Asheville will be saving a seat for a Buncombe County commissioner on the Asheville-Buncombe Riverfront Commission, whether the county wants it now or not.

On Tuesday night (March 12), the City Council considered an ordinance that would have reduced the size of the 14-member riverfront panel by removing the position set aside for a county commissioner.

County commissioners requested deleting that reserved seat, according to a staff report by the city’s deputy clerk Sarah Gross.

Asked why the county made the request, Commission Chair Brownie Newman told 828NewsNOW, “After discussing the opening with all the Commissioners, I found that none of them were interested in serving on this Commission, so I shared that information with the city officials.”

However, with City Council members Kim Roney, Sage Turner and Maggie Ullman opposed, the motion to eliminate the seat failed on a 3-3 vote.

“It keeps the invitation open,” Roney told a reporter after the meeting.

She said future collaboration was important for such a critical environmental asset that the city and county share.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council did take action to appoint Ullman to the riverfront panel, replacing Turner in the city’s seat.

The Riverfront Commission has a broad mission that includes studying ways to improve riverfront infrastructure, evaluating the positive and negative impacts of proposed riverfront development, and providing input on related issues to Asheville, Woodfin, Black Mountain and Buncombe County.

The panel began discussing its direction and purpose for 2024 at a meeting in January.

Its latest meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce building, 36 Montford Ave., Asheville, in the 2nd floor conference room.

Old business included reviews of: the Wilma Dykeman Riverway Master Plan; city, town and county plans; and recommendations on land development and transportation development policies.

For more information, see:
https://www.ashevillenc.gov/department/city-clerk/boards-and-commissions/asheville-area-riverfront-redevelopment-commission/

This story was updated March 15, 2024, with comment from the Buncombe County Commission chair.