WECAN Board Meeting May 2, 2013 at 64 Clingman Ave.
Board Members Present were: Byron Ballard, Jessie Nell Coleman, Joe Fioccola, AnnaBeth Hardcastle, Rachel Larson, Luke W. Perry and Pattiy Torno . Board Members not present were Jeff Carnivale, Tom Gibson, Mike Kenton Yuri Koslen, JoAnn Skinner and Suzanne Willis. Also present were: Marsha Stickford and Alan Glines.
Luke called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. with a round of introductions. Luke announced that there were stakes up on Club Street to rebuild on the site of the Club House. The draft April minutes were approved by acclamation with a correction to the March minutes that the Hillcrest Garden Party was actually on Friday march 8 and not Saturday March 9. Treasurer AnnaBeth reported no change in WECAN accounts.
NEIGHBOR/Block Jessie Updates: AnnaBeth reported that Mr. Herman Crisp was recovering from surgery and his family was under a lot of stress. New arrivals include Zelia Choster Pearson to Rector Street on April 7, Django Quetzal Shalom Koslin on April 16 and Alton Altheimer on April 22--both to Jefferson Drive..
PLANNING: 100 Park Avenue: Alan Glines city planner displayed a map submitted by the owners of 100 Park Avenue. for the subdivision of Park Avenue North. It showed 16 lots each at least 5000 sq. ft. and with a 50 ft. street frontage except for two 'flag shaped' lots with a 20 foot frontage. The previous conditional zoning reverts back to RM-8 and every lot on the 3.232 acres is buildable by right which means that no variances are required. On lots with more than a 35 degree slope which may include some lots on Jefferson a geo-technical report is required also engineers approval. There is a question about lot 16 which fronts on Park beyond the road barrier as DOT claims that portion of road. Joe noted that in some ways it was more in keeping with adjacent areas and better for the neighborhood than the previous conditional plan which had a much higher density. The discussion moved to the issue of gentrification. Marsh noted a vacancy on the Neighborhood Advisory Committee for the 28801 zip code and encouraged people to consider applying Pattiy noted that increased density is what pays for improvements to infrastructure. Joe countered that adjacent property owners also wind up paying more for that infrastructure. Luke noted that the ideal is to stabilize a neighborhood and protect the most vulnerable residents and be aware of the indirect affects of development. The EOTR conversations tried to establish priorities and explore options. There was some discussion of design options over which neighbors have little say except tor scale.
Pattiy reported that the 3+ acre Dave Steel site had no firm plan yet but may include some live-work places and market rate apartments possibly partnering with the city for inclusion of a parking deck. A great developer was needed to put the site to best use. Alan suggested that an 'Urban Place' development like the Glen Rock with mixed use commercial and residential might be called for and he would advise if plans were submitted.. Pattiy also reported that the plans for 95-97 Roberts St fell through and it was still on the market.
MASTER PLANNING: The committee has been making slow progress looking at past and current WECAN plans to see if they were fixed in time or living current documents. There remain issues about staffing and funding. Alan noted that there were some good things in the previous plans such as increased density, infill opportunities, affordability, scale issues and protection from inappropriate development. and it was a guide that planners used even before it was adopted by council. Some concerns that remain include sensible density, access to transportation, and affordability. He noted that the city doesn’t have a lot of money available or staff time but some support is possible if it can be scheduled and possible in printing copies. Pattiy raised the question how to do outreach to the community to do data collection and who can pay for it. AnnaBeth brought up survey fatigue since EOTR has done at least two and though we have access to their raw data we had no input into their questions (one survey was mostly energy usage related) and their data wasn't used. Pattiy referred to the 2006 Haywood Road Corridor Survey which had a phenomenal response rate. 1300 surveys were mailed and 400 responses were returned. To get feedback and see if they were on the right track it was followed up with a post card mailing referring to a Survey Monkey website which got a 600 responses. Pattiy noted that we have a good mailing list and we know every address in WECAN. Mail Management can also fix mailing lists inexpensively. Alan suggested that since we already have a set of survey information that perhaps we need to survey the holes or gaps and not have to go back to square one.. As important as asking the right questions is stating our assumptions as a communication tool. There was also a question about WECAN boundaries and whether Ann and Pearl Street should be included in WECAN or SFB.
ClLINGMAN FOREST GREENWAY: Marsha reported that progress was beginning to pick up and Siteworks should come to the next WECAN meeting on June 6. Their plans between now and October consist of several tiers of meetings: first introduction then deeper information and proposals then an input event followed by a final plan.
RIVER ARTS DISTRICT DESIGN SPEAKUP AND INPUT SESSION: will be at the Jean Webb Park on Riverside Drive. Drop in under the bridge from from 5-8 p.m. on Friday May 31 for input to the Riverside Drive Strategic Plan and OPEN Placemaking..
HISTORIC ASSETS : The Historic Assets Subcommittee Luke, Rachel, Byron and Joe met on April 23 to identify historic buildings at risk of loss. The list includes The Cotton Mill Furnace Room and smoke stack, Park Ave above Grey Eagle, Yarrow Place, Pete Basset's house, Riverside Studios, Westall Lumber buildings, Jimmy Smith's House, House on Queen St, Elbert Davis's house, Trolley Station/and bridge, Burger Bar. They identified the stages of loss from deterioration(holes in roof) to abandonment to nuisance (graffiti ) to danger(fire) to condemnation and on to demolition.. We prioritized the list and began looking at strategies to intervene in the process of decline. Pattiy noted that the Asheville Preservation Society was interested in the house above the Grey Eagle (which could be activated in the Dave Steel site plan.) Their current fund are tied to restoring the Thomas Wolfe Cabin in Oteen. She also reported that Riverlink planned to remove the Cotton Mill building that was burned any day or week now.
EVENT NUISANCES: Pattiy noted that there was excessive noise for the April 13 event beginning at 6:30 a.m. and cars parked on Roberts St. Shannon Tuck needs to be aware of these kind of concerns when issuing event permits. Pattiy encouraged all of us to take pictures file them and keep a journal of these things for the next time a permit is requested and also send them to Marsha. Marsha noted that some events occur on private property and only needed a special use permit and not an event permit. An example was the River Music concert on Riverside Drive on Friday May 24 from 5-10 p.m. where Riverlink ferries attendees from Westgate Parking lot since on-site parking is so limited. Iron Man and Bicycle Race would not affect us this year and the semi annual Studio Stroll has never been a problem.
ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY: Joe reported that a new 4-year contract was up for renewal beginning in June. He will have it ready to sign at the June 6 WECAN Meeting.
AT-LARGE BOARD MEMBERS: Joe noted that none have been nominated yet. At Large members serve on the board for a 1 year renewable term and are open to non residents, property owners, businesses or anyone who may have skills or talents that the board values.
GARDEN CLUB: Joe set the next date at Owens Bell Park for Sunday May 5 at 12 noon. The last session Joe and Byron and Hanni particpated. Hooray for all!
ASTON PARK GET TOGETHER:: Evaluation there was not a huge turnout. ( maybe 50-75 all together.)
STAND AGAINST RACISM: was over.( just the banner near our sign).
COMMUNITY GARDEN PROPOSAL: Joe and Byron have drafted a two page proposal.
MASTER PLAN FUNDING DRAFT PROPOSAL: Joe and Byron drafted a 1 page proposal. (Copies of both proposals will be sent to board members in a separate email.)
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
DRAFT Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Sun May 5 12-Noon Owens Bell Park Garden Club
Thu May 16 6:30 pm Master Planning Sub Committee
Fri May 31 5-8 pm drop in PSNC Showcase and HoopLah
Thu Jun 6 6:30 p.m. WECAN Board Meeting
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