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Tuesday, 20 March 2007 16:16 |
By DAVID FORBES
Asheville City Council moved forward on a possible racetrack at the Asheville Regional Airport on March 13, when members agreed to hear a future presentation from a racetrack advocacy group, including information on flooding, noise and pollution concerns.
ìThere are fairly strict noise restrictions in racing,î Councilman Jan Davis, a longtime supporter of the racetrack and a former racer himself, said. ìThis is also an area with a fairly high amount of noise already. We can add a lot of amenities out there and make it very attractive. Thereís some challenges here, but the land is developable.î
The advocacy group will probably present a proposal to council in the next few weeks.
ìA lot of people
felt disenfranchised when the Asheville Motor Speedway closed in 1999,î
Davis said. ìYou had 4,000 to 5,000 people coming out for those races.
That track was developed by a lot of prominent citizens in this area ó
and racing is part of the culture here, it has deep roots in this area.î
He added that he
would be in communication with officials from Henderson County and
surrounding towns to get their input and address their concerns.
Some of those
concerns revolve around the fact that the potential site for the
racetrack lies in a floodplain close to the French Broad River.
Meanwhile,
Councilman Brownie Newman said he was not personally a racing fan but
ìI can appreciate the enthusiasm this generates in a lot of people out
there.î
However, he said that steps would have to be taken to address the concerns of residents in the area about noise and pollution.
Councilman Bryan
Freeborn, who chairs the Airport Authority, noted that the Federal
Aviation Authority will have to approve the construction of any
racetrack, but that he does not anticipate problems.
ìAs long as the
flooding concerns can be addressed, thereís no possible aviation use
for the site,î Freeborn said. ìTheyíve taken a negative stance in the
past, but I feel we would get a different decision today.î
Councilman Carl Mumpower also voiced general support for the measure.
ìI think this has reached critical mass here and weíre moving forward on it,î Mumpower said.
In other action, council:
ï Discussed proposals by the Downtown Commission aimed at reducing panhandling, graffiti, trash and other potential nuisances.
The proposals
include setting up lockboxes where people can donate their change to
charitable organizations instead of giving it to panhandlers and
establishing a 48-hour cleanup policy for graffiti.
Panhandling is banned throughout much of the downtown, while aggressive panhandling is prohibited throughout the city.
However, the
Rev. Amy Cantrell, one of the founders of Zacchaeus House, a ministry
that works with the homeless, asserted that the city is punishing free
speech.
ìI believe Jesus
is decidedly pro-panhandling,î Cantrell said. ìThis depersonalizes it.
A locked box says ëkeep out.í It is not a person, it is not a neighbor,
I can not say hello to it, and it takes attention away from the real
issue. I have a right to give help to those I see in need and be
connected with them.î
She added that she is also against aggressive panhandling, but ìit is my right to choose to give or not to give.î
Meanwhile,
Dwight Butner, president of the Downtown Commission, said that the
group, through the lockboxes, is exercising its own right to free
speech.
ìWeíre saying
that you can put your money into organizations that will really help
out the homeless, instead of feeding a cycle of dependency,î Butner
said.
On the graffiti
proposal, Mumpower worried that by considering a policy that requires
business owners to clean up graffiti or turn over cleanup to another
organization, council might be placing its emphasis on the wrong people.
ìI think
graffiti is very, very harmful, it creates an environment of fear ≠ó
itís nothing less than urban terrorism,î Mumpower said. ìBut I wonder
if this isnít just once again making the victim suffer.î
In contrast,
Councilwoman Robin Cape said that while the city would need to make
provisions for special structural concerns with some buildings, ìthis
could be a way to get people on board with helping to clean graffiti
up.î
Another proposal involves banning all alcohol containers in public parks. The cityís laws currently ban only open containers.
Cape expressed
some concern about this measure, noting that ìwe want to get people to
walk more places, so why canít they carry a closed sixpack back to
their house?î
In reply, Mayor
Terry Bellamy asserted that ìthe reality is that you get beer cans
everywhere. We need to have extra rules like this one in place.î
One measure put forth, not by the Downtown Commission, but by Bellamy, involves the number of newspaper boxes around Asheville.
ìSome of these
are just in horrible condition and thereís litter wedged in and around
them,î Bellamy said. ìWe need to do something about this.î
Cape added that perhaps ìcentralizing the papers in some sort of kioskî would be a possibility.
However, City Attorney Bob Oast noted that there are ìsignificant First Amendment issuesî with any such measure.
When Oast then
informed council that there is currently no ordinance regulating
newspaper boxes, Freeborn exclaimed ìThatís crazy!î and said that
council must craft an ordinance.
City staff will examine the proposals and come back to council for formal action at a later date.
ï Voted 6-1 to
approve a high-end 33-acre development on Enka Lake. The development
had previously been delayed on Feb. 27, when council had asked Oast to
come back with information concerning the cityís ability to require
that the developement be annexed by the city.
Oast replied
that the city had no such power at this stage of the development. The
development, known as North View at Biltmore Lake, lies in a one-mile
zone outside the city limits where the city can set zoning rules.
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