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ASHEVILLE October 12 - And then, a miracle happened.

by Leslie Kulba

It was well after 10:00, late enough for anybody who had to get to work the next morning to wonder if they hadn’t slipped into a waking dream. City council had been meeting since 3:00. They had just finished hearing a stream of hardships stories from residents of Royal Pines and Cooper’s Hawk, areas about to be annexed. Involuntary annexation is always unwelcome, but these people were already laid off, on fixed incomes, unable to find work, selling their possessions, and doing without things considered essential in not-too-distant economies.

It was only a public hearing. State law requires municipalities to vote on weighty matters like forced annexations at a subsequent meeting, giving leadership time to review and digest information presented. It was as if the clock had struck silly time, and members of council were not immune to the loquacity of sleeplessness. Either that, or, as some in the room suggested, they were trying really hard to postpone the next agenda item.

Royal Pines Annexation

Asheville City Council indicated general, preliminary support for a “transformational development projects” incentive policy. The idea came about at their last meeting when an unprecedented request for unconventional financial aid from the public coffers came before council. Council liked the project, a green development known as Montford Commons, but wanted some way to fairly decide who would get tax dollars if everybody decided to follow suit. Staff returned with a proposed policy for providing financial assistance for residential projects. It listed mandatory criteria, preferred criteria, and available incentives. The policy was to be a guideline; council would have to review requests on a case-by-case basis.

Mandatory Requirements To meet mandatory criteria, a developer would have to demonstrate to council that his project fulfills important public purposes that should include creating jobs, installing desired public infrastructure, using a substantial level of green building techniques, and if housing is included providing a percentage of affordable and/or workforce level housing. Though currently somewhat redundant, the project would then have to comply with stra/tegic goals set each year by council.

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Article suggested by Bill Fishburne