The first business meeting of the new, radical Asheville City Council wasn’t that bad. I had taken WWNC talk show host Pete Kaliner’s advice and moved to the county when conservatives lost all hope of representation on city council. (Actually I moved somewhere I could afford the rent. Same thing.) So, maybe I could relax a little more; they weren’t voting to gentrify my life, but to gentrify the lives of those who embrace gentrifying policies.
Anyway, Julie Mayfield was on top of her game. It was great to hear a council person who knew the subject material inside and out, as opposed to those who ask questions answered in the staff reports. Mayfield helped by noticing the “Development Review and Preserving Downtown Character” item was mixing two subjects: architectural standards and protecting mom-and-pop shops from big boxes. I was confused about why Small Business Association grants were playing into the design review process, but I wrote it off to lack of sleep. In the end, council merely gave staff a number of things to consider in revising its design review process.
Of course, I was not having fun with any of it. The big boxes and tall, ugly buildings were bundled together because they represented forms of development members of city council did not want. That said, it was nice to hear members of council say too many rules could stifle creativity and result in sterile homogeneity. Then again, we’re talking about updating a plan with a goal/mission statement of, “empowering Asheville’s essential creativity, entrepreneurship, and energy to make downtown flourish in a new era of opportunity.”
Council also discussed input they wanted to send to the NCDOT about proposed I-26 connectors. City council wants 14-16 ft greenways included, and I disagree. From what I can see, the greenways here are used for dog walking and fitness. People drive their cars there to enjoy nature. I can only recall two commuters I’ve seen in the greenway area in all my experience: me and somebody else. The greenways aren’t even open during winter commuting hours.
I could, however, support a state-funded greenway running from Asheville to Charlotte, for example, if there were high demand for it. Ashevillians want to have their cake and eat it, too. If they want state funds to improve local roads, they ought fairly to be open to letting the folks in Currituck and Perquimans weigh in on how they want their money spent.
By way of the consent agenda, one learned that “parking” is so last year. The new phrase, mentioned at least five times in an agenda item to approve plastic payments for on-street, metered parking, is the “parking experience.”
Further showing an inability to pick my battles, I call attention to council’s approval of naming a stream Fox Creek, in honor of the fox and representative of all wildlife that run through there.
Naming of a creek or stream can bring attention to its existence, help identify it as a part of neighborhood’s ecosystem, and encourage environmental stewardship that enhances quality of life.
More significantly, Asheville City Council approved application for $1,411,747 in Continuum of Care funds from HUD to be matched by Buncombe County. Council could approve the grants because it’s just an application and the money is free. Then, the county will have to approve the matches because the city already made a commitment. In government parlance, the county is getting a 200% return on its investment; the city, infinite returns.
The best remarks came from Councilman Gordon Smith, though. At the end of the meeting, he said, “Peace, love, and joy this holiday season.”
