ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) –
Critics turned out in force Tuesday night, but the Asheville City Council voted to approve creation of a controversial downtown Business Improvement District or “BID.”
A pair of 6-1 votes on the BID and a related resolution ended months of deliberations, which included a marathon public hearing this spring and a sometimes emotional public debate on both sides. Council Member Kim Roney cast the lone dissenting vote.
“My hope is we will learn it is a great benefit,” Council Member Sage Turner said. “If we don’t, we’ll have the ability to cancel it.”
The decision creates a special BID district to collect special property taxes within the downtown zone to use for public safety and cleanliness efforts that supplement, not replace, city services.
Business groups have been championing the cause, saying it’s key to bolstering economic development at the heart of the city.
But on Tuesday night, some supporters stayed away, citing an incident last week when police said a vandal slashed the tires and spray painted an anti-BID message on a car belonging to a member of a task force that had been advocating the plan.
“And so the task force, which is a volunteer group, is obviously not feeling safe and so will not be here tonight to speak on this item,” Mayor Esther Manheimer announced. She called the incident “very unfortunate,” adding “I think intimidation like that does deter people in our community from wanting to serve in voluntary positions and that’s unfortunate.”
Critics have questioned putting taxpayer dollars under the control of an unelected board, raised issues about the role of downtown “ambassadors” who will interact with the public and called the district tantamount to “privatizing public spaces.”
“I’m appalled by this ‘vote-now, fill-in-the-blanks-later’ approach,” opponent Zie Blanton told the council.
“I remember downtown being different when I was younger,” Blanton told 828newsNOW. “It (has) slowly become more and more corporate and gentrified and I feel like the soul of it has kind of been slowly been seeping away for monetary interests. I have said multiple times that I feel like the BID would be the nail in the coffin.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s final 6-1 vote, with Council Member Kim Roney dissenting, council members attempted to address some of the critics’ concerns by approving a separate resolution by the same margin. It directed city staff to include specific requirements for the way the district operates in a formal Request for Proposals when seeking a management entity.
The approved “Resolution Regarding Structure of a Downtown Business Improvement District” would: require extra training for “community stewards” (no longer called “ambassadors”) who will interact with the public; add transparency requirements for a 17-member steering committee; and give giving more seats to renters and other community members, including a homelessness advocate.
Under the resolution, the “dedicated, unarmed community stewards” would:
• “Ideally have lived experience with poverty.”
• Be required to have “anti-racist training, equity training, mental health first aid training and de-escalation training.”
• Be directed to have a “highly visible presence; proactively engage with the public; provide directions and assistance; offer safety escorts (to downtown visitors) on an on-call basis.”
• Be trained to “connect members of the unhoused community to resources like the Community Responders, Community Paramedics, homeless service providers, etc.”
Although the resolution doesn’t carry the same weight of law as an ordinance, it would declare the council’s intent and shape the requirements for bidders spelled out in the RFP process.
The resolution addresses accountability and transparency questions by requiring a BID service provider to comply with all public records and open meetings laws. Meanwhile, it would re-shape the district’s governing structure significantly, compared to the original plan proposed.
Some council members questioned the original plan because it guaranteed board seats to the largest commercial property owners within the downtown district, even if they were out-of-town entities like major hotels.
The resolution calls for a 17-member steering committee made up of Buncombe County residents, including:
• Four commercial property owners.
• Four business renters.
• Three residential property owners.
• Three renters.
• One representative from “The Block,” a historically African-American district within the heart of the downtown.
• One member of Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care, a planning body that works to prevent and address homelessness issues.
• One member at large.
Meanwhile, the resolution says that various industries all “shall be” represented on the board, including food and beverage, entertainment, hospitality, office and retail. And it would give non-voting “ex-officio” seats to a member of the City Council and designees of the city and county managers.
“This resolution does not assuage our concerns,” resident Grace Barron said. Barron said 1,500 people signed petitions opposing creation of the district, but council members were only listening to wealthy business people and “parroting” the talking points of business interests. “We’ll keep fighting it even after you say ‘yes’ to it,” Barron said.
“It’s corporate redlining and privatization of our public spaces. It’s a power grab,” said opponent Madison Jane, 35, owner of The Haus of Jane, who demonstrated outside prior to the meeting in a colorful “poo” costume that declared the BID to be “crap.”
Several opponents said it could turn the downtown district into a shopping mall-like environment. Social worker Michael Johnson, 30, said before the meeting, “I care about Asheville. I care about Asheville’s local business. The BID is going to destroy that,” he said. “The local economy, the culture? It all hinges on keeping Asheville weird — and passionate.”
Meanwhile, opponents mocked one of the terms advocates often used when they said a district structure would be more “nimble” than city government in reacting to issues downtown.
Barron called it nonsensical “corporate speak.”
“Nimbleness is not a good thing if it allows harm to occur quicker,” BID opponent Nicole Lopez said.
Resident Nina Tovish asked council members, “Why aren’t we doing this in-house?” rather than shifting responsibility to an independent entity.
Even with the resolution that would make the BID subject to public records and open meetings requirements, the critics still question whether it will be accountable to the public or beholden to the business community. Council members said they would approve all appointments to the board, review its work regularly and could zero-out its tax rate and funding source if it doesn’t work properly.
Even after the final vote, some opponents said they’d continue watching and several hinted they’d make it an issue at election time.
PRIOR COVERAGE from 828newsNOW.com:
VANDAL STRIKES CAR OF DOWNTOWN ‘BID’ PLAN BACKER
ASHEVILLE COUNCIL VOTES TO ADVANCE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT PLAN
HOMELESSNESS DOMINATES DEBATE OVER DOWNTOWN BID district
This story has been updated.