Jul

Parkside: TRC – on, off, on – Act Now

This email just floated in from Alan Glines:

“Dear folks,

I am providing an update for the Parkside project that is being reviewed on Monday 7/7/08 by the Technical Review Committee (TRC).Â The Engineering Department has received additional information regarding the Parkside submission and what had been the basis for recommending continuance appears to have been resolved.Â The TRC report remains a draft until the time it is reviewed and approved at Monday’s meeting.

Thank you,

Alan Glines

Urban Planner II

That’s right. Despite it having been reported on WLOS that the TRC meeting would be continued, the hearing is to go ahead as planned. For a project that has been so sharply criticized to move ahead when the public labors under the misconception that the hearing will be continued is to invite more outrage and more suspicion.

Please – send an email and/or make a phone call to City Council, the Office of Technical Review, and Alan Glines urging them, in the light of current circumstances, to reschedule the Parkside hearing for a date and time when the public can attend.

khamel@ashevillenc.gov, jblevins@ashevillenc.gov, mayorbellamy@ashevillenc.gov, jandavis@main.nc.us, rcape@charter.net, hollyj@buncombe.main.nc.us, drmumpower@aol.com, newmanasheville@aol.com, billrussell@charter.net, aglines@ashevillenc.gov, stuch@ashevillenc.gov

Mayor Bellamy – (828) 259-5600
Jan Davis – (828) 253-5634
Robin Cape – (828) 216-4009
Holly Jones – (828) 281-4804
Carl Mumpower – (828) 252-8390
Brownie Newman – (828) 243-0107
Bill Russell – (828) 274-7388
Gary Jackson – (828) 259-5604
Kim Hamel (Technical Review Manager) – 259-5849
Jennifer Blevins, Development Review Specialist – 259-5442
Alan Glines – 259-5556

Just spoke to Dr. Mumpower, he said that he would speak to Gary Jackson about this and felt that it is a legitimate concern.

Categories : Action, Parkside, Uncategorized

3 Comments

David Lynch
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:09 pm

Here’s the letter I just sent them:

Civic Leaders,

Please help me understand why the Coleman Parkside project is scheduled for TRC review on July 7th.

The City delegated authority to the Pack Square Conservancy for final say in all development issues, giving them jurisdiction within the scope of City/County Plaza. Irrefutably, the Parkside project falls within that jurisdiction. According to the City Council’s own rules, the Conservancy should have the final word. And since Conservancy has already voted no on the Parkside project, that should have been the final word.

So how is it that this obviously inappropriate project should advance to the TRC? Has the City reversed its own rule, and revoked the authority it had previously granted to the Conservancy? Will the City do the right thing, or continue to allow developers to sidestep civic laws and regulations to get their way?

The Parkside project has no business being considered by TRC on Monday. There are so many unresolved technical and legal issues that the City should at minimum postpone the TRC review until it can be determined whether or not the Parkside project is legally entitled to such review.

It’s high time that city leaders start playing by rules that they themselves created. Please remove Parkside from the TRC agenda, and if you can’t remove it entirely, at least delay the review until it can be clearly demonstrated that this project merits one.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your response.
-David Lynch

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