Asheville Council to consider two hotel proposals Dec. 11
At City Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 11, two of three planned public hearings deal with proposed hotel development projects, a hot topic at recent Council meetings.
One proposed project would add 56 hotel rooms on four Biltmore Avenue parcels numbered 155, 137, 129 and 123. Together, the four parcels comprise 1.56 acres and include three historic residences and one office building. The proposed hotel rooms would be spread among the three historic buildings and one new building at 155 Biltmore Ave., where the office building now stands.
The new building would include a basement-level parking garage, while parking for the other buildings would be provided at ground level in an area now used for parking behind the existing buildings.
The other proposed hotel project sits just outside Biltmore Village at 62 Fairview Road. Developer RBH Acquisition LLC hopes to build a six-story, 170-room hotel with a 125-seat restaurant and meeting spaces.
Council will also hear public comment on a proposed economic development incentive for Burial Beer Co. The grant would not exceed $30,000 and could spur $1.8 million in facility improvements and create 17 new jobs, according to a staff report (avl.mx/5g8).
Parking fines to go up
It’s been nearly 20 years since the city of Asheville last increased its parking fines, but the days of the $10 parking ticket are rapidly coming to an end.
As of Feb. 1, parking fines at metered and nonmetered spaces will increase to $20, and a second or subsequent violation within one 24-hour period will go from $20 to $40. Fines for parking in a loading zone will triple, from $10 to $30, and all other violations will rise from $10 to $20.
The hourly rate for metered on-street parking remains $1.50 per hour.
In a press release, the city said that, under the new fine structure, revenue from fines “could conceivably double” over the course of a year.
