By JIM GENARO

Differing opinions about development and the impact of growth on Ashevilleís future clashed last Wednesday as the six remaining candidates for City Council participated in a debate at UNC Ashevilleís Reuter Center.

About 150 people attended the event, which was sponsored by the League of Women Voters and Kids Voting.

Incumbents Jan Davis, Bryan Freeborn and Brownie Newman were joined by Elaine Lite, Dwight Butner and Bill Russell.

Questions were gathered from audience members, and some were asked on behalf of the two sponsors.

The first question, which was asked by the LWV, was, ìWhen a developer asks for permission to rezone land ... what criteria would you use in deciding how to respond?î

Butner, who described himself as a ìpretty big property-rights person,î said he would be ìextremely reluctantî to approve rezonings, but would do so if the surrounding community supported it.

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Meanwhile, Davis said the cityís Unified Development Ordinance and Comprehensive Plan should guide the process, as well as the recommendations of the Planning and Zoning Board and city staff.

Freeborn said that one example of a positive rezoning was The Village on Haywood Road, which he said was planned with the help of community members.

ìThey worked with their neighbors,î Freeborn said. ìThey didnít force a particular type of development.î

One of the youths involved in Kids Voting posed the question, ìWhat are you going to do about gang violence in Asheville?î

ìIím not sure anyone here knows what to do about gang violence,î Davis said.

However, he added that more jobs, vocational training for kids and financial support for programs that provide alternatives for kids are crucial to combatting the problem.

Freeborn said that council should better fund law enforcement, but added, ìthatís only part of prevention.î

Newman agreed, saying, ìThe police cannot solve these problems by themselves, but we need to give police the resources they need.î

He also urged hiring more African-Americans on the police department, particularly in leadership roles.
Lite said that after-school programs need more funding.

Butner took a more philosophical tack, saying, ìWeíve somehow learned that the way to resolve conflict is to overwhelm your opponent.î

By contrast, he said, conflict resolution is ìbased on seeing othersí opinions.î

Russell said that a lack of economic opportunity contributes to gang problems.

ìDrug money is appealing,î he conceded. ìYou can go work all day at Hardees and make $60 or you can go out and work one night (dealing drugs) and make $200.î

A questioner from the audience noted that greater density of buildings is said to limit sprawl.

The questioner went on to say, ìIt seems that Asheville and the surrounding community are getting both. What is your vision for keeping Asheville unique?î

Russell said he prefers ìthe middle roadî ó building density, but not too much.

ìSixty people living in a building on Coxe Avenue is better than 60 people living on 60 acres out in Beaverdam,î Russell said.

Newman said that the city needs to work with the county to ask where it wants to grow and where it does not.
He said growth should happen downtown in the city, but not in residential neighborhoods on steep slopes or on existing farmlands.

However, Newman added, these efforts ìneed to be coordinated with the county.î

Lite contested the premise of the question, saying, ìI think it is a myth that building densely downtown will prevent urban sprawl.î

She said the region is experiencing both and that the only viable solution is a temporary moratorium on building while the city and county develop a master plan.

Freeborn and Davis also emphasized the need for a master plan, but noted that the city is limited by state laws which prohibit it from charging more for water rates to new developments outside of existing water lines.

ìThe state has put Asheville and Buncombe County in quite a pickle,î Freeborn said.

Meanwhile, Butner disputed the idea that Asheville is experiencing rapid growth. He noted that the cityís population has grown about one percent per year over the past 16 years.

Most of that, he added, was through annexation.

A questioner asked what can be done to keep Asheville affordable for people with low to moderate incomes.

Butner said the city needs ìa simplified, streamlined UDOî and needs to establish a down-payment-assistance program whereby the city contributes a 10 percent down payment for homeowners and then collects 10 percent of the sale price when the owners sell it.

Davis focused on jobs, saying that the city makes it very hard for new companies to relocate here.

Freeborn argued that the key to getting better jobs in Asheville is to improve quality of life by promoting public transit, greenways and other amenities that will make companies want to move to the area.

Russell said that there is no way to lower housing costs, so the city should focus on raising incomes.

Lite proposed a city-funded land trust and inclusionary zoning that would require developers to build a certain percentage of housing at affordable rates.

One of the Kids Voting students asked, ìWhat is one issue that would come first on your priority list in the city?î
Russell said that completion of a plan for I-26 was his main priority.

Newman agreed that I-26 is ìthe single most important development decisionî facing the city, but accused Russell of being too willing to accept quick solutions that would not serve the cityís interests.

Lite said that land planning is the most important issue the city faces. She expressed dismay that council had approved construction of The Ellington the night before without a master plan for development.

ìI think weíre just like a freight train heading for a wall,î she added.

Freeborn also said a master develolpment plan for the region is his highest priority.

Jan Davis said his number-one issue is the ìlack of equitable treatmentî from the state and county.

An unwillingness on the part of county residents to pay fairly for social and cultural amenities, such as city parks and the Civic Center, has led to a ìvery stratifiedî division of poor and wealthy residents, he said.

Butner said his main issue is the ability of young people to afford starter homes.

A questioner asked Lite what guiding principles should be used for developing rules about growth along Merrimon Avenue.

She responded that the Merrimon Study Group ó a citizensí organization that had recommended a number of changes to council ó had spent two years developing strategies for Merrimon. Their ideas and their efforts should be respected, Lite argued.

She noted that when council considered the groupís proposals, it decided not to approve them after there was some ìconfusion by business ownersî along Merrimon Avenue.

Davis, who noted he had worked with the MSG two years ago, conceded that there was ìa lot of misunderstandingî about the groupís proposals.

But he added that for the business owners in question, ìthat property is their life. Iím not going to rush to judgement.î

A questioner asked about tensions between council members and the county commissioners.

Davis said that the perceived problems are not as bad as they seem, and that there are many friendships among members of the two boards.

However, he conceded, ìthere are some cultural differences.î

Freeborn agreed, saying that much of the dispute has been overemphasized by the media.

The next questioner asked whether the candidates would support an official registry of same-sex couples and extending benefits to same-sex partners of city employees.

Freeborn said he would support doing so. ìThe government doesnít care what your church has to say,î he told the audience. ìThey just want to know if you paid your county fees.î

Newman agreed, saying that ìall people that do the same job ... should get the same pay and benefits.î

Lite answered simply, ìYes and yes.î