Asheville City Council approved stricter penalties on May 8 for property owners who cut down big trees or demolish historic buildings without approval of the city.

Now, violators could face penalties of thousands of dollars for zoning violations, following the 6-1 vote. Councilman Carl Mumpower cast the dissenting vote.

The move was meant to serve as a deterrent against unlawful clearing of vegetation and violations of the city’s Unified Development Ordinance.

Under the new rules, anyone who destroys a historic building without a certification of appropriateness can be fined $10,000.

Furthermore, anyone cutting down a tree of more than 20 inches in diameter in violation of zoning laws will now face a $2,500 fine.

An additional $100 per day will now be imposed on violators for as long as the violation occurs.

Vice Mayor Holly Jones expressed support for the higher fees because, she said, some people choose to simply risk paying the lower penalties rather than go through the approval process.

The new rules also include automatic notification of landlords when tenants are told of a potential violation, a move intended to hold landlords accountable and ensure that they are aware of problems that their tenants might not alert them about.

The new guidelines also make it a crime to interfere with a city employee who is attempting to enfoce zoning laws.

In other action, council took steps toward changing the city’s charter to make municipal elections partisan.

Specifically, on a 5-2 vote, council declared its intent to reintroduce political parties and set a public hearing about the proposal for May 22. Mumpower and Mayor Terry Bellamy cast the dissenting votes.

In order to approve the changes, which would also move the city’s primary election date from Oct. 9 to Sept. 11, only a simple majority vote would be needed, according to City Attorney Bob Oast. However, to do so before this year’s election, council would have to approve it on June 12.

Councilman Brownie Newman, who introduced the proposal, argued that the change would increase transparency in elections and would keep voters more informed.

However, Bellamy argued that a partisan system makes it harder for minorities and third-party candidates to run for office.
Newman disputed this claim, noting that no third-party candidates have been elected under the current system and that cities like Charlotte and Winston-Salem, which have partisan elections, also have strong minority representation.

Meanwhile, Mumpower objected to the change, arguing that such a move would create political divisiveness.

According to Board of Elections data, Asheville has 28,421 registered Democrats, 12,722 registered Republicans and 15,079 unaffiliated voters.