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Tuesday, 06 March 2007 18:29 |
By DAVID FORBES
Annexation remains a controversial issue in Asheville, as City Council voted 3-2 on Feb. 27 to uphold the cityís right to involuntarily annex urban areas on its borders ó and called on the General Assembly to give city government more tools to attract voluntary annexation.
Earlier, council also delayed a vote on a development in Candler after the developer would not commit to voluntary annexation and heard arguments against annexation from a group of red-shirted opponents.
ìWhat weíre saying here is that if youíre an urban area on the borders of the city and youíre getting city services, then you should be part of the city,î Councilman Brownie Newman said. ìAsheville should have all the tools that every other city in the state has to make that happen. If our legislators arenít willing to give us that, well, we support the stateís laws on annexation.î
The move comes as council considers another round of annexations and is opposing a proposed bill that would require referendums on annexations if enough people in a given area oppose them. Council is also calling for the repeal of the Sullivan Acts, which prevent Asheville specifically from using cheaper water rates to encourage annexation.
However, the annexation opponents, about 20 of whom sat in the chamber, asserted that forcing areas to join the city is wrong and totalitarian.
ìBy arrogantly ignoring the letter and spirit of the American Constitution the state of North Carolina has enabled its cities to abridge and abuse the natural rights of citizens to live in peace wherever they choose,î Mike Thompson, the chair of Stop The Asheville Takeover, an anti-annexation group, said. ìYou have embraced a form of tyranny that is foreign to America. You slap the face of our nationís noble history every time you flex your steel glove of annexation.î
Many of the opponents come from the Biltmore Lake area, a high-end Candler development the city is considering for annexation.
Jerry Jordan, president of the Biltmore Lake Homeownersí Association, said that the residents would just see a burden if annexed into Asheville.
ìWhy spend thousands of city taxpayer dollars on a possible legal fight to force citizens uninterested in joining the city and who do not need the services offered to join?î Jordan asked council, also voicing his support for the proposed state bills. ìWhat is unfair about citizens wanting the right to vote on annexation? Itís a citizenís basic right to vote their own destiny.î
Councilmen Carl Mumpower and Bryan Freeborn cast the dissenting votes. Mumpower had earlier proposed that the city should offer to place a moratorium on involuntary annexation in return for the repeal of the Sullivan Acts and, as a sign of goodwill, place a moratorium voluntarily for the next few months. His motion failed to get a second from any other council member.
He asserted that the final measure does little to help Asheville out of its dilemma.
ìRight now we donít have the incentives that other cities have to make annexation work,î Mumpower said. ìWe have to get that back.î
The city is currently appealing a ruling last month that upheld the Sullivan Acts. Mumpower noted that he is ìopposed to forced annexation on principle,î but that Asheville is in a tough situation.
ìCities have to grow to sustain a balance of upper, lower and middle classes,î he said. ìRight now the city is in a perilous situation because we have a large upper class, a large lower class and a shrinking middle class. Weíre seeing the worst of both worlds ó we donít have the water, sewer and taxing options available to other cities ó but we have to provide those services.î
In contrast, Freeborn said that council should ask ìour legislators to provide us with the tools other municipalities have to encourage voluntary annexationî and, if it did not receive them, ìto pursue the most aggressive annexation policy we can. Thatís the only thing I can think of for us to get this through.î
Freebornís motion also failed to gain support from another council member.
Earlier, council voted 5-1, with Mumpower dissenting, to delay action on a request to build 257 apartment units on 33 acres in Candler, to give the developer, Wyatt Dixon, time to work with city staff on the possibility of voluntary annexation.
ìMy question is: if youíre built to city standards and using urban services ó why arenít you in the city?î Mayor Terry Bellamy asked.
The development came before council due to its size. It lies in the cityís extra-territorial jurisdiction, the one-mile band surrounding its borders where the city can regulate development.
Craig Justus, an attorney representing the developer, said that the city staff had mentioned no such requirement before and that requiring the development to come into the city now would be putting the city on legally shaky ground.
But Freeborn asserted that he was not inclined to accept the development unless it comes into the city.
ìIím going to tell you right now, if youíre not willing to voluntarily annex, Iím inclined to vote ënoí on this,î Freeborn said.
He added that if the city didnít start taking in more developments before they are built, ìweíre running the risk of having a lot more people in red shirts here years down the line.î
Mumpower sharply criticized the measure, referring to it as ìmunicipal blackmail.
ìI would warn council against setting guidelines like this that are arbitrary and capricious,î he said.
Meanwhile, Bellamy noted that in the last 15 years, Asheville has annexed far less than many other cities across the state.
ìCharlotte has annexed a total of 138,000 people in the last 15 years. Fayetteville annexed about 60,000 people. Raleigh annexed 84,000,î Bellamy said. ìAsheville, in the last 15 years, has annexed 8,000.î
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