2011-11-13

Introductions

* = Neighborhood Representative
 

General Business

Treasurer's Report- new balance $6221.49
A quorum of member organizations was present.

Asheville Trees

Shannon Tuch, Assistant Planning Director, City of Asheville, discussed the removal of trees at the Wachovia/Wells Fargo bank site on Patton Avenue.  COA staff who knew the trees had been removed were in the process of writing a violation notice when they were advised the property owner had applied for a permit and had already contacted the NC Department of Transportation and received a letter from NCDOT that did not object to the removal.  Landscaping requirements at the site are covered under the UDO, but DOT also has jurisdiction because they maintain the roadway and have an easement.  Planning staff have reviewed the procedure for permits to remove trees and will now refer all requests to the Tree Commission for consideration and joint approval.  Denial of permits by the Planning Department may be limited to changes in landscaping requirements made when a building site was developed or an existing property is modified.  In most cases, there is no protection for other trees on private property.  Suggestions for best practices can be made and property owners would have an option to modify their plans.

Judy Mattox has contacted bank officials and is working with other organizations to remediate the site and request additional improvements along Patton Avenue.   Local bank management is working on fixing the Patton Avenue location, coordination with regional managers may result in additional improvements at other public locations in Asheville. 

Shannon also advised:
1. The Tree Commission is looking at an educational program on tree topping, which frequently results in the tree dying.  Suggested regulations specify a minimum trunk diameter and the percent of the tree structure that is removed.

2. Staff are reviewing the fines and appeal procedures that apply when regulated trees are removed without a permit.

3. Staff are reviewing new and existing downtown trees planted in 4’x4’ “pits” where aeration, watering, and abuse are a problem. Recommendations would be to improve the soil and increase the volume around the root ball.

4. Staff are studying a request concerning pollarding of trees, see added detail below:

WIKIPEDIA reference: Pollarding is a pruning system in which the upper branches of a tree are removed, promoting a dense head of foliage and branches. It has been common in Great Britain and Europe since medieval times and is practiced today in urban areas worldwide, primarily to maintain trees at a predetermined height.[1]

5. Work continues on a wording amendment to the sign ordinance, it will go to P&Z, then to City Council, and restrict certain types of signs and billboards along major corridors.  Check the P&Z agenda for scheduling and supporting documents.

Naming Rights to Asheville Civic Center

Discussion concerning recent news accounts and email exchanges that revealed a proposal to sell naming rights to the Asheville Civic Center.  By unanimous vote, the CAN Board approved a motion made by Mike Lewis:

The CAN Board is concerned with the lack of transparency and community input in selling the naming rights to the Asheville Civic Center.  It is unclear how the price for this community asset was determined and if there was a competitive bidding process to determine the price.  We urge the Asheville City Council to reconsider this deal in open session and allow public comment. 

CAN email List

Josh O’Connor asked about monitoring of the CAN email List, in his opinion some recent posts were less than civil and may alienate member communities and others individuals that subscribe. 

To encourage the free flow of ideas and alternate opinions, the CAN List is open to anyone that registers.  Monitoring occurs, but generally any issue of community interest is allowed unless personal attacks or uncivil language are used in a post.           

Following the meeting James Judd noted the following:

There are 3 CAN related email lists as follows:

• exec@AshevilleCAN.org which includes only executive committee members;
• board@AshevilleCAN.org which includes board members (reps from each neighborhood) and all executive committee members:
• list@AshevilleCAN.org a general list for everyone in the community and includes all exec committee members and board members.

Please send messages to only one CAN email list.  For example, if you want the message to go to everyone in the CAN community use list@AshevilleCAN.org , and rest assured that the people on the BOARD LIST and EXEC LIST will get it as well because they are also members of the GENERAL LIST.


Please understand that people who are not list members of exec@AshevilleCAN.org or board@AshevilleCAN.org can still send an email to these lists but they will be moderated before being accepted.

Emails to list@AshevilleCAN.org from unregistered users will be rejected and will not be moderated, they will just disappear…

Please email James Judd at exec@AshevilleCAN.org if you have questions or comments on CAN email lists.

Can Organization

Grace Curry announced the following nominations for CAN executive committee positions:

• Barber Melton will continue as Vice President for Government Relations and represent CAN on the Flood Commission and the Affordable Housing Committee.
• Valerie Hoh will serve as Vice President for Membership.
• Christine Longoria will be a Member at Large.

Adjourned at 8:54

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