Leslee Kulba
Asheville Floats Surreal Stormwater Workaround
Staff planners at the City of Asheville discovered existing requirements for residential open space were way out of line with those of comparable cities. So, they are proposing a relaxation of those standards, coupled with new, “kill-the-bill” level standards for commercial properties designed to incentivize stormwater mitigation measures stricter than general statues allow.
Council Does 180 with 19(i)
Two weeks after rejecting a proposal for a 187-unit apartment building with an affordable housing component, Asheville City Council revoted and approved it.
Council Discusses Policing, Sanitation
Spurred by angry neighbors, Asheville’s Mayor Esther Manheimer opened an informal discussion with city council members about vagrancy, trash, obscene behavior, criminal activity, and more around the AHOPE Center.
Council Rejects Hilliard & Clingman Housing Project
Asheville City Council, for all its interest in creatively spending public dollars to create affordable housing, rejected a proposal that would have, without subsidy, rent-controlled nine affordable units for 20 years.
‘Code for Asheville’ Cashing In on Cause Celebre
Speaking during public comment at the last Asheville City Council meeting, regular Jonathan Wainscott described what was going through his mind. During the previous meeting, he watched what appeared to be a staged power play, but with nobody taking credit or offering an interpretation of the events.
Council Divided Over Pedicycle Taxi Franchise
Asheville City Council is in the process of granting entrepreneur Jordan Hrivnak a franchise to operate a pedicycle taxi service downtown. Some members of council are balking because they’re afraid it would support tourists at the expense of locals.
Should City Council Regulate Public Feedings?
The same crowd that has been agitating Asheville City Council before is pushing for more camping on public lands, sharing drugs and defunding the police since the Black Lives Matter movement has a new talking point. A document leaked and hyped as an impending ban on providing services to Asheville’s campers.
Bad Batteries Bumping Up Water Bills
Incidental intel mentioned at an Asheville City Council meeting revealed an epidemic of water billing errors due to equipment to be replaced next year.
Out-of-State Anarchists Agitate Police Dept.
Anarchists supporting drug abuse in encampments for the homeless are trying to make trouble for the defunded Asheville Police Department. Citizens are trying to fight back with a referendum for a binding resolution to refund the department.
Pfaff: Decarceration Requires Tough Decisions
Criminologist John F. Pfaff says (without mass changes in personal choices) prison populations will not go down significantly until prosecutors change their minds about who goes to jail and citizens support more rehabilitating treatments for violent offenders.