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Wednesday, 18 October 2006 11:54 |
By DAVID FORBES
The rezoning of a parking lot on Tunnel Road in the wake of the ownerës allegedy illegal modifications was approved on a 6-1 vote by Asheville City Council on Oct. 10, as a new, compromise solution was accepted.
During the Sept. 26 meeting, council had delayed the final consideration of the project, located behind the Filo Bakery, to give city staff and the owner time to work out a solution, with several council members asserting that simply rezoning the project would be rewarding a violation of the cityës development ordinances.
The owner, Nicholas Papanastasiou, had a previous violation six years ago at the East End Grill. This time, he had added to the current parking lot, increasing the number of parking spaces for the bakery from 17 to 22.
"That seems like a good compromise," Councilman Carl Mumpower noted.
The new
proposal, which will cost Papanastasiou $15,000, requires him to rip up
part of the asphalt that was laid down and replace it with a traffic
island that includes vegetation.
The project engineer, Dennis Ponder, noted that the owner can make other improvements at the same time as the new modifications.
"We can do some
other improvements at the same time ÇƒÓ cost-wise, itës probably in the
$2,000 to $3,000 range," Ponder said. "Thereës enough money built into
the bond for the area to cover this."
The dissenting
vote came from Councilman Bryan Freeborn. While he did not comment on
his reasons for his vote at the meeting, Freeborn voted against
delaying the matter previously and had asserted that the city should
not reward Papanastasiou for violating its ordinances
In other action, council:
ï Voted 6-1 to
delay for a second time a public hearing to amend a conditional use
permit for the Ingles located on Hendersonville Road. The proposed
amendments would allow for a third driveway and the addition of a gas
station.
Freeborn voted
against the measure. He has previously noted that he is generally
opposed to council delaying development matters.
ï Voted 6-1 to
accept a budget amendment of $781,062 to repair turf at Azalea Park
following damage from Hurricane Ivan. Of the total, $597,472 is
anticipated to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management
Association.
Mumpower cast the dissenting vote, noting that he is worried about the cost of the new turf.
"I have a
personal frustration with the amount of dollars involved," Mumpower
said. "Itës costing twice as much to replace the turf as it originally
did. This is just a lot of money. The national deficit is up to $30,000
for every adult and child in this country. This money is going to come
out of our childrenës pockets ÇƒÓ and Iëm just not comfortable with that."
ï Voted 6-1 to lease nine acres and a building on Louisiana Avenue to the U.S. Army Reserve for $112,000 a year.
Mumpower voted
against the measure, noting that he feels the amount to be "a little
harsh. This is at the high end of things and I have trouble with that.
I think weëre gouging the Reserve here."
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