RAD Hotel Survey taken between August 26, 2020 thru September 9, 2020
Here is the backstory….
Asheville has seen an explosion of hotels being built in the past several years. In order to reconsider the rules by which these projects are approved, City Council put a one-year moratorium on any hotel development in the fall of 2019 and directed city staff to come up with a new process that is more in line with Asheville’s core values. RADBA & the AARRC have worked with the COA to craft this new approach. This survey is part of that process!
The current process, once the moratorium is lifted, is that all hotels must follow form-based codes and go in front of City Council for approval. The new process seeks to have two ways that a hotel can get approved that is a bit more predictable. So here is a very quick overview of the new process:
Option 1:
A developer comes to the City of Asheville with a project. That project gets evaluated with a points system around issues of Sustainability (Adaptive reuse, LEEDS certification, etc.) Equity (ESOP/Co-op form, Affordable Housing, Living Wage, etc.) & Community (Neighborhood Improvement, Public Art, Public Parking, etc.). (There are also points deducted for the destruction of historic structures & homes or businesses.) The project also goes in front of a newly created Design Standards Commission. If the project is able to satisfy the Design Commission and get at least 200 points, it gets approved.
Option 2:
Failing to meet the above requirements, it can still go to City Council for approval.
So now we have a few questions we would like you to answer!
Here is the address to the COA website to see more of this process over the past year:
https://www.ashevillenc.gov/department/planning-urban-design/planning-projects/hotel-moratorium/
You can view the City's form-based code here:
https://library.municode.com/nc/asheville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH7DE_ARTVIIIGEUSEXDI_S7-8-29RIARFODI
