The steering committee for Asheville’s Downtown Master Plan met today to discuss changes made following the last public input period. Chris Peterson was the only person in the room adamant about wanting to remain in a free country. The others saw the planning process as an act to balance communism with property rights. All were asked to be tolerant of other beliefs. One proposed revision would be the addition of a chapter explaining, “The DMP is in effect a ‘treaty’ among diverse downtown stakeholders for cooperation around shared interests.”

Peterson said the economy was tough, builders were pulling out of projects, and they couldn’t afford to give 15% of a development’s value to city council for their pet projects. Steve Rasmussen, a newcomer to the roundtable, argued that the public needed more than a chance to speak. The people needed the power to stop projects they don’t like. He persisted to the point that Pat Whalen threatened to call him out of order. Much discussion was spent on Whalen’s request for consideration of a quality, iconic building that would blow all regulations out of the water.

Changes include “directly calling for plans for neighborhood and corridor areas adjacent to downtown,” “directly addressing the need for/value of quality streetscape,” and “adding a mechanism for citizens to appeal project review decisions.” BB&T had been targeted only to overhaul its parking garage and loading dock. Now the plan shall “show an example of what could have been built on the BB&T site, according to the proposed guidelines.”

City staff wanted to be clear that many of the more offensive parts of the plan are only “suggested opportunities” and not “essential elements.”