Asheville City Council Agenda – Public Hearing D to conditionally zone 319 Biltmore Avenue from Regional Business District to Residential Expansion/Conditional Zone. (Staff Report, Presentation)

This is a rezoning request to facilitate the building of a new residential/commercial building adjacent to Maple Crest Apartments. The project site covers a total area of 4.59 acres, is located at 319 and 311 Biltmore Avenue, and will be developed into two buildings with a total of 221 residential units. From the staff report: “A total of 30% of the units (67 units) will be affordable with a target of 20% (45 units) at 60% Area Median Income (AMI) and below and a target of 10% (22 units) at 80% AMI and below, all for a minimum of 30 years.”

The folks at Just Economics sent out an action alert, inviting the Asheville City Council to push for improvements to the plan. They suggest that an additional 10% of the units (22 units) be set-asides for Housing Choice Voucher recipients. They also called for “the commercial space to be designated for a small grocery store, child care center or other entity that benefits the residents of Maple Crest and the future residents of 319 Biltmore.” We agree with these goals and encourage people to email City Council about them.

Update: Buncombe County Commission Proposed Board Meeting Time/Schedule Change (Original Proposal from 6/6/23 meeting)

The Buncombe County Commission discussed a scheduling change at it’s June 6th meeting, and postponed a final decision, seeking more community input. They currently meet on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 5 pm. With the proposed change, they would meet at 10 am on the first Tuesday of each month; the meeting on the third Tuesday would remain at 5 pm.

We raised serious concerns about this proposed scheduling change in our 6/5/23 report and our 6/20/23 report. We reasoned that shifting one of the two County Commission meetings to the morning would make it almost impossible for many working people to attend. We have since learned through communication with County Commissioner Martin Moore that the proposal to shift the meeting schedule was in fact intended to increase equitable access. Mr. Moore pointed out that the existing schedule makes it virtually impossible for many service workers to be able to attend since they work evening hours. The County is seeking community input on this proposed scheduling change through an online survey, and we would encourage everyone to participate. We’re not sure an online survey alone will gather sufficient data, especially from more marginalized populations, but it is a starting point.

Another Followup: Community Responder Pilot Program

We’ve been tracking this issue since April (see GAP Reports from 4/3/23, 4/10/23, 5/8/23, 5/15/23, 5/22/23, and 6/12/23). Originally, we raised questions about the Community Responder program based on a presentation by Asheville Fire Department Assistant Chief Captain Patrick Crudup at an Environment and Public Safety meeting. The stated goal of the program is “to focus collective efforts to assist persons that are unsheltered and/or experiencing addiction or experiencing behavioral health issues.” We asked whether the folks being placed in these new positions were going to receive any racial equity training, and if so, how that training would be implemented.

In the weeks that followed, we learned that the Community Responders received the same racial equity training that all City of Asheville employees receive. We wondered whether they received any more specialized training, and more broadly what structures had been set up to support them around issues of race. Most recently, we sent this question to City Manager Debra Campbell.

We received a response from Ms. Campbell, affirming that the City believes the training offered to the Community Responders was adequate to prepare them for their critical work. She wrote: “The Equity and Inclusion Trainings that we have provided for our Community Responders provides them with the tools, awareness, and skills to interact with and respond to our Community in a very Human, Equitable, and Inclusive way; reducing, eliminating, and helping to prevent harm.” She said that the pilot program would be evaluated after it concludes, and at that time the City would consider whether additional training was required. (You can read her full response below.)

We still have questions about the racial equity training process for this pilot project in particular and for the City as a whole. We will take note of how the City evaluates the training needs after the Community Responder pilot concludes, and will update you then.