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Wednesday, 02 August 2006 03:33 |
By DAVID FORBES
Asheville City Council approved a controversial parking lot expansion on a 6-1 vote over neighborhood objections on July 25.
?®This does seem to a be a really good project,?∆ Councilwoman Robin Cape said. ?®We talk about denser development. This is a well-landscaped project and it??s from a business that has been in that area for some time. Our local economies are driven by businesses like these and they??re part of neighborhoods, too. I??m also concerned about the danger to children from increasing traffic and cars on the street if we don??t approve this.?∆
The
proponents of the expansion said that allowing Illusions Hair Salon and
Nails, located at 37 Arlington St. just east of Charlotte Street, to
expand a back lot into a parking lot will be safer, beautify the area
and bring the business into conformity with city regulations.
Bob Malkin, a
designer on the project, said that the utmost care had been taken to
meet the concerns of the community and that the project will aid the
surrounding area.
?®We??re using
every bit of landscaping we can to ease the impact of this project,?∆
Malkin said. ?®The owners have come in here. They??ve started a business.
We??ve held receptions for the neighborhood. I have right here 15 names
of people who support this project coming into the neighborhood.?∆
However,
opponents argued that the project ?? and the new zoning needed to
approve it ?? represents an encroachment of commercial activity and
development into the residential neighborhood.
Resident Linda Cohen presented council with a petition signed by 77 members of the community who opposed the project.
?®If you look at
the addresses on that petition, you can see that people in just about
every building in this neighborhood are opposed to this rezoning,?∆
Cohen said. ?®Its not the project itself that bothers us so much as the
intrusion into a residential neighborhood.?∆
Since a valid
protest petition was before council, more than one dissenting vote
would have barred the project from proceeding. The dissenting vote was
cast by Vice Mayor Holly Jones.
While Jones gave
no comment on her vote, she did earlier note that, for her, the issue
was one of the safety the project might provide versus the city??s need
to enforce its zoning.
?®The zoning was
originally violated here, as it wasn??t zoned to be used as a parking
lot,?∆ Jones said. ?®The real question seems to be weighing the safety
caused by decreased traffic against the zoning violation.?∆
Opponents also
noted that the salon??s owners, Fredia and Randall Higgins, had been
cited for a zoning violation for working on the site before it was
rezoned.
Resident Gabriel
Cyr, who lives next to the salon, echoed Cohen??s concerns, noting that
?®I don??t have any problems with the landscaping design ?? in fact I
think its kind of beautiful. The problem is the encroachment on our
zoning. Heavy grading was allowed, even into my property before they
were cited. However, there were no fines. I also know that people have
rarely ever parked in that area so far. The issue that I see here is
the eroding of our neighborhood.?∆
In separate
remarks, Patsy Bryson, an attorney representing some neighbors of the
project, asserted that ?®it??s a lot of residential, multi-generational
homes around here. That??s how this all got started. The Higgins sent a
bulldozer through here, which knocked down trees. That??s what created
the concern from the neighborhood. That??s what led to the zoning
violation. But work continued.?∆
Randall Higgins
later asserted that, at the request of a police officer, he had stopped
further work on the parking lot until the matter was resolved before
council ?? but that he had cleaned away debris already accumulated on
the site.
?®After I was
told to wait until the matter was resolved, I stopped working on it,?∆
he said. ?®But I did want to remove what was already on site ?? there
were oil filters and a lot of trash.?∆
Under city
rules, a business of the salon??s size must have 26 parking spots
available. The new lot will open up 14 spots, which proponents said
would prevent parking and traffic from filling onto the surrounding
streets.
?®This would take traffic off the streets and free up some parking,?∆ Planner Julia Cogburn noted in earlier remarks to council.
Meanwhile,
Fredia Higgins asserted that her salon is a small, local business and
needed the expansion to continue to operate safely.
?®I have owned
this place for eight years ?? the previous owners believed they had the
proper paperwork,?∆ she said. ?®Some days we have as many as 25 to 30
cars and right now, that means we have quite a few spilling out onto
the street. We just want to continue operation with adequate parking.
We just want to get those cars off the street and in a safer place. We
are a local business and part of this neighborhood.?∆
Council ended up
siding with the owners, citing reasons of area safety and that the
salon has been part of the neighborhood for many years and thus is not
intruding.
?®Its not like
this is some wealthy business that??s moving in and wanting to change
everything,?∆ Councilman Brownie Newman said. ?®This is a small, local
business that??s come into disagreement with some of the surrounding
residents. No one is an intruder here.?∆
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