Parkside: Take Action – County and Coleman Hope To Avoid Responsibility
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Action at end of post – scroll down if you’re looking for a list of email addies for Council and Commission.
UPDATE: From B-Dog in the comments – “UNLESS County Manager Wanda Greene decides to take it on herself to sign the affidavit Coleman needs for his app. sometime before then. LEGALLY, she has the authority to do so, as she did once before. Now that Parkside is the big, foul-smelling elephant rotting in the corner of the room that it is, she may not want the political heat.
Would it be inappropriate to call (828) 250-4100 and ask her if she intends to do just that?”
No, Barry, it wouldn’t.
On Tuesday night, June 3rd, Asheville City Council will meet in closed session to discuss, among other things, Stewart Coleman’s Parkside condo highrise project. Coleman and his Black Dogs cut 2 stories off the height of the condominiums and subtracted an underground parking level ostensibly to get the size of the building under the cutoff point for Council review.
It was a Level III development of more than 100,000 sq. ft., which required a City Council review and public hearing.
It’s now a Level II development of “99,930 sq. ft”., which requires only a visit to the rubber stampy Technical Review Committee.
This is called cynically dodging the City of Asheville’s Council and citizens.
Coleman dismissively described opposition to this boondoggle as 80 people who “jump around and dance around trees and do foolish stuff”. Yet his slippery behavior suggests a recognition that the City Council and impressive array of individuals and groups against the suspicous deal were more than happy to send him packing.
Having spoken with some of the Council members and others who have done the same, my impression is that our seven representatives are double-plus pissed at Coleman’s trickery and Commission’s paralysis. They’re frustrated that Buncombe County kicked this can down the road, leaving Council to handle what ought to be the County’s responsibility. They’re shocked at Coleman’s disrespectful chutzpah in ducking their oversight.
Aside from the sensible sounding David Gantt, the rest of the County Commission is sitting quietly, hoping that Asheville City Council will solve the problem they created. While Coleman avoids City scrutiny, the County Commission avoids owning up to their responsibility to solve the problem.
There are also whispers that County staff and others are pushing for a “Land Swap”. What is a land swap?
The land swap in question is where the City gives away it’s most valuable property in exchange for public parkland that the County never should have sold in the first place. Coleman proposed this last year during a closed session of City Council and turned down the City’s suggestion he utilize the existing RFP process. The RFP process allows for private developers to apply to purchase city owned land. Coleman refused to use the process. He’s no fan of the “rules”.
Remember that Coleman and sketchy former City Planner Scott Shuford cooked up this deal before any properties were purchased – back in late 2005. He really thought he’d get away with “mistakenly” buying our public park land, holding it like a bargaining chip, and getting the city to let him build his condo highrise on their land in exchange for the park.
Councilman Brownie Newman wrote in an email regarding the June 3rd closed session,
“I hope we reach agreement that Council will be working towards restoration of the public parkland back to public ownership and that we are willing to direct our City Manager and City Attorney top pursue all reasonable legal options to achieve that goal. “
Local architect Michael McDonough writes of the Darkside deal in the context of the Woodfin Power Plant debacle in an email:
“The same deceit and backroom dealing, and well-connected private interests get prime public land at below-market prices. Were these betrayals based on ignorance, indifference, or corruption? Throw in 8 years of meekly funding Medford’s corrupt Sheriff’s department, it appears to me to be the latter.
The citizen’s of Buncombe County deserve a full accounting of this latest violation of the public trust, and the return of this land back to the public park, as intended by George Pack.”
In an email to County Commission and City Council, Barry “The Hulk” Summers lays out a case against giving an inch, concluding:
“The ongoing Parkside spectacle has begged the question: how far is Council prepared to go in order to preserve their rights and responsibilities to the public? I would argue that what must happen is that Mr. Coleman be told No, we will not allow you to build on park land, and No, we will not allow you to hold park land hostage for City-owned land. Advise him to accept a fair buy-out and walk away.”
Now it’s your turn.
Please take a moment to fire off an email to County Commission letting them know that Commissioner David Gantt is right: “the County has an obligation to try to fix the ongoing issues here.”
nathan.ramsey@buncombecounty.org, commissioner@davidgantt.com, bill.stanley@buncombecounty.org, carol.peterson@buncombecounty.org, davidy@fugazync.com
And/Or shoot an email to City Council letting them know that you want them to stand their ground. No land swap. No appeasing a developer who’s making a mockery of our public trust. He needs to be sent away to deal with the County.
mayorbellamy@ashevillenc.gov, jandavis@main.nc.us, rcape@charter.net, hollyj@buncombe.main.nc.us, drmumpower@aol.com, newmanasheville@aol.com, billrussell@charter.net
And/Or show up to the County Commission meeting’s public comment at 4pm on Tuesday to tell the Commissioners what is and isn’t acceptable.
Just do something. Let them know that Coleman is an idiot if he thinks that 80 people constitute the whole of the opposition to this foul deal. Let them know that swapping our land for our land is the height of silliness. Let them know that it’s the County’s responsibility to create a solution that works. Let them know that George W. Pack said this land should be “Public forever”.
21 Comments
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:56 am
Enough’s enough Gordon Smith. You seemingly endless ignorant bantering about the ParkSide project will eventually fall on deaf ears as the facts slowly begin to circumvent your one-sided, one-dimensional fictional blogging rants. Your statements are nothing more than opinion which ignors material fact. But you present it otherwise and people unwilling to search the truth for themselves begin to believe your somewhat articulate lies. You clearly state that the land transaction hasn’t been investigated but you preach as if it has and the guilty verdict befell the County and ParkSide. Well it hasn’t, because nothing underhanded, deceitful, or unethical has taken place, sorry to disappoint you.
I know the facts and you don’t. If anyone is unethical it is you for spreading mis-information and scandalizing a project that is good for the community, and scandalizing a true benefactor and philanthropist in our community Stewart Coleman. Shame on you. It is one thing to have an opinion, an opinion based on facts. But your opinion is based on make-believe conspiracy theories, distortion of the truth, and creative fiction. Give us material evidence of anything that you claim. I read your Hooligans and there is no factual basis to any of it. It’s either inaccurate, untrue, or just opinion based on nothing. It’s empty of fact. The 299 pages of documents that you seem so proud of, which I have read and sorry to have wasted the time, prove nothing.
I plead to those that read his omnipresent blogs to consider both sides of the issue. He only represents an opinion based on what I can only imagine to be bias, stereotype, prejudice, or just ignorance. If he was only expressing an opinion there would be no need for backlash. But he presents his one-sided fact-less opinion as the truth, and it is nothing of the such.
By the way, this is from the owners of the illustration that you and/or your little pack of mis-informers manipulated to support your lies about ParkSide on the cover of the parksidetruthiness website, “I will make sure they understand that they are in violation of copyright with repercussions if not withdrawn within 5 business daysâ€. Your unethical, deceitful, manipulative behavior has extended to the point of breaking the law, well done.
Man you have some free time on your hands….
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June 2nd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
No June 16 TRC review for Parkside!!
The game changes yet again. Coleman’s Level II application, which would kick it down to the Technical Review Committee, got hung up on a technicality. His original permission from the County to use their land for staging and road-building was conditional on a Level III review by City Council. For Coleman to move forward, the County has to FORMALLY VOTE to support his end-run around the City approval process. As of noon Monday, there is no Parkside-related vote scheduled at the County Board of Commissioners meeting tomorrow, Tuesday the 3rd.
Maybe ask them every 3 minutes if something has appeared on the agenda? Anyone have a Robo-caller?
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June 2nd, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Hi Reality,
Thanks for dropping by and commenting. Please feel free to continue to unburden us of our misapprehensions. Your facts and opinions are welcome here. I wish you’d dropped by sooner.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 12:36 pm
According to Kathy Hughes, County Clerk, there will be no Parkside-related vote at the June 3rd. meeting. There WILL be discussion by Asst. County Attorney Michael Frue (if there is one person other than Wanda Greene responsible for this mess, it’s him,) and County Manager Wanda Greene. After that discussion, there MAY be a vote scheduled for the next meeting, June 17th. That means that Coleman will have missed the NEXT deadline for TRC applications, as well (June 11th). That means that the SOONEST his project could come up for Level II review by the City is (drum roll please): July 21st.
UNLESS County Manager Wanda Greene decides to take it on herself to sign the affidavit Coleman needs for his app. sometime before then. LEGALLY, she has the authority to do so, as she did once before. Now that Parkside is the big, foul-smelling elephant rotting in the corner of the room that it is, she may not want the political heat.
Would it be inappropriate to call (828)250-4100 and ask her if she intends to do just that?
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June 2nd, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Reality, Wow. Those are some accusations from someone that is not willing to give their name. I will go out on a limb and say that there is a great deal of truth to what Gordon and the Hoolie Crew have posted on this blog about the Parkside Project. As a person that has lived in the public light and had many a satire made at my expense, I would say to anyone wanting to build on top of a public park in Asheville, “GET USE TO IT.” I would also advise Mr Coleman and associates that there is an easy way to get you projects through the Asheville process. Get the public on your side, not accuse them of slander. Buying county owned property on the down-low, maxing out on contributions to council candidates that will have a direct impact on your specific project, changing the size of your project so that there will not be a public process on your project that will sit on the biggest public park in Asheville, asking the city to swap land to make your project work are not the most effective ways to get citizen support. None of these truths are necessarily illegal, but they are shady. When public business is conducted in this manner and has these tangents associated with it you are going to have backlash.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Reality…Can I cash a reality check with you?
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June 2nd, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I just feel sorry for the poor chump @ #1 – he or she can’t even spell “realty” correctly.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Bryan Freeborn… where have you been? Still counting votes?
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June 2nd, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Tigerswede, Nice jab. I am working for an interactive web development company located in Downtown Asheville and keeping my ear to the ground. It is too bad that people have not learned from the past mistakes. Involve the public and actually follow through with the public. Council, the commissioners, developers, and even I have neglected the public process. When you follow a public process, 90% of the people are happy whether they like the decision or not. If you do not follow the process, they will oppose you even if they like the decision. Just some advice. But, hay, I am not the guy that sank several million dollars into a project that may or may not ever get built.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Welcome to the SH crew Reality .
You tell us what Gordon wrote that was factually incorrect, and we’ll decide who is one-sided.
I’m not sure what you are trying to say.
Are you saying that the image at the header of Parksidetruthiness.com IS an an accurate depiction of the original proposed building?
Funny, I thought supporters were saying it was altered all out of proportion.
I don’t know who put together Parksidetruthiness.com, but do you have any idea how big this issue would become if Coleman tried to sue to get that image taken down?
Google “Viral Marketing” one of these days.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 3:05 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use
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June 2nd, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Given that USS Parkside is on the rocks, if I were a rat, I would be eyeing the exits. The secret meeting Friday between the County, City, Conservancy, and Coleman apparently turned ugly when the City declined to attend. Ha! The writing is on the wall.
If I were any of the architects, lawyers, or investors associated with this attempted piracy, I would start thinking about how my reputation will look when it all ends in flames. You guys will have to do business with the City again someday. Do you want this stink on you for the rest of your careers? Convince Coleman to accept a buy-out & walk away.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I just sent the letter below to our County Commissioners:
* * * * *
I am writing today to strongly urge you to take responsibility for your actions regarding the sell of public land to Stewart Coleman. There is intense public opposition to the Parkside Condominium project, and if it were put to a referendum I estimate that 80 percent of the citizenry would vote against it. As my Instaletter in last Friday’s Asheville Citizen-Times stated:
“If Stewart Coleman really believes that only “80 people that jump around and dance around trees†are opposed to his Parkside Condominium project, he’s living in Wonderland with Alice and the Cheshire Cat. At the County Democratic Convention in April, a resolution strongly condemning the project was unanimously approved by delegates from every Buncombe County precinct.”
This is an opportunity for you to be true public servants, to be accountable for your oversight and to make things right. I encourage you to do so.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 5:36 pm
To the ironically-named commenter “Reality”
I don’t know which is worse – your command of the English language or your comprehension of US Copyright law.
Allow me to educate you: satire is PROTECTED by U.S. Copyright law. If this wasn’t the case, the TV show Saturday Night Live would not exist. ParksideTruthiness.com is clearly satirical, so threaten all you want, but you haven’t got a leg to stand on.
And about that screen name – Reality? Please! Anyone who thinks a greedy, underhanded developer like Stewart Coleman is a benefactor and philanthropist obviously has no grasp on reality!
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June 2nd, 2008 at 6:41 pm
There is so much beautiful parkland in Biltmore Forest, especially along Stuyvesant Road, where Stewart Coleman lives. Maybe he can adapt his design further and build his Parkside condos there, in the town where he pays taxes, instead of our beautiful city, where he’s not even a resident.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Gordon,
Are you ok with someone starting http://www.scrutinyhooligans.org?
TS
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June 2nd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
It’s a big internet, Tiger. Folks’ll do what they like, I reckon. Would Hillary Clinton get upset if someone made fun of her on Saturday Night Live?
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June 2nd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Personally, I’d love to see someone try to do ScruHoo.org, .com or .net…
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June 2nd, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Gordon,
You, like many politicians, have a great talent for not actually answering a question but rather making a general statement about a related topic.
I’m not trying to be rude but its actually true.
TS
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June 2nd, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Thanks for reading, Tiger.
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June 3rd, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I got another idea, Gordon. Let’s tie the matter of Reid Thompson, who owns property around GreenLife, that the City Council has so far refused to deal with in terms of the impact of that store’s impact on the people all around the store, to the idea of yet another ignoring of the desires of the community.
While I see Reid’s continued heckling of the City Council as a rather small thorn in their sides—-with attempts to make him look like a complainer/ crazy person sitting in the background—-the loading up of THAT matter along with this very suspicious property swapping, should make the City Council and Buncombe Board of Commissioners think carefully about the bad publicity around matters which look to be potentially not so irksome—-or items that can perhaps be rode out over time. (the feckless public: so forgetful).
Looks like we’re not done w/ beating up on Scott Shufford yet.
marsha hammond, west asheville
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