), and, yes, the final decision rests with the City as to exact location/orientation, height, access, etc.” Frue goes on to tell Greene that in talking with Pack Square Conservancy attorney Rick Daniels, “Maybe the way to approach it is to tell Daniels that the County supports Coleman’s project (nice new building, replacing H&H, and tax revenue, etc.) but given the current public sentiment and media focus, the ball is in PSC’s court. And, their decision might have a bearing on future funding.”
Oct. 18, 2007: Downtown Commission Chair Pat Whalen sends an e-mail to commission members proposing that the city swap land with Coleman to relocate his building. “It is the Commission’s recommendation that given the potential unfortunate long-term effect on the aesthetics and usability of the Pack Square Park, it would be advisable to either close and convey a portion of Marjorie Street or air rights over Marjorie Street, if necessary, to avoid inappropriate construction on the Parkside site.”
Oct. 22, 2007: In a presentation to the Pack Square Conservancy, Coleman says he proposed a land exchange in July and that the Asheville City Council, meeting in closed session, turned down the idea.
Nov. 7, 2007: The conservancy’s Design Review Committee finds that the Parkside project fails to meet Pack Square design guidelines because of its proposed height (11 stories) and the fact that it would obstruct the view corridor running from the Vance Monument to City Hall.
Nov. 9, 2007: The Downtown Commission approves a resolution asking City Council “to act expeditiously” to pursue a land swap with Coleman.
Click here to download a PDF of a letter sent to the Downtown Commission by attorney Patsy Brison on behalf of Coleman’s Black Dog Realty and Swag Holdings companies regarding the Parkside proposal. The letter states that her client understands the mandatory review process by the Downtown Commission, but explains that “It is our opinion that the project is not subject to the Pack Square Agreement and not subject to review by the Pack Square Conservancy Board or any other board under the “Pack Square Design Guidelines.”
Feb. 8, 2008: The Downtown Commission endorses plans for the Parkside project.
Click here to download a PDF of the minutes of the Downtown Commission’s Feb. 8 meeting.
Click here to download a PDF of the Parkside architect’s formal submission to the Downtown Commission.
March 17, 2008: Asheville’s Technical Review Committee, which considers a proposed project’s compliance with the city’s rules, approves Parkside plans.
March 18, 2008: In a letter to City Council, the Asheville Tree Commission “recommends that City Council take another look at means to protect the magnolia tree in Pack Square due to the importance of the tree as an historical symbol to Asheville and because it is intended to be removed for private purposes versus public use.”
March 29, 2008: Coleman sends an e-mail to the members of the Pack Square Conservancy board regarding construction staging for his Parkside building. In the e-mail, Coleman notifies the board members that the county “has issued an affidavit for issuance of a “Temporary Construction Easement” for the development of the proposed Parkside Condominium.” The affidavit was signed by the county March 11. Coleman goes on to write: “Fred Bonci has reviewed the proposed staging plan and has said that it will not interfere with Valley Crest construction schedule and the ability to complete work on the south edge of McGuire Green.”
In a responding e-mail, conservancy Chairwoman Carol King expresses her displeasure with the announcement, adding that she told Commissioner David Gantt “that I feel like an abused dog. I feel like we’re walking up TO THE owner of this property with a $20M gift in our hand and the owner of the property just walks out the front door, lifts up his leg, and gives that dog a great big ole kick in the belly ... repeatedly.”
April 1, 2008: Nathan Ramsey, chairman of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, sends an e-mail to County Manager Wanda Greene and fellow commissioners asking about discussions the board had held regarding purchase of the Hayes & Hopson building. Greene responds with a summary, and notes that the Pack Square Conservancy hasn’t had a budget approved by commissioners for several years. “I’ll make some arrangements to get them to come in with the quarterly update in the near future,” Greene writes.
Click here to download a PDF of the e-mail exchange.
April 2, 2008: The Asheville Planning and Zoning Commission fails to endorse the 11-story building on a 3-3 vote following a four-hour meeting.
Click here to download a PDF of the Parkside project summary submitted to the planning and zoning commission, as well as the Parkside architect’s response to some of the issues city staff raised about it.
May 27, 2008: Coleman informs city planning staff that he plans to change his building’s design. The new structure will be nine stories tall, dropping the total square footage to 99,380—below the threshold that would trigger City Council review.
June 11, 2008: Asheville City Council votes 7-0 in support of a resolution objecting to the 2006 sale of parkland to developer Stewart Coleman by Buncombe County. Though the resolution is not legally binding, Council members hope it will send a message that county commissioners were remiss in selling the property.
Click here to download a PDF of the resolution.
June 24, 2008: In this resolution, passed unanimously by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, the board urges the city of Asheville to pursue a land swap with developer Stewart Coleman to get back parkland that the county sold to Coleman in 2006. The resolution calls for paying the city for the appraised value of any parkland gained if they go through with the land swap. If the city doesn’t go through with the swap, the resolution states the county’s commitment to trying to get the land back through other methods.
Click here to download a PDF of the resolution.
Aug. 7, 2008: In this letter, Coleman notifies demonstrators who have been keeping an eye on the magnolia tree on the parcel of land in question that he plans to remove the tree sometime after 35 days from the date of the letter.
Click here to download a PDF of the letter.
Sept. 12: Superior Court Judge Marlene Hyatt enters her order of summary judgment in the case of the Pack heirs lawsuit against Black Dog Realty and Buncombe County, finding in favor of the Pack heirs.
Click here to download a PDF of the judge’s order.
Oct. 8, 2009: In this letter, a representative for Coleman notifies the city that he is withdrawing his permit for the condo project, effectively ending construction plans for Parkside.
Click here to download a PDF of the letter.
This September 2009 document created by the Buncombe County Board of Elections is a reminder for candidates and media representatives of the 2009 election schedule, as well as some basic rules regarding the election. The document also contains a sample ballot. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
A woman was stabbed and killed on Sunday, Aug. 16, in the Montford community. Click here to download a PDF of the Asheville Police Department report of the incident.
Asheville police charged Charles Alexander Diez, an Asheville firefighter since 1992, with attempted first-degree murder after he allegedly fired on cyclist Alan Simons with a .38 caliber handgun on July 26. The bullet ripped through the lining of Simons’ helmet and, according to police, came within less than an inch of striking him in the head.
A grand jury subsequently lowered the charge to a felony assault charge that carries a much lower potential penalty. Click here to read the Asheville Police Department’s report of the incident.
Asheville City Council is seeking federal economic stimulus funding for a number of projects. This June 2009 staff report updates the city’s efforts in three areas. First, the city is looking for grant money to create 10 handicapped accessible units in the Aston Park Towers public housing complex. Second, staff is asking for the OK to apply for a construction grant to build one new fire station and renovate another. Third, city staffers want permission to seek energy efficiency and conservation funding.
Click here to download a copy of the city staff report.
Whether you’re a an Asheville developer, a homeowner using water or dead and looking to be buried in Riverside Cemetery, the cost of living in Asheville is going up.
Wednesday, July 1, starts the new fiscal year for local government. After facing an initial budget shortfall of more than $5 million, Asheville City Council put together a spending plan that holds the line on property taxes while maintaining core services. How did City Council do it? In general, council’s strategy was to cut some city positions, put off spending on capital projects, freeze city workers’ salaries, slash over-time spending and raise fees.
Click here to download a PDF of the fee changes.
These reports from the Asheville Police Department include all the incidents the APD qualified as “gang related” from July to November 2008, ranging from fraud and vandalism to burglary and armed robbery.
Click here to see reports from July 2008.
Click here to see reports from August 2008.
Click here to see reports from September 2008.
Click here to see reports from October 2008.
Click here to see reports from November 2008.
Click here to see reports from December 2008.
The Asheville Board of Realtors spent $2.1 million to buy a building on Montford Avenue for new offices. The April 7, 2009, purchase has rankled some members of the organization, who say they had no idea the board had such deep reserves and shouldn’t be spending that much money in a down real estate market.
Click here to download a PDF of the deed of the property transaction.
Click here to download a PDF of the Asheville Board of Realtors’ IRS 990 form for the 2007 fiscal year.
After years of complaints, Asheville City Council is poised to put teeth in a towing ordinance.
On March 24, City Council will consider adopting a local law regulating “non-consensual towing.” Elected officials have struggled over the years to find an effective way to regulate local towing companies that many believe take advantage of illegal parkers by charging charging exorbitant fees and making it difficult to pay.
Click here to read the towing ordinance.
Five months before a devastating March 19 fire destroyed the Richmond Hill Inn’s historic mansion, legal battles had been heating up between the current and former owners of the property. The fire was intentionally set, according to investigators.
William Gray bought the property in 2005 for $10.4 million from owners Albert and Marge Michel of Greensboro. The Michels bought the property in the mid 1980s from the Preservation Society of Asheville and brought the property back to life. Over the years the original structure, built in 1889 as a private home for ambassador and congressman Richmond Pearson, had fallen into disrepair.
But Gray fell behind on an owner-financed $8.8 million deed of trust with the Michels, who initiated foreclosure proceedings. A notice filed in Buncombe County District Court on Oct. 29, 2008, stated that Gray still owed $6.9 million.
The day before the foreclosure hearing notice — Oct. 28, 2008 — Gray filed his own civil lawsuit against the Michels. Gray alleged fraud in the suit, stating that the Michels hadn’t disclosed the fact that the plumbing system for the mansion and guest cottages had been experiencing hundreds of leaks. The problems with the polybutylene pipes that comprise the plumbing system were discovered in 2006, according to Gray’s lawsuit. The defendants denied the allegations. Click here to read Gray’s original complaint.
In a separate foreclosure proceeding, county officials were seeking to recoup $64,000 in unpaid property taxes for 2008, according to Buncombe County Tax Director Gary Roberts. Click here to see the tax documents.
On March 16, three days before the blaze, another notice was filed in court announcing that the Richmond Hill Inn property would be sold on the steps of the Buncombe County Courthouse to the highest bidder. The date of the sale was set for 10 a.m. on April 16. Click here to read the foreclosure petition; click here to read the order allowing foreclosure sale; and click here to read the notice of the sale of the Richmond Hill Inn on the courthouse steps.
Click here to read the report of the last inspection of the Richmond Hill Inn property by the Asheville fire marshal’s office.
Click here to read the company’s federal bankruptcy filing, and click here to read a companion filing here listing the top 20 creditors.
Responding to complaints about predatory towing in downtown Asheville, Asheville police parked a decoy car as bait Saturday night on Lexington Avenue, then reeled in their catch.
Police charged two men, 25-year-old Trevor Kyle Ballinger (pictured on left), and 32-year-old Leonard Tobias Best, of All-Safe Towing & Recovery, with obtaining property by false pretense after police say they illegally towed a vehicle from the parking lot at 93 N. Lexington Ave.
Officers parked a vehicle in the lot about 10:30 p.m. Saturday and put $3 into a parking lot collection box. The lot works on an honor system, so parkers don’t get a receipt after paying. Police watched the car, and saw the All-Safe employees tow it away at 11:51 p.m. Police stopped the tow truck on Hill Street and made the arrests.
Click here to see the arrest report.
This document contains a survey that the city of Asheville will circulate in April to gauge citizens’ opinions of the city’s performance. Developed by the National Research Center, Inc. and the International City/County Management Association, the National Citizen SurveyTM, hits on a wide variety of topics, from transportation to crime to general demographics. Alongside the mailer, the NRC will conduct 400 phone interviews.
Click here to download a PDF of the staff report to Asheville City Council regarding the survey.
This February 2009 staff report to Asheville City Council lays out plans for the 2009 edition of Bele Chere, Asheville’s annual street party.
Click here to download a PDF of the staff report.
This draft of Asheville’s Downtown Master Plan will be officially unveiled at a Jan. 12, 2009, meeting of the Downtown Master Plan Advisory Committee.
Drawn up by Massachusetts-based consulting firm Goody Clancy at a cost of $170,000 in taxpayers’ money, the plan and the process of developing it have at times been controversial. The roll-out date for the final plan was pushed back four months in September 2008, and rifts in the advisory committee compelled the city to bring in a mediator. In late July 2008, a series of public meetings held by Goody Clancy revealed many divisions within the community about the plan.
Click here to download pages 1 through 44 of the Downtown Master Plan. Click here to download pages 45 through 88 of the plan.
Click here to download the first 19 pages of the Downtown Master Plan appendices. Click here to download pages 20 through 40 of the plan’s appendices. Click here to download the final section of appendices.
• In this January 2009 response to development activist Steve Rasmussen‘s criticisms of the Downtown Master Plan, the Goody Clancy team of consultants—who developed the $170,000 plan—released this rebuttal, asserting that the plan promotes smarter, greener growth, requires more public input in development and has plenty of “teeth” to enforce design guidelines. Click here to download a PDF of the rebuttal.
• This is a report prepared by Asheville city staff and Goody Clancy applying several existing buildings and proposals, such as the BB&T and the Ellington, to the design guidelines of the draft downtown master plan. It was presented to the Downtown Commission and Downtown Master Plan Advisory Committee on Feb. 5, 2009. Click here to see the report.
• These proposed revisions to the draft Downtown Master Plan were sent to the planning team on Feb. 12. Click here to view the document.
Here are excerpts from some of the letters written by students in grades K-5 at Isaac Dickson Elementary. Click here to read the letters.
• The latest round of work began in the summer of 2008 on Pack Square Park. Construction fencing, which surrounds the park, will be used as “a big palate, a big canvas,” according to conservancy spokeswoman Donna Clark.
To see what some of the signs on the fencing will look like, click here to download a PDF of the documents.”
• On Jan. 7, 2009, the Pack Square Conservancy agreed to reschedule the construction of the park’s planned pavilion. Click here to read the board’s motion regarding the pavilion.
The Interstate 26 Connector project has been in the works for nearly two decades. State Department of Transportation officials say they plan to announce their decision the the preferred route for the highway project in fall 2009.
The connector project will create a new highway crossing the French Broad River, widen Interstate 240 in West Asheville and change the configuration of the I-26/I-40/I-240 interchange, known as “Malfunction Junction.” Construction is scheduled to begin in 2013, and the estimated cost could run anywhere from $500 million to more than $800 million, depending on which route the DOT decides to use.
Burton Street Impacts of Alternative 3
This powerpoint slideshow put together by Asheville Design Center Chair Joe Minicozzi shows impacts of I-26 connector alternative 3, including the demolition of 24 houses in the mostly African-American Burton Street neighborhood. The Asheville Design Center is pushing for alternative 4b, designed by their planners, which does not involve residential displacement.
Click here to download a PDF of the slideshow.
Resolution of support for Alternative 3
In this Chamber of Commerce Resolution, dating from Nov. 25, the chamber lays out the history of plans to build an I-26 connector, before siding with alternative 3, claiming it will minimize impact on areas such as Montford, provide opportunities on the east side of the river and shorten driving time.
Click here to download a PDF of the resolution.
Shuford report
Click here to download a PDF of a report by former Asheville city planner Scott Shuford to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners comparing the various alternatives. Click here to see a letter by Shuford explaining his comparison.
Johnson critique of Shuford report
In this brief critique of former Asheville Planning Director Scott Shuford‘s assessment of the I-26 alternatives, Dr. David Johnson, a professional planner and professor emeritus of planning at the University of Tennessee, asserts that Shuford’s report is “incomplete” and leaves out several key factors. Johnson’s report endorses the community-developed alternative 4b.
Click here to download a PDF of the critique.
The mayors of North Carolina’s 26 largest cities released a list of “shovel-ready” projects Friday, saying the construction of roads, public buildings and other infrastructure projects would create 100,000 jobs. Asheville’s list of ready-to-go infrastructure ranged from a $4 million Hendersonville Road sidewalk project to $80,000 for bike racks and lockers. Upgrades to city parks to make them handicapped accessible would cost $1.4 million, while $700,000 would pay for four water pumping stations for the city.
Click here and here to see Asheville’s entire list.
In the November 2008 elections, Asheville City Council member Holly Jones ran for, and won, a seat on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. The win created a vacancy on City Council. Council members decided to fill the position by accepting applications, then interviewing a select few and picking one person to fill Jones’ unexpired term.
What follows are the individual applications from each applicant:
• Catherine Alter
Click here to view the document.
• Charles W. “Chuck” Archerd
Click here to view the document.
• Malcolm F. Arthur
Click here to view the document.
• Randall Barnett
Click here to view the document.
• Dana W. Bierce
Click here to view the document.
• Keith V. Blankenship
Click here to view the document.
• Cecil Bothwell
Click here to view the document.
• Jenny G. Bowen
Click here to view the document.
• Brian Bradley
Click here to view the document.
• Bill Branyon
Click here to view the document.
• Claude Jeffery Chandler
Click here to view the document.
• Anthony Alan Coxie
Click here to view the document.
• Abigail Emison
Click here to view the document.
• Sylvia E. Farrington
Click here to view the document.
• Clifford O. Feingold, DDS
Click here to view the document.
• Linda S. Fowler
Click here to view the document.
• Bryan Freeborn
Click here to view the document.
• Phillip H. Gray
Click here to view the document.
• Lisa-Gaye Hall
Click here to view the document.
• Spencer Ellis Hardaway
Click here to view the document.
• Phillip Hardin
Click here to view the document.
• Ed Hay
Click here to view the document.
• Rebecca Hecht
Click here to view the document.
• Jan Howard
Click here to view the document.
• Charlie Hume
Click here to view the document.
• George E. Keller
Click here to view the document.
• Michael R. Kerr
Click here to view the document.
• Kathryn Liss
Click here to view the document.
• Esther Elizabeth Manheimer
Click here to view the document.
• Jay Marino
Click here to view the document.
• Catherine S. Martin
Click here to view the document.
• Barber H. Melton
Click here to view the document.
• William C. Meredith
Click here to view the document.
• Kelly Miller
Click here to view the document.
• Suzanne Molloy
Click here to view the document.
• Duane Nix
Click here to view the document.
• John M. Noce
Click here to view the document.
• James W. Oglesby
Click here to view the document.
• John Quinn
Click here to view the document.
• Jason Rector
Click here to view the document.
• Richard Sandoval
Click here to view the document.
• David Schulman
Click here to view the document.
• Gordon D. Smith
Click here to view the document.
• Glenda P. Weinert
Click here to view the document.
• Linda Carol Williams
Click here to view the document.
• Brian P. Woods
Click here to view the document.
• John R. Yarnall
Click here to view the document.
Here’s the Asheville City Council’s action agenda for its Nov. 11, 2008, meeting. Agenda items include a transit commission update, a fuel update, and consideration of a conditional use permit for the project identified as Haywood Park Mixed-use Redevelopment Project, with 130,000 square feet of retail, office and ballroom
space, 200 hotel rooms and 100 condominium units, located at 1 and 35 Battery Park.
The action agenda is intended to provide readers with an overview of the council meeting and any decisions that were made. Click here to view the document.
Here’s the Asheville City Council’s action agenda for its Oct. 14, 2008, meeting. Items included a fuel update, a public hearing to consider conditional zoning for a proposed hotel and restaurant on Biltmore Avenue and a resolution of appreciation to the N.C. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration for support in the evaluation of a proposed route for the Interstate 26 Connector Project.
Click here to view the action agenda.
-Here’s the City Council action agenda for its Oct. 28, 2008, meeting. Click here to view the document.
Two economists delivered an annual assessment of the Asheville metro area’s economy on July 23, 2008.
Despite the longest-running financial panic in the U.S. since the Great Depression, Asheville and its strong health-services and tourism sectors continue to see sustained economic growth, two economists said Thursday night.
Tom Tveidt, director of the Asheville Metro Business Research Center and national expert James F. Smith, chief economist for Parsec Financial Management and a professor at Western Carolina University’s Institute for the Economy and the Future, painted a mostly upbeat economic picture, or at least a glass-half-full view of what’s happening.
Asheville’s economy continues to be powered by 51 straight months of record-setting job growth through the first half of 2008, Tveidt said, with 3,700 new net jobs added over the past year. There’s been a decline in home sales and home construction, but annual home-appreciation rates remain strong at 4.5 percent, he said.
Tveidt broke down Asheville’s strongest economic sectors: population growth and the industry serving new residents, professional and business services and manufacturing, along with health services and tourism. Smith provided a big-picture view of the national economy.
Click here to download a PDF that summarizes Tveidt’s presentation.
Click here to download a PDF of Tveidt’s slide presentation.
These plans for the Haywood Park development — to include a hotel, condominiums, retail space and a parking deck — show the downtown area included in the plans, as well as renderings and aerial views of what the final project would look like.
Click here to download a PDF of the documents.
This 1998 report, titled “Economic Impact of Convention and Conference Centers,” was presented by Steven Spickard at the 2nd Annual Conference of the National Council for Urban Economic Development.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This June 2006 letter from the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to Asheville City Council states the county’s position that it is still interested in negotiating an agreement regarding water services in the region. The city terminated the water agreement in 2005.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This document is a manual for people volunteering for the Asheville Parks and Recreation Department.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This may report to Asheville City Council offers updated information pertaining to child pornography and internet predator investigations and initiatives by the Asheville Police Department.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This April 2, 2008, staff report to Asheville’s Planning and Zoning Commission provides an overview of the controversial proposal to build an 11-story condominium building next to Pack Square Park. The project, known as Parkside, was scheduled to be considered by Asheville City Council on June 10.
After examining the project, city staff recommended that Planning and Zoning approve the project, but with three conditions: that the building height be reduced by one floor; that the project seek LEED certification at the basic level; and that the project support community affordable-housing goals either directly or indirectly. The commission issued a tie vote on the proposal, with members voting 3-3 after a four-hour meeting.
City staff plans to make the same recommendation to City Council at its June 10 meeting.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This e-mail exchange, dated May 27, 2008, explains that the developer of the Parkside project, Stewart Coleman, wants to take two stories off the project, making it small enough that Council will not review it.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This May 27, 2008, staff report to Asheville City Council includes a resolution that explains how the City of Asheville approaches annexation, and how a proposed moratorium on involuntary annexation would impact the city. A state House committee is considering an annexation moratorium bill that would put a moratorium in effect until June 30, 2009. The city is opposed to the House bill.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This document, produced by the Asheville Humane Society, outlines the organization’s case for a new adoption center. In the fall of 2007, the Asheville Humane Society and Buncombe County broke ground for a new animal-adoption center at Pond Road, off Brevard Road in the vicinity of the WNC Farmers Market.
The joint venture will consist of two separate facilities on the same site, a county-managed animal shelter and an adoption-and-education center run by the nonprofit. Construction of the county’s building is due to begin next spring, according to Planning Director Jon Creighton.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
The Asheville Civic Center Commission studied various aspects of the needs regarding the aging Civic Center in downtown Asheville.
This February 2005 document outlines the infrastructure needs of the Civic Center. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This is a 2006 resolution recommending that the Civic Center director, Asheville city manager and City Council move ahead with repairs to the Civic Center roof. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This December 2006 resolution adopts an “action plan” for Civic Center repairs and maintenance. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This document sets out a list of advantages and disadvantages regarding options for the future of the Asheville Civic Center. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This 2006 document outlines the economic impact of the Asheville Civic Center. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This May 13, 2008, staff report to Asheville City Council offers a third update on strategic goals that Council outlined in January 2007. As background, the report notes: “City Council has asked city staff to provide quarterly updates on key strategic initiatives associated with the eight priority areas reflected in the City’s Strategic Plan. Staff has tracked projects using performance indicators and measurements through the third quarter of FY 07-08.” The report updates items such as community-policing efforts and employment statistics for Asheville.
to download a PDF of the document.
This staff report and proposed ordinance, dated May 13, 2008, outlines considerations for regulating digital billboards in Asheville. The ordinance, which City Council approved, outlines rules governing everything from size and height to brightness and the duration of the changing content.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This document is the third-quarter financial report for the city of Asheville. The report gives a snapshot of the city’s financial health through March 2008 of its current fiscal year, which ends June 30. According to the report, city staff is estimating that the 2007-08 fiscal year’s revenue will exceed budget by $424,000. Expenditures are expected to come under budget by $515,000, according to the report, due mainly to attrition and other cost savings.
Click here to download a PDF of the report.
For almost 10 years, Asheville Planning and Development staff have been compiling a “book of interpretations” — a collection of memos, letters and e-mails containing discussions on how to apply the city’s Unified Development Ordinance. At more than 170 pages, the book is used as a guide for special cases where the UDO may not be clear enough or even contain contradictions. Here are a few documents from the book that show the complexities faced by the planning staff.
1) Sept. 8, 2006: This memo illustrates the complexity and contradictions that are found when interpreting the UDO, as a staffer admits to “maybe serious errors” and says going back to make corrections could result in a “huge” impact. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
2) Dec. 3, 1999: This memo, inquiring if children’s playhouses should be regulated, includes a small missive from then-planner Gerald Green on a “special place” for people who don’t like kids and dogs. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
3) Jan. 7, 2003: Crematories, according to then-Planning Director Scott, are accessory uses for a funeral home. In this memo, staff refers directly to the interpretation book. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
4) Oct. 4, 2004: Planning staff find out after the fact that property sold by City Council member Brownie Newman to McKern Contracting did not conform to a 50-foot width rule. Development Services Director Joe Heard admits that “there’s no way for us to go back and force multiple owners to correct the situation.” Click here to download a PDF of the document.
5) June 26, 2007: This discussion, vie e-mail, about short-term rentals in the planned Zona Lofts development, ends with a note that such decisions are sometimes made by the developer or homeowners’ association. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This August 2007 staff report to Asheville City Council outlines a proposal for traffic calming along Maxwell Street in Asheville to minimize truck traffic. The runs behind Greenlife Grocery, and residents have been complaining to Council for several years about delivery-truck traffic disrupting their residential street.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
Asheville City Council and city staff started talking about selling off certain city-owned parcels of property in 2006. This April 2008 report to Council outlines the next possible steps for the redevelopment of some of the properties.
Click here to download a PDF of the report.
This March 2008 report to Asheville City Council complies information about the city’s towing ordinance in anticipation that Council might make changes to the present rules. The report includes discussion of required formats for parking -ot signs, maps showing where the city towing ordinance applies and sample letters sent to property owners, tow-truck operators and sign shops.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
An April 2008 report from city staff to Asheville City Council explains the need to streamline the city’s complicated Unified Development Ordinance.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This April 15, 2008, report to Asheville City Council is an update on the implementation of the city’s new stormwater ordinance. It includes an itemized list of the developers and property owners who have been fined under the ordinance.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This April report to Asheville City Council from the Pritchard Park Committee is the culmination of a year’s work to study the downtown park’s usage, as well as possible programming for it.
The committee, some of whose members are also members of the newly formed Friends of Pritchard Park, dubbed their program proposal the Pritchard Park Cultural Arts Program. “In general, the Committee proposes: using a nonprofit ‘Friends of’ group to fund-raise for the program; to fully develop the program’s parameters using information gleaned form the Pritchard Park Committee process; and to hire a professional arts administrator to activate and promote diverse and regular programming in the park. The first two items are well underway; the third item would come later in the process,” according to the report.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This document put out by the Homeless Coalition, a partnership of local agencies, counts 509 homeless people in Asheville on Jan. 30, 2008, with further breakdowns by income, time spent homeless and other factors.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
The city of Asheville released its annual water quality report in March 2008. The federally mandated report card aims to educate customers on what’s in their drinking water and will be distributed in customers’ bills.
According to the report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found that city’s drinking water meets or exceeds all safe drinking water standards.
Click here to download a PDF of the report.
At its March 25, 2008, meeting, Asheville City Council agreed to accept a parking study prepared by consultant Kimley-Horne. The study sets out where future parking needs will be the greatest in Asheville’s central business district and offers suggestions for improvements, such as more security in parking decks and better signage. Here’s a summary of the study that was presented to Council.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
The Mountain Area Information Network, a local Internet service provider, is planning to use what’s known as a “mesh network” to cover the city with wireless access to the Web. The key benefits, according to Wally Bowen, MAIN’s executive director, include affordable access and economic development.
This document sets forth MAIN’s proposal, as presented to Asheville City Council on March 25, 2008. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
Few Asheville trees have attracted as much attention as the magnolia located on a parcel of downtown parkland that was sold to developer Stewart Coleman, which is at the center of a debate surrounding that controversial land deal.
It’s also become the symbolic center of a mini culture war of sorts between a Pagan group, Coven Oldenwilde, and a conservative political group, the Carolina Stompers. Last summer, the coven held a ceremony to protect the tree from being removed to make way for a condominum building. They encircled it, chanting spells — called “barbarous words of power” — that they said were meant to keep the tree safe from harm.
In this March 18, 2008, letter, the Asheville Tree Commission takes note of the 100-year-old flowering tree’s historic significance and recommends that Council “take another look at means to protect the magnolia tree in Pack Square due to the importance of the tree as an historical symbol to Asheville and because it is intended to be removed for private purposes versus public use.”
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This March 2008 staff report from City Attorney Bob Oast to Asheville City Council explains what it would take to enact a moratorium on downtown development in Asheville.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
A city of Asheville staff report on City Council work sessions; after abandoning such sessions for a while, in March 2008, Council returned to holding one a month.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This March 18, 2008 letter from Asheville City Council was delivered to members of the N.C. House Select Committee on Municipal Annexation, which held a public hearing in Asheville to listen to residents’ thoughts and concerns regarding the state’s annexation laws.
The letter states, in part: “With respect to the City of Asheville, we believe annexation is an important growth management tool because our city lacks the incentives other cities in the State of North Carolina have to ensure steady, sustainable growth. Specifically, due to legislation known as the Sullivan Acts, Asheville is unable to require annexation as a condition of water service.”
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This March 2008 letter from the ACLU to Asheville Assistant City Attorney Curt Euler outlines the ACLU’s stance on the Asheville Police Department’s policy of publicizing prostitution arrests.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This February 1964 report on the local racial situation was prepared by Asheville’s then-Mayor Earl Eller and a local attorney, William E. Greene, who was chair of the Asheville Area Council on Human Relations. Prepared for the N.C. Mayors Cooperating Committee, the document offers a stark summary of the advances — and ongoing barriers — in the push for desegregation.
That state-level committee was created in 1963 by Gov. Terry Sanford, who grappled with racial progress and unrest at the height of the civil-rights movement. Its objective: to promote an orderly, negotiated end to segregation in the state’s major cities and towns. The Asheville report reflected fewer problems than were reported in other parts of the state, but still noted that much work remained to be done to ensure equal rights for the town’s black citizens. The document offers a snapshot of the state of civil rights in Asheville, circa 1964.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This Feb. 13, 2008, notice from the city of Asheville’s Planning and Zoning Department informs the owners of a house on South French Broad Avenue that tenants of the home are violating a city code. “The nature of the violation is operating a house of worship,” it states.
The Rev. Amy Cantrell and the Rev. Chrystal Cook had been operating the Zacchaeus House at the location, a “house church” aimed at helping anyone who needs food, clothing or a place to sleep.
See the full story, “A House Without a Home,” in the March 19, 2008, Xpress.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
In an e-mail dispatch to Asheville City Manager Gary Jackson and local media outlets, Council member Carl Mumpower reported on his March 23, 2007, visit to a concert in the Civic Center’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, which, he charged, “smelled like an Amsterdam hash bar.”
Click here to download a PDF of the e-mail.
For several years, the city of Asheville has been battling graffiti downtown. The city’s Downtown Social Issues Task Force took up the issue and produced a report. In March 2007, the city announced a crackdown on graffiti.
Click here to download a PDF of the task force’s report.
In 2006, Asheville City Council allowed local residents to ride city buses for free for three months to try and raise awareness of the transit system and boost usage. In May 2007, City Council received a summary of the results of the free fare program. In November 2007, officials discussed the future of the city’s transit system.
Click here to download a PDF of the report.
This November 2007 staff report to Asheville City Council summarizes a resolution to authorize the city of Asheville to pay Acme Preservation Services $105,300 to perform an architectural survey in the city.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
For years, Asheville City Council has been talking about the future of the Asheville Civic Center.
Click here to download a PDF of the Civic Center Task Force Action Plan.
Click here to download a PDF of the document establishing the “Asheville Civic Center for the 21st Century Task Force.”
Click here to download a PDF of the task force’s May 2006 report to Asheville City Council.
Click here to download a PDF of the January 2006 Morris report to Asheville City Council on “Options for an Aging Civic Center.
The city of Asheville issued this notification of violation to developers of the Beaucatcher Heights development in Kenilworth after March 4, 2008, rains washed sediment off the site and into Kenilworth Lake.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This February 2008 Asheville city staff report explains a resolution authorizing the city of Asheville to contract with planning firm Goody Clancy to develop a Downtown Master Plan for Asheville.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
In this May 2007 staff report from then-Asheville Civic Center Director David Pisha to City Council, Pisha provides an overview of his staff’s event management practices. The report notes an increase in the number of large, arena events and explains that, to increase security, people visiting the Civic Center have been banned from carrying large bags into the venue.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
Asheville City Council in April 2007 discussed making changes to the Bele Chere street festival, including making the festival more local and possibly changing the date of the summer party. The city received a March 2007 staff report that made recommendations to council about proposed changes.
Click here to download a PDF of the report.
The city of Asheville adopted its first comprehensive bicycle plan for the city in February 2008. Council’s adoption of the plan was hailed as a coup by the cycling community. The city’s public hearing drew a large turnout, with helmet-clad supporters seated in the second-floor Council chamber and filling the downstairs overflow room, where the meeting is broadcast on television.
Click here to download a PDF of the bike plan.
This April 2008 report to Asheville City Council outlines the plan for implementation of the city’s bicycle plan.
Click here to download a PDF of the report.
A controversial report on the state of race relations in the Asheville Police Department, submitted in September 2007, drew sharp criticism from city officials.
Produced by Lt. Anthony Franklin of the Richmond, Va., Police Department, the 20-page document asserts that Asheville’s African-American community sees “the department as the enemy.” The report also states that many African-American officers have no confidence “in the command staff to lead them into battle.”
Click here to read the Mountain Xpress story about the controversy.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
This staff report to Asheville City Council from August 2007 explains a change in the city’s sign ordinance that requires businesses to follow federal guidelines when flying the American flag.
On July Fourth 2006, TNT Fireworks was cited for flying flags over two temporarily erected tents. Although the city’s sign ordinance already prohibited using flags as promotional devices — as does the nonbinding U.S. Flag Code — the incident caused an uproar in the community. That prompted city staff to propose that flags flown in accordance with the federal code be exempted from the city’s ordinance, but that those violating the code would be considered advertisements rather than patriotic displays.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
Got a question about your water bill? Need a city permit or inspection? Desperate to reach a park or community center? This document includes telephone numbers for all Asheville city services.
Click here to download a PDF file of the document.
Two documents are provided here:
1) An April 15, 2008, report to City Council reviewing the administrative procedures and funding of the city’s co-sponsored event program. “For 2008, the City’s financial contribution to co-sponsored events is estimated at $245,500 of in-kind goods and services,” notes the document, which also includes detailed listings of just how much public funding goes to the dozens of events the city co-sponsors each year.
“Click here to download a PDF file of the document.
2) A February 2008 staff report to Asheville City Council outlines events the city is considering co-sponsoring for the rest of 2008. The report notes that the city’s financial contribution to co-sponsored events is estimated at more than $243,000, a significant increase over last year’s $72,000. The report says the increase is the result of a new approach to get a better feel for the true costs of co-sponsoring events such as Organicfest, Goombay and a number of other events. The cost increase is also due to an increase in the number of events applying for city funding, the report notes.
Click here to download a PDF file of the document.
This February 2008 Asheville city staff report asks City Council to appropriate $23,200 to survey city residents. The survey is aimed at better understanding what residents think of city services and communication efforts.
Click here to download a PDF file of the document.
This November 2007 document shows the recommendations of the Pack Square Conservancy’s design-review committee to the conservancy board regarding developer Stewart Coleman‘s proposed Parkside project, an 11-story, mixed-use building that would be built adjacent to the Asheville City Hall on a parcel that’s the subject of an ongoing legal fight. The conservancy board is charged with reviewing all development and redevelopment projects fronting on Pack Square and Roger McGuire Green.
The review committee found that the developer’s design failed to comply with Pack Square design guidelines. The committee also recommends that the board pursue a land swap to move the development south in accordance with boundary guidelines.
Click here to read a Mountain Xpress story about the project from Oct. 31, 2007.
Click here to download a PDF file of the document.
In these series of documents, local, state and federal officials state their case for the safety and effectiveness of fluoridating Asheville’s water supply. The first document comes from city Water Resources Director David Hanks in a memo to City Council outlining broadly how and why the city’s water is fluoridated and the pros and cons associated with the practice. The second document is a recent position statement in favor of fluoridation from N.C. Health Director and dentist Leah Devlin. The third document is a 2004 position statement, also in favor of fluoridation, from U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona. The fourth and final document is a list of five frequently asked questions on fluoridation from the state health department’s Oral Health Section that addresses what fluoridation is, how it works, as well as the safety, effectiveness and costs associated with water fluoridation.
Click here to download a PDF file of the document.
Each year, the City of Asheville sends its funding requests to Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. This document outlines the funding priorities for council that are held over from 2007, and adds a few new ones to the list. The items are sometimes contentious and, in this case, the transit item for replacing city buses awoke the debate on converting to hybrid vehicles.
Click here to download a PDF file of the document.
The 2006 report prepared by David W. Owens, Professor, Public Law and Government at the UNC School of Government that analyzes the City of Asheville’s actions regarding the Unified Development Ordinance in the cases of Greenlife Grocery, Prudential Realty and Staples.
Click here to download a PDF file of the document.
In this Nov. 6, 2007, memo, Asheville City Manager Gary Jackson informed Asheville resident Reid Thompson that due to “continued inappropriate behavior and comments to City staff on November 5, 2007 ... you are prohibited from visiting all City owned buildings with a set appointment made with [the] City Manager’s Office and accompanied by an escort.” For more on the matter, see the Jan. 9, 2008, Xpress article, “Inappropriate Behavior?”
Click here to download a PDF file of the document.
Asheville’s charter outlines the structure of city government, from the organization of City Council meetings to the powers held by the city manager. This is the document that would have been altered if the November 2007 referendum to move to a partisan election system had succeeded.
Click here to download a PDF file of the Charter.
