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You know sometimes I am amazed at the power of this network. The Asheville City Council is meeting today to discuss potential revisions to the steep slope ordinance that the city is planning implementing. The main sticking point is that whether to have the ordinance cover property beginning at 2200 feet elevation ( backed by many environmental and citizens groups) or go up and begin covering property at 2500 feet elevation(backed by many developers, builders, and an affordable housing coalition). There is a concern that by going to 2500 feet that little of the property in City of Asheville will be covered by the ordinance and that many new homes for sale could be sited on slopes that really do not warrant that level of development.

So I had sent am email to the mayor and all council members before the April 24^th Council meeting to express my support for the 2200 feet plan. The vote was postponed though until today May 8^th. I sent another email again to the Mayor and City Council members but this time included a link to my blog "Is the Green Movement Anti-growth" I also inserted the picture of the sustainable development model I had seen on Wikipedia to just make the point that there was a model of sustainable development I was working from.

So off the email goes and within an half hour I have gotten a reply from the mayor thanking me for my detailed email and asking if I have any pictures of landslides from the area because she and her staff would like to see them before the meeting. Now I did not say anything about landslides in my original email and can only surmise that the mayor somehow got to my comments on Janeannes landslide blog and figured I had access to some pictures which of course I didn't. But I made a quick call to Rick Wooten of the North Carolina Geological Surveyand he provided up to date information about landslide issues and some pictures which I forwarded to the mayor. So we will see what happens tonight, but the RainPower of blogs and comments was plainly evident for me to see today. Cool!

UPDATE: It looks like the steep slope issue was delayed again, No coverage in the local media so that means more time to educate. The issue is complicated by the fact that the affordable housing folks fell this ordinance will limit areas where affordable housing could be sited. I have to explore why the city could not grant exceptions to the ordinance for developments that meet HUD affordable housing criteria. Its not like there will be a sprawl of affordable housing developments popping up in our community with land prices being what they are.

Posted by Bill Westel, ECO on 05/09/2007 07:50 AM

Comments (32)

asheville, city council, steep slope ordinance, homes for sale, active rain, landslides, sustainable development

This post has been included in North Carolina Information Buncombe County, NC Information Asheville, NC Information

32 Comments on Active RainPower

MAY

2007

Bill, Your quick action may save lives. Maybe even the lives of my own children and grandchildren. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Leslie

Bill, Glad you were able to get a response so fast. I'm also glad that your city seems to pay attention to what professionals feel.

MAY

2007

Thanks Leslie, but lets see what they do. Did not stay up and watch the news and the paper online isnt covering it, Have to go out and get a printed copy.

The power of the press, er, internet! Keep us up to date?

Excellent example of pro-active involvement at the local level. Sharing your expertise and knowledge will go a long way to make a name for yourself in your community. Great work.

Gary:

I think being a real esate agent has something to do with the mayors response since this is not the typical position the industry takes on matters like this. Our local Board does support having the ordinance apply at the 2500 ft. elevation level.

Nice job on speaking up and making yourself heard Bill. It's amazing how far blogging and AR can go in making us "authorities".

Bill~

It is so exciting to think that the AR Network contributes to a public forum where policies are made that can impact a community for a very long while. More than this, as a real estate professional involved in your community, you show us the watchful eye every clients hopes for....and "how it's done"!...If I were your client, I'd consider myself a lucky person.

Please keep us updated!

wow - that is pretty amazing. I'm frankly most amazed that you got a response from the mayor like that.

Rich and Keith:

I am lucky to live in the Asheville area where there is a greater awareness of the growing pressure from unplanned growth and development. It doesnt necessarily mean that we will get sustainable development, but the odds are greater here than in many other areas of the country. Thanks for dropping by and your support.

The Mayor already has some land slide pictures. She gave a presentation on it last year at The first Congress of Asheville Neighborhoods

Excellent job, Bill. And I love that the mayor was so responsive.

I'd be interested to know more about the worries of the affordable housing coalition. It seems like people buying affordable housing wouldn't want to live on steep slopes and have to deal w/ potential problems such as landslides. I would think the expense of building on steep slopes would make it MORE cost prohibitive for affordable housing in Asheville.

Janeanne:

Thanks for your positive comments. The steep slope ordinance is going to be a big issue for the Council and I think they are going to hear from many groups on both sides of this issue. It will be interesting to see which side the Eco Consultant Association (a committee of the Asheville Board of Realtors) decides to support. The issue is going to be on the agenda for the next meeting.

Angie:

Terry Bellamy, the mayor of Asheville is pretty progressive. She is the first female African American mayor of the city, and is a strong advocate for the environment, children, senior citizens and affordable housing.

Hi Jeff:

I knew the mayor had to have access to other landslide photos just because of her involvement in mountain environmental issues and that really was not the focus of my email to her. I just was surprised that she took the time to follow the Active Rain link and I guess look at some of my comments or somehow happened onto Janeanne's landslide blog.

Bill, One Step At A Time, you got her attention and her response, that means she is listening! I wish officials here were that quick to react! Good Job, I'm so glad I joined this group, it's so neat to see how many people out there do care about others! Congratulations!

Mayor Belamy seems to be quite involved in informing herself on all the different opinions pertaining to an issue.From watching her at city council meetings,I have to say,our Mayor is Very coolheaded.

Hi Cory:

Yes, I need to get more information on the Affordable Housing side of this equation because the points you make seem valid to me as well. Maybe a call to the Mountain Housing Opportunties will shed some light on the matter.

Bill, you et a great example. Many people complain or object - you added suggestions and links to information. That's being proactive and will get a much better response.

Bill this is great. I have been very involved in the NH legislature -- it takes a lot of time and a lot of effort, but it is worth it. Every voice needs to be heard -- and then we can make a difference. We are fighting against adding $60 to the transfer rax in NH -- housing is becoming unafordable and we need to make sure people can buy homes. good luck!

I hope that it all works out. That is so great that we can make such a difference.

I have only been here a couple weeks and gotten response to my active rain posts, from potential customers.

Bill- Congratulations on the recognition you receives from the leaders in your community. Your post shows the significance of paying attention and participating in the life of your community. It also highlights the the powerful resource we have in Active Rain.

MAY

2007

Hi Sharon:

You know I usually just send a three or four sentence email to elected officials because I am too busy doing other things. But since I had the AR Blog already written and it fit with the issue at hand it was easy to go and add the link and include the graphic. Hope to be able to do more of that in the future. Thanks for stopping by.

Lysa:

I found that the elected officials in my part of Florida wher I use to live were so inundated with interest groups and people trying to get heard that few ever responded to an email except with a form email back. I guess now it will be trying to get some city council members to respond since it appears the issue is far from being settled. May be another month. Thanks for you positive comment and I glad you decided to join the group as well.

John:

I agree that Mayor Bellamy seems to have a handle on a variety of issues. Dealing with the City Council though can be a somewhat trying experience though.

Bill, thank you for taking interest in rhe welfare of your community to sell people property where they will be long-term safe and satisfied. Too many times their judgment just doesn't wake up until too late.

This is another facet of green that is so GOOD!

Hi Joan:

I am just getting my feet wet in the local political scene, but with so many development and growth issues coming to the table both in the city and county now seems like a good time to jump in! I dont envy you those fights in the legislature, thats an arena where a whole confluence of interest groups seem to be on the field 24/7. Good Luck on the transfer tax issue.

Christy:

I am fortunate to live in a area where you can have your voice heard with just an email. Thanks for stopping by!

Steve:

I have some referrals as well through AR. It is very google friendly!

Eloise:

Thanks for your comment. I agree with you that the AR Network really is a powerful tool and thnk that there are even more ways it can be used than I have thought of yet.

Thanks Judy Ann. Almost no one buying homes here even think about landslides mostly I think because the big growth is just starting. All it will take is for one subdivision to get hit and then everyone will start to take the risk a bit more seriously.

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