Larchmont project: How will the Asheville City Council vote go?

Today’s the day for Asheville City Council to consider the controversial Larchmont development and decide whether or not to grant it a go-ahead. The Asheville Citizen-Times today reports that council now needs six of its seven members to vote “yes” for the Larchmont project to pass because of a neighborhood protest petition.

Councilman Gordon Smith has been outspoken in his support. Here’s his thinking:

Having just been elected on a platform that included increasing density on our urban corridors in order to incentivize affordable housing there, I’m comfortable in trusting the integrity of our democracy and following through with the promises I made on the campaign trail. It would be disingenuous of me to abandon my campaign promises when there are thousands of voters who cast a ballot for me based on the values and vision of my campaign.

It’s my sense that a lot of people in north Asheville believe that we ought to increase density in order to lower our carbon footprints, decrease air pollution, decrease sprawl, increase transit usage, and allow for affordable housing where land prices are higher. Anyone who’s seen MHO properties knows they’re attractive, well-kept, and in demand. 

While opponents’ concerns are valid, they do not outweigh the positive implications of the rezoning.

You can read more about my rationale here.

How will the rest of council vote? The Citizen-Times says it couldn’t reach Mayor Terry Bellamy or Bill Russell, while Jan Davis, Cecil Bothwell and Smith all said they were either for it or leaning toward approving it.

Esther Manheimer, who lives in the north Asheville neighborhood adjacent to the Larchmont project, and Brownie Newman, who lives in Montford, told the newspaper they were either undecided or didn’t want to talk about how they felt about the project, though they’ve said nice things about the developer, Mountain Housing Opportunities.