Waynesville hired a consultant for $54,000 to evaluate its land use planning code. The rules have been praised by Smart Growth experts, but the consultant says they’re convoluted and a headache for enforcers. The town has twenty-nine districts, each with its own rules for things like square footage of signs.
One reason the consultant was hired was because of the unpopularity of requirements that parking lots go on the side or rear of buildings. Citizens have complained they don’t like the ugly CVS building so close to the road. Business owners also do not like that the town requires them to connect their parking lots to adjacent lots to divert traffic off main roads and onto privately-maintained routes.
Read full article » No Comments »The Mountain Xpress believes the City of Asheville is mismanaging employee overtime. The city spent $1.8 million on overtime last year and $47.5 million on regular-hour pay. The police department used the most overtime, with several officers receiving five digits worth. The article is illustrated with a photograph of four officers earning overtime working a four-alarm stationary observation at Bele Chere. The officer ranked third highest in overtime is often stationed as one of the four officers protecting members of city council from members of the public during their meetings which usually run for 5 to 6 hours.
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