Ole Asheboro Neighborhood Meeting
Last night turned out to be a very busy night. At 5:30 pm I dropped by an Ole Asheboro (D2) neighborhood meeting where the topic of discussion was the new hotel that could potentially be built on South Elm. Neighbors from various neighborhoods were amongst the 30+ in attendance. I was not able to stay for the entire meeting due to the fact that I had previously planned to attend a 6 pm meeting about the Downtown Design and Compatibility Manual (DDCM).
What a transition the two meetings were.
The DDCM meeting was held in the Cultural Arts Center and I’m guessing that 55 – 65 people were in attendance, mostly developers and downtown property owners. In terms of elected officials/candidates – D3 Councilman Zack Matheny and I were present.
Of the property owners in attendance some were in favor of the current state of the manual, some think there need to be significant revisions, and some flat out hate the idea. And I mean passionately hate the idea.
I believe the City tries to get a lot right, but we flat out got the process of coming up with the guidelines wrong. The process, until recent, has been exclusive and when you are dealing with property rights and a massive overhaul of what can and can’t be done in an area like downtown you should include property owners from the onset. I’ve talked a lot about collaboration and this is a prime example of where it was needed.
I don’t know the percentage, but I think it would be safe to say that the people in attendance last night own a bulk of the property in downtown Greensboro. Two fears that were mentioned are that the new standards will cause them to have to completely revamp upcoming projects or devalue their property all together.
After the meeting one individual was talking about setbacks and a requirement for green space, “Downtown property is expensive and if we are required to move a potential building back so it can have green space – you now have a very expensive patch of grass.” I did talk to some that are in favor of the DDCM concept, but felt as though it should focus on the historic core (South Elm) and leave the outlying areas of downtown alone.
Long story short, I think the manual has quite a ways to go and I hope the City goes above and beyond to communicate from this point forward. Last night was a prime example that change, confusion, and the fear of the unknown make a terrible concoction.
Oh, and I have to say GREAT job to Mary from the Planning Department who moderated the meeting. This wasn’t exactly a happy-go-lucky type of meeting and she was, at times, hounded by attendees. She was calm, cool and collected throughout and should be given a big pat on the back. Kudos to you Mary.
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{ 3 comments }
I believe Greensboro and Guilford County should adopt legislation banning candidates and elected officials from accepting campaign contributions from entities with potential conflicts of interests, including leading members of organizations receiving taxpayer money, and/or developers, contractors or their lawyers or agents, for 12 months before and after doing business with the city or county.
George Hartzman
George, that is great and all… but I typically like folks to leave a comment about whatever it is the post is about. This post is about the Dowtown Design and Compatibility Manual, not donations. Given that you are a District 3 candidate I would imagine you would have some thoughts about the Manual itself.
Ryan
It seems like the city staffers got their ears full.
You know the realtor’s mantra…LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!
Well, this should have been COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE!! Before they (city staffers, and any other interested persons), start planning changes for the city. They need to communicate, and get input buy those being affected, before they throw it out for inspection.
It’s almost like the transparency debate, from last election. Where’s the transparency? Oyveh!!
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