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Tuesday, 25 July 2006 12:14 |
By JIM GENARO
Pedestrian safety, more greenery and underground utilities were among the issues most frequently mentioned by a gathering of about 200 residents who attended a public forum on the future of Merrimon Avenue last Thursday evening.
The meeting, which was held at the city??s Public Works Building, provided residents with an opportunity to express how they would like to see Merrimon develop in the future. Their comments followed a presentation by Scott Shuford, the city??s director of planning and development, on proposed zoning changes along the avenue.
Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy (front right) was among those attending the
public forum regarding the future of Merrimon Avenue last Thursday night
Shuford also presented the results of a recent citywide questionnaire on the future of Merrimon.
?®Most folks felt that pedestrian-friendly development was important,?∆ Shuford told the citizenry.
In addition, he noted that while most respondents said they were
opposed to drive-throughs in general, more people supported them for
banks than for other kinds of businesses.
Residents also had expressed support on the questionnaire for mixed-use zoning, Shuford added.
In light of the results of the study, the city is considering changing the zoning designation for much of Merrimon.
?®Our review of that (study) indicates that probably the Neighborhood
Corridor Zoning that we already have on our books would cover the
corridor better than any other,?∆ Shuford said.
This designation would allow for buildings to have a larger footprint
than the current commercial business designation for most of the area
is zoned, he said.
Furthermore, the new zoning designation would require all buildings to have a minimum of two stories and a maximum of three.
However, both limitations could be modified through a ?®community-incentive table,?∆ which would allow the city to ease restrictions for developers who engage in certain practices ?? such as affordable housing ?? that fulfill community goals, Shuford explained.
?®One of the more important points about the Neighborhood Corridor Zoning is that it does require a more traditional building style,?∆ he added. This includes various design requirements, such as mandating a specific number of windows on each floor.
Atlanta Bread Company and The Medicine Shoppe are both examples of architecture on Merrimon that would fulfill the design requirements of NCZ, he added.
When changing a zoning designation, several concerns arise, Shuford told the audience. The first is nonconformity, he said. However, he added, ?®Almost every building (on Merrimon) that is zoned CB-1 or CB-2 is in nonconformity of those zoning requirements.?∆ Changing the zoning to NCZ would actually bring many of these buildings into conformity, he said.
On the issue of whether changing the designation would discourage development, Shuford noted that NCZ allows a greater degree of density and would, therefore, encourage development.
However, a third concern ?? and one repeatedly echoed during the public-comment portion of the meeting ?? was the possible increase in traffic congestion that the new zoning would create.
?®The good news about neighborhood corridors is that they encourage a more mixed-use development,?∆ he said. This allows for shared parking, which would help alleviate congestion. Furthermore, the city is considering limiting the use of drive-throughs, he added, to help decrease traffic.
Shuford then turned the lectern over to members of the audience, saying, ?®What I want to hear from you is your vision of Merrimon Avenue.?∆
Each speaker was given three minutes to present ideas about what Merrimon should look like in the future.
A man who identified himself as a real estate agent and planner expressed the need to study trip generation. ?®How much traffic is going just down to the interstate, how much is going downtown and how much is going to homes??∆ he asked.
Though he noted that such studies are very expensive, Fishers said they are ?®a crucial building block to determining what should be done in the future.?∆
One business owner said that he did not understand why the city wanted to change the zoning at all. ?®I am puzzled. I don??t know why we have to fix something that??s not broken,?∆ the man said. ?®Some of these things, I don??t know if it makes common sense ?? I don??t know yet.?∆
However, most speakers did express a desire to ?®fix?∆ Merrimon. Hedy Fischer spoke on behalf of the Merrimon Avenue Corridor Study Group, an organization of residents and business-owners who spent seven months meeting to discuss the future of Merrimon.
?®We??d like to see Merrimon Avenue become a vital economic engine for North Asheville,?∆ Fischer said. ?®But we??d like to see it done in a thoughtful way.?∆
A major priority for the MACSG members is ?®accommodating pedestrian traffic,?∆ she added.
Another man expressed concern that residents benefit little from mixed-use designations, while businesses stand to gain much. ?®My concern is ... that it??s all one-way. There is a lot of intrusion from the businesses ?? a lot of noise.?∆
Mike Lewis urged residents and merchants to work together to achieve compromises. As a business owner, he said, ?®We??d like to have some parking in front of our business because we??d like to look like we??re open.?∆
As a compromise, he suggested that storefronts be allowed to have a single row of parking that borders the street, separated by a sidewalk buffer, ?®so you don??t feel like you??re a target crossing the parking lot.?∆
A woman in the audience expressed concern that little is done to enforce building requirements.
?®I??d like to see bigger fines on the builders so they don??t just build whatever they want,?∆ she said. ?®I don??t know how many of you are builders, but shame on you if you??re one of them.?∆
A man suggested that Merrimon could be only two lanes, as it is near Beaver Lake.
?®Why not turn it into a one-lane each way, with a turn lane in the middle??∆ he asked. ?®If it??s a traffic problem, people will find a quicker way.?∆
Chris Peterson noted that none of the solutions offered would be easy to implement. He added that ?®the utility poles need to be buried and the sidewalks need to be bigger, (with) more greenery.
?®We don??t want this developer-against-neighborhoods. We want to sit down together ?? that??s how things get accomplished.?∆
Another man objected to paying taxes based on the potential commercial value of a property. ?®What I would like to see is property tax-assessed as its current use,?∆ he said.
Landscape architect John Lantzius emphasized the need for more greenery.
?®If you see about 50 percent of the architecture ?? that??s about the right amount,?∆ he said. ?®If it??s great architecture, that??s one thing.?∆
However, most of the buildings on Merrimon would look better with more greenery, he added.
Another man said he owns a home near a small tract of greenery, which many residents earlier had noted serves as a natural division between the more and less densely developed parcels of land.
He said that he is concerned that that property will eventually be developed, exposing his home to light and noise.
?®There also needs to be a buffer between the residential properties and the commercial properties,?∆ he added.
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