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Wednesday, 02 August 2006 03:00 |
By DAVID FORBES
For the third time, Asheville City Council delayed the serving of an order to vacate a house on 128 Alabama Ave. on July 25, giving the owner until Sept. 12 to work with the city and get a legal certificate of occupancy.
On March 25, city inspectors ruled that the home, located near Hanover Street, was unfit for habitation.
The city staff, seeing that no improvements had been made, requested the hearing at the July 25 council meeting to continue the legal process.
However,
the owner, Joseph McCarson, contacted the city staff and said he was
willing to work to bring the house up to code. In response, the staff
indicated that they were willing to put off forcing the residents of
the house to vacate ?? one more time. Council, after briefly questioning
McCarson, also approved.
?®If we give you
until Sept. 12, will you get these repairs done??∆ Councilman Carl
Mumpower asked McCarson, who simply nodded in response and thanked
council for its time.
The house is
currently rented to McCarson??s two stepsons. He is also the owner of
McCarson??s Used Appliances and 12 other properties located throughout
the city. None of the other properties he owns have attracted similar
complaints.
In other action, council:
?ÿ Voted 6-1 to
approve the initial zoning of four lots off Hardin Road to the city??s
Highway Business district. The lots were voluntarily annexed into the
city in January.
?®This will bring these lots into compliance with the surrounding areas,?∆ Planner Julia Cogburn said.
The lone dissenting vote was cast by Councilman Bryan Freeborn, who made no comment at the time of the vote.
However,
Freeborn told the Daily Planet after the meeting that he was not
opposed to the developer or the inclusion of the property into the
city, but rather feels that the Highway Business Zoning is not
generally an effective tool.
?®I??ll vote
against anything that comes up with that designation ?? I don??t think
its an effective form of zoning,?∆ Freeborn said. ?®That??s why I voted
against it ?? it??s nothing against the project or the developer.
?ÿ Heard comments
from the Rev. Christopher Cabaranke, who said that council should allow
vendors at Bele Chere to give their leftover food on Sunday to the
homeless.
?®In many past
years, the city allowed this.But last year, with a far more
hard-hearted mayor and council, the vendors were told that anyone who
gave the homeless food that they were going to throw away anyway would
not be welcome back to Bele Chere,?∆ he said. ?®Council should resume
this tradition of using the leftover food to help people instead of
throwing it away ?? I hope they will not do what the last council did.?∆
Cabaranke, who
has repeatedly cautioned council against what he views as oppressive
policies towards the poor and warned of divine judgment, said that the
council members should be wary.
?®The indictment
has gone out ?? and the verdict has come in,?∆ Cabaranke said. ?®That
verdict is guilty. Watch the weather! I would suggest you all get your
air conditioners serviced. Its about to get very hot in this city.?∆
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