The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners avoids the words “zoning” and “land-use planning” the way most county residents avoid poison ivy, but “cutting development density” doesn’t seem to scare them a bit. On June 21, the commissioners adopted the county Planning Board’s recommendations concerning mountainside development and amended the county’s subdivision ordinance. As laid out … Read more
Keeping rivers cleaner Each year, the Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District receives cost-share allocations from the state for agricultural non-point-source pollution control. These funds are passed on to farmers for conservation measures that decrease the amount of sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus, chemicals and other pollutants that enter surface and ground water. Such projects may … Read more
To a large degree, the local water wars have revolved around exceptions. Is it fair that Asheville is the only North Carolina city that’s not allowed to charge more for water beyond the city limits? Does Asheville’s unique history warrant such special treatment by the General Assembly? And for that matter, is any city justified … Read more
When Phillip Gibson was hired as French Broad Riverkeeper in 2001, he had four goals: educate, involve, plan, act. But he soon found that his first order of business was convincing people about what a Riverkeeper isn’t. A lot of people, he explains, were afraid “that I was going to be invading private property or … Read more
Follow the logic In reference to the Water Disagreement and representation: a. Who is watching the hen house in the water debate? b. Is this City Council vs. Board of Commissioners? c. Four of five county commissioners are city residents today. d. All of City Council members live in the city. e. Only one of … Read more
By now, a lot of readers know that I really don’t like smoking and what it does to the human body. Just when my own voice had settled down to the basso range, my favorite uncle, who had a lovely tenor voice, was diagnosed with both lung cancer and emphysema. So the dream of singing … Read more
