A rough draft of the Downtown Master Plan drawn up by consultants Goody-Clancy won’t be presented to the public on Sept. 18, as was originally planned.
In a meeting on Sept. 8, the Downtown Master Plan Advisory Committee voted to push back the unveiling because of reservations with the current draft.
“Personally, I think it would be a very big mistake to take this draft to the public,” said committee member and downtown developer Chuck Tessier.
At the meeting, several committee members aired issues with the current version of the plan. David Dixon and Benjamin Carlson of Goody-Clancy, who participated via conference call, said they would soon respond to those concerns, but the committee would have little time to consider those responses before the Sept. 18 date. Other members said they would like to see more consensus on the part of the committee before approaching the public with the draft.
Meanwhile, Dixon, Carlson and the city’s project manager, Sasha Vrtunski, all mentioned that the consulting project is going over budget and that there may be a need to go back to Asheville City Council to ask for more money for the project.
A new date for the public presentation has not been announced.
— Brian Postelle, staff writer
