The Buncombe County Commission meets this Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023 at 5:00 pm, at 200 College Street, Room 326, in downtown Asheville. You can watch the meeting online (or a recording of it) via Buncombe County’s Facebook page. The full agenda is here.
URGENT
- 0 Items
PROBLEMATIC
- 0 Items
GRAY:
Updates on previous items
Update: City Council Meeting September 26th: New Business A. Resolution to adopt the Pack Square Plaza Vision Plan. (Staff Memo)
This was a resolution before City Council last week, calling for the adoption of this plan, which included “(redesigning) S. Market Street as an active cultural corridor to improve connections to The Block (and improving) wayfinding to The Block from Biltmore Avenue.”
We recommended passage of this resolution, and are happy to report that it passed unanimously.
Things to do
There is no action we’re recommending at this time. As the Pack Square Plaza Vision Plan moves forward, we will keep you informed of opportunities for continued advocacy.
Update: City Council Meeting September 26th: Rezoning of 1 Oak Street for the development of several multi-story buildings consisting of residential, hotel, retail, and office uses. (Staff memo, presentation)
City Council was asked to approve a rezoning request for a 10.5 acre parcel containing three properties. The long term plan is to build five buildings: a six-story building with residential and retail spaces, a second six-story building with office and commercial spaces, a third six-story building with residential and commercial spaces, a nineteen-story building with residential and commercial spaces, and a twenty-story hotel.
We’re sorry to report that this item passed 5-2, with Council Members Mosley and Roney voting against. We raised flags about this item in our August 21st, September 11th, and September 25th GAP Reports. Our concerns remain, but we do want to lift up several improvements to this project that wouldn’t have happened without the advocacy of GAP supporters and others:
- The original project proposal offered only 4% of the housing units as eligible for HACA Housing Choice Vouchers; the final approved project increased that to 10%.
- The original project proposal made no commitments for ongoing dialogue with the East End/Valley Street community, which will be significantly impacted by this development. The final approved project stated that “the developer shall maintain an ongoing dialogue and collaboration with the surrounding community throughout the development process including the process and agreements made to date with the East End neighborhood.”
Things to do
There is no action we’re recommending at this time. As the project moves forward, we will alert you of opportunities to advocate on behalf of the East End/Valley Street community.