Parkside: “Public Forever” or Forever Lost?

This is a press release I sent out yesterday. The “Public Forever” Resolution went to the Commissioners on May 12, 2008.

“PUBLIC FOREVER” RESOLUTION GOES TO BUNCOMBE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Group Calls For Investigation of Parkside Deal and Reacquisition of Public Land

Though widely acknowledged to have been a mistake, the sale of public park land to a private developer has neither been investigated nor has the County government corrected its error through reacquisition of the land in question. The process that allowed this failure of government to take place must be publicly examined and corrected to ensure the people of Asheville and Buncombe County can have full faith and confidence in their elected government.

George W. Pack gave Pack Square to County residents in 1900 “provided that the County will dedicate to the Public forever, to be used for the purpose of a public square, park or place”. While Stewart Coleman’s Black Dog Realty fights the Pack family in the courts, ordinary citizens are left wondering how their government could have allowed the sale to happen.

Asheville Buncombe Policy Institute, in the spirit of open government and honoring the legacy of George W. Pack, put forth the “Public Forever” resolution on May 12, 2008 asking that County Commissioners shoulder the responsibility of (1) determining the cause and remedy for the failures that led to the sale; and (2) reacquiring the park land in order to return it to the public.

The private developers continue to move ahead with their project, slated to come before City Council in June, 2008, despite being rejected by the Asheville Planning and Zoning Board and being opposed by the Pack Square Conservancy, the ostensible stewards of the park.

That which George W. Pack insisted remain “Public forever” is in danger of being forever lost. Our County government has a moral and ethical obligation to its citizens to investigate and rectify this transaction.

Through a full accounting of the error(s) and through rectifying the errant transaction, our County’s government will demonstrate its openness, commitment to quality, and willingness to say that “public forever” means public forever.

“Public Forever” Resolution. Submitted by the Asheville/Buncombe Policy Institute to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on May 12, 2008:

WHEREAS the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on January 7, 1901 recorded in the minutes an offer from George Pack, which was accepted by the Commissioners, “I offer to give to the County to be used for a site for a Coach House and County offices, the land on College Street in Asheville, which I purchased of Col. A.J. Davidson, provided that the County will dedicate to the Public forever, to be used for the purpose of a public square, park or place”.

WHEREAS Buncombe County acknowledged that parcel 9649.19-50-0341 (otherwise known as park land in front of City Hall) fell within the Pack Square boundaries in an August 14, 2001 agreement between the City of Asheville, County of Buncombe, and the Pack Square Conservancy;

WHEREAS it has been publicly acknowledged that the County sold Parcel 9649.19-50-0341, which was included in the August 14, 2001 agreement that Buncombe County signed with Pack Square Conservancy, is public parkland;

WHEREAS this sale was advertised for only one day in a small, classified advertisement;

WHEREAS that sale was inserted into a consent agenda moments before voting on it without any public notice and summarily passed;

WHEREAS the sale of such land requires a public process, requests for qualifications, etc.;

WHEREAS Builder Stewart Coleman began research to acquire this parcel before it was for sale;

WHEREAS Builder Stewart Coleman held private meetings with former City Planning Director about acquiring the park land for a year before doing so;

WHEREAS these discussions, per Mr. Coleman, involved swapping City-owned land for Parcel 9649.19-50-0341;

WHEREAS the parcel was sold for $278,000 below the value later assigned to it by the County;

WHEREAS Wanda Greene’s signature is on the August 14, 2001 agreement with Pack Square Conservancy, promising that parcel to them for the park, but she then advocated for the sale of the parkland when Stewart Coleman approached the County about buying the old jail;

WHEREAS Commissioners Peterson and Stanley have stated that the deal might have been a mistake;

WHEREAS Commissioner Gantt has stated, “We screwed up” and “Everybody failed.” in regard to the sale of the property;

WHEREAS the Register of Deeds office possesses an aerial photo with a map overlay that clearly shows the proposed sale’s property line extending well into the park;

WHEREAS, according to Commissioners, no one in County staff alerted the Commissioners to the fact that the land is in Pack Square;

WHEREAS this would have required failures at every level of County staff;

WHEREAS public trust and public confidence are central to our democracy;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the parcel be reacquired and returned to its intended purpose as stated in the Pack Square Agreement signed by parties representing the City of Asheville, the County of Buncombe, and Pack Conservancy on August 14, 2001.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THEREFORE that the Commissioners or an independent organization will initiate, complete, and make public an investigation into the causes of the various failures that allowed this sale of public park to a private developer to take place and that this investigation will be completed by August 15, 2008.