The final version of Asheville’s Downtown Master Plan seems to have undergone no revisions of substance. It still calls for:
* Imposing planning penalties in Asheville where they are already high.
* Establishing fixed extortion rates as an “improvement” upon subjecting developers to the whims of city council.
* Creating a privileged class of artists, worthy of mandatory donations from developers.
* Hiding nasty things like robbery behind words like “translating increased value into community benefits.”
* Viewing human beings as resources for building the tax base.
* Assuming the principles of this country are greenness, affordable housing, support of the arts, etc.
* Expecting a new, appointed layer of government (a business improvement district) to enforce these values with taxes and fees.
