Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods
Helping Neighborhoods become Better Places for all People
CAN MEETING
2nd Monday each month, 7:00pm-9:00pm at the Oakley Community Center, 749 Fairview Rd., behind the Fire Station and below the Library. Open to the public. Bring your issues, ideas, and energy.
1. Educate and inform the community about matters that concern Asheville area neighborhoods;
2. Provide a means for Asheville area neighborhood organizations and groups to share information; and
3. Provide technical assistance to neighborhood groups and individuals that are interested in participating in community affairs
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Topic
Presenter
1
Acceptance of September 9 Meeting Minutes
Treasurer's Report.(approximately $4000)
Bill Bailey
2
Introductions - your name, neighborhood and quickly state any Issue / Success to share or to add to agenda.
Marsha Stickford (N’hood coordinator) talked about upcoming meeting with n’hood leaders on Nov 11, 7 pm in Public Works building.
Kendra Turner (ParkwoodForest).Had rash of burglaries.Neighborhood contacted Marsha Stickford and district Police Officer who were very helpful.
Byron Ballard (West End / Clingman) Excited that AstonPark is looking like a park again although still closed due to construction.
Judy Williamson (Shiloh) Everyone is invited to 2nd Annual fall festival which is the Saturday after the election.Partially sponsored by Parks and Recreation Department.
Betty Jackson (Beverly Hills). Talked about I-26 project and specifically hoped that DOT study having less than eight lanes.
Steve Arpin (RiverView) Newly formed n’hood organization.Interest in food production.Had to reduce number of farm type animals and unrelated people (maximum of 4? unrelated people in one single family residence) due to laws and ordinances.Would like help in creating more flexible laws.
Barber Melton (Haw Creek)see Chris Pelly comments about Falcon Ridge development.
Mike Lewis (Grace) new issue is that they tore up the street to repair the sewer line. Learned from Marsha that the normal routine is not to put down final pavement until project fully completed.
Grace Curry (GrovePark – SunsetMountain) having issue with leakage from garbage trucks going up and down mountain i.e. fluids leak out back.Other neighborhoods voiced similar experience.Marsha Stickford was going to investigate.
Tom Rightmyer (Crowfields) Association is dealing with question concerning how much of the development is appropriate to rent.
Robert Zeiber (BiltmorePark) spoke about I-26 project and that this is the last week (Friday 18th) to make comments.
Joe Minicozzi (Brucemont) joked that his neighborhood was currently only a free radicals organization.
Marianna & Bill Bailey (Viewpoint) View Point Homeowners Association held their annual meeting in September
Chris Pelly (Haw Creek) discussed struggles with Falcon Ridge developers. N’hood previously irritated developers when had repeated problems with developer and called news channel.Even though the developer had promised traffic calming they were now not sure if they really needed it.N’hood met with developer and Ken Putnam, city traffic engineer, and educated them on prior commitments to former traffic engineer and neighborhood.Outcome was that they will do traffic calming on Cisco Road.Good job of record keeping and follow through.
Steve Hudzik – Kenilworth) has been quiet in the neighborhood with new installed traffic calming.Now starting to put plantings in traffic calming circles.
Round the Table
3
Neighborhood Spotlight:Beverly Hills.See story below.
Tadd Cole,
Debbie Applewhite,
Judy Sexton,
Kathy Kelly
4
3rd Annual CAN Congress Report:On Saturday, October 4th about 65 Asheville neighbors gathered together to hear about future issues for neighborhoods and strategies for helping neighborhoods transition into the 21st Century.
Mayor Terry Bellamy presented an update on the fuel crisis and the city's response as well as information on other important initiatives, such as the series of water line replacement currently being completed by the city's Water Resources Department. City Manager, Gary Jackson, and other city staff were on hand to participate in the Congress.
Key note speaker, Mitchell Silver, the Director of City Planning for City of Raleigh, NC, was introduced by City of Asheville Planning and Development Director, Judy Daniel. Ms. Daniel and Mr. Silver have had the opportunity to work together in leadership positions on the national planning organization, American Planning Association. Mr. Silver shared his experience and insights on how city government and neighborhoods can work together to build better and stronger neighborhoods. He also helped the audience explore some of the reasons for the barriers that lead to distrustful relationships between neighborhoods, developers and government.Based on his experiences with a wide range of communities and roles in the planning process, Mr. Silver presented alternative strategies that can help neighborhoods be more successful in creating and achieving their own vision for their neighborhood. He believes that it is in the best interest of neighborhoods, developers and government to go beyond focusing on areas of conflict, to identifying areas of common interest and agreement that will lead to a better solution for everyone.
The Congress received very good evaluations from participants. Members of the Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods (CAN) committee that organized the event will be meeting to assess the Congress and make recommendations for next year's Congress. If you have questions or comments about this or future Congresses, please contact Mike Lewis at mlewis6956@charter.net.
Mike Lewis
5
Showed PowerPoint presentation of "Ideal Neighborhood" – really cool!!The presentation was based upon ideas and visions developed over 3 years on what makes an Ideal Neighborhood including work from past CAN Congresses.
Joe Minicozzi
6
Discussion on future forums.Marsha proposed that CAN sponsor forums on community issues based upon CAN’s goal of increasing education efforts.The forums would be designed to provide good balanced information.The hope is that they would be a vehicle for greater understanding and actual change.A brain storming session produced a variety of potential forum topics (as well as some lively discussion) including the following: Conditional Zoning; Work force housing; District Elections; Do we need a New UDO?; Rules Related to City Council Civic input (rules about Council, BOA); Walk-ability, Alternative Energy on N’hood scale (get representative on Utilities board); Oil-less Neighborhood; How do Land Use Decisions get made.
Participatory Model for N’hood Planning
City staff (from many different departments) recently took training to learn to facilitate a Participatory Model to help neighborhoods create their own plans.The city will do a pilot event with potentially the South French Broad N’hood Organization.Judy Daniel, the Planning Director, wants to roll this out to other neighborhoods as soon as the pilot results are reviewed.
Marsha Stickford
7
Affordable Housing Working Group – Tom updated the board on fee in lieu (see information below) and asked how much CAN wants to be involved in the issue of on the fee in lieu, etc.This working group is continuation of the Mayors Task Force on Affordable Housing.Most of the groups output goes to a City Council Sub Committee (HCD = Housing Community Development).The Working Group recently made a recommendation concerning fee in lieu which is copied at end of minutes.The answer to Tom’s question about CAN’s desire to be involved may have been answered by the positive response to a future forum (see above) on Work Force Housing.
Tom Rightmyer
8
Storm Water UpdateThe city is currently going through the process of revisiting their Storm Water ordinance.A stop gap ordinance was passed last year to meet the minimum state requirements and avoid fines.A new Storm Water has the potential for a large impact in our community.Some issues that CAN members are working for are width of stream buffers to be increased from state minimum width of 30’ which some believe is more appropriate for flatter Eastern Carolina.Education on this issue is important to due to the many misconceptions (and possibly misinformation) about effect of the ordinance and its impact or lack of impact on a person’s property.The last of the three educational public meetings was held on Wednesday October 15th and P&Z was scheduled to discuss it on October 23rd.Still waiting for a date for the City Council at which people will be invited to speak.To get more information send an email to list@AshevilleCAN.org and I am sure any of the good folks on the list will direct you in the right direction.
Robert Zeiber
9
Technical Committee Update – no updates.
Joe Minicozzi
10
Additional Agenda Items and Announcements – If you are seeking advice from CAN, have an interest to share, etc. we look forward to hearing from you.If possible please send an email to board@ashevilleCAN.org in advance.Together we can build better neighborhoods.
·League of Women Voters Forum: Oct 20 and 27th, 7 pm, RandolphLearningCenter.
·UN Day Symphony – Oct 24th at 8 pm, Lipinsky Auditorium, UNCA
·Announced T-shirts for Sale titled “Building A We City…Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods”
·List of CAN members serving on community boards is at the end of the minutes.
Open to All
Meetings are 2nd Monday of the Month
Check Outwww.AshevilleCAN.org
Neighborhood Spotlight
Beverly Hills Neighborhood This article is a summary of a presentation made by Tadd Cole, President of the Beverly Hills Homeowners' Association and members of his Board at the October 13, 2008 meeting of the Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods.
The Beverly Hills Neighborhood is located in East Asheville and was first created as a development in the area around the Municipal Golf Course. The original development consisted of 400 homes that now make up the members of the Homeowners' Association. The Golf Course provides a great green space for this very walk-able neighborhood and many residents take advantage of the area and get out to walk and socialize with their neighbors.
The Homeowners' Association has been active for many years. They are currently exploring ways to get residents more involved in the activities of the Association and its Board, such as developing a web site to keep folks more connected to the Association and their neighbors. They currently use block captains to maintain good communication with folks by distributing their newsletter, meeting and other notices. This system has been helpful in keeping residents aware of neighborhood issues - like a series of car break-ins this summer. The Association contacted APD and a meeting was organized with Community Resource Officer Charles Wells to inform residents about the problem and possible actions to address it. Because neighbors were aware the break-ins were going on, a resident recognized one in progress, contacted the police, and the suspect was apprehended.
The Homeowners' Association also organizes regular events that are well received and attended. Each year in April the annual meeting, which is held at the EastAshevilleCommunity Center, attracts a good turnout. This year the Center Director, Candy Shaw, presented information about the Center's offerings and area residents learned about services they could access at the Center. The Association is very interested in the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department's Master Plan and is eager to find out how the plan will impact their Center and the services it offers. The organization continues to look for ways to support the Center and its staff.
Another event the Association sponsors is an annual Neighborhood Picnic, which is held at RecreationPark each fall. This event draws a lot of folks, good food and good times! Because of the good attendance, the Association collects membership dues and gets folks to sign up to help with Association activities each year at this event. Dues allow the Association to pursue neighborhood and Board projects like the Annual Meeting and Picnic.
Monthly Board meetings, held at the EastAshevilleCommunity Center on the second Thursday of the month, are also a good time for neighborhood folks to discuss and learn more about issues impacting their neighborhood. One issue that has been tracked by the Board is the use of conditional zoning to permit the conversion of residential property to businesses. The Association has worked to create a better awareness of this issue within their neighborhood and the community. The Board has also identified members' interest in working with the city to improve their neighborhood by getting more sidewalks built, introducing traffic calming in areas where cars tend to speed, and getting their older streets paved.
Tadd says his Board is a great group of folks. One of their struggles is keeping neighbors involved in the work of the Association. He and other Board members are interested in learning more about how other Neighborhood or Homeowners' Associations keep people involved and active in their organizations. They are also interested in sharing their strategies for building community and keeping neighbors focused on maintaining attractive homes and yards.
One of those strategies is a "Yard of the Month" contest. A committee consisting of about 6 neighbors walks around the neighborhood and identifies the nicest yard for the month. It might be a yard that has been improved in some way - or that stands out in its overall attractiveness. When a winner is selected,a "Yard of the Month" sign is posted in that yard so everyone walking or driving by can see who won. The yard is also posted on the Association Web site with pictures. This contest inspires everyone in the neighborhood to do a good job in keeping their home and yard well maintained! Over the years many different residences have won and winners include both homeowners and renters. If you have recently driven through the Beverly Hills Neighborhood you know that this and other efforts by the neighborhood and their Homeowners' Association have been successful in creating a great place to live.
Affordable Housing Working Group – “fee in lieu” Committee Memos
Good morning, HCD Committee members:
The Working Group met on Tuesday, 10/07 to discuss the fee in lieu issue. I have attached a memo providing you with their recommendations in anticipation of your discussion on Monday, 10/20. Please let me know if I can provide you with additional information or support.
Thanks.
Vann McNeill, Community Development Director, Planning & Development Dept.
Attached Memo
On Tuesday, October 7, eleven members of the Affordable Housing Working Group (Working Group) and City staff met to develop a recommendation to the HCD Committee on the City’s acceptance of fees from developers in lieu of meeting the City’s goal of providing affordable units as described in the Strategic Operating Plan.
The Working Group discussed this issue in depth and has made the following four recommendations:
1. The City should accept fees in lieu of producing affordable units; however, it was not the Working Group’s preferred option.The Working Group’s desire was to see each project provide the affordable units within the project itself so as to promote the goal of mixed-income developments throughout the city, including downtown.
2. All fees accepted under a fee in lieu option should be placed in the City’s existing Housing Trust Fund for the production of affordable units.The Working Group also expressed concern that if the City accepts these fees what implications would that have for future general fund allocations to the Housing Trust Fund?The Working Group does not support a reduction in the annual allocation and fees in lieu should not been viewed as a “substitute” for the annual allocation.
3. Fees in lieu should be used according to the current Housing Trust Fund guidelines to provide loans for the production of affordable units.
4. Continue the current practice of annually providing seven to ten percent of the funds available in the Housing Trust Fund for program administration.
We hope that these recommendations from the Affordable Housing Working Group will assist the HCD Committee in preparation for the October 20 committee meeting.Please let us know if we can provide additional information or assistance.Thank you.
CAN Members Serving on Boards, etc.(please forward any missing information)
Barber Melton:
·Affordable Housing Working Group
·Storm water committee
Tom Rightmyer:
·Affordable Housing Working Group
·Storm water committee
·Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness Advisory Committee.
Robert Zeiber:
·Storm water committee
Joe Minicozzi:
·AshevilleDesignCenter, Chair
·Asheville Downtown Master Plan Advisory Committee
·Asheville Downtown Association (ADA),Vice President and Issues Committee Chair
·WNC Green Building Council’s “Leed-ND for WNC”, Policy Development Team
