Split BID vote at Asheville Downtown Commission sends council muddled message; What now?

ASHEVILLE - A vote to recommend support for a proposed Business Improvement District failed to pass at an April 26 Asheville Downtown Commission meeting. Anxieties around speed, lack of public input and blurry governance details led to a tied vote and, subsequently, a failed motion.

For many members, it wasn't the concept of a BID that gave them pause, but this proposal in particular.

“There are lasting impactful decisions that occur in downtown, some big ones in our history, and this is one of them," said council member Sage Turner, the board's council representative.

"Looking back in 10 years, this may be a significant change in downtown. We want to get it right.”

A Business Improvement District, or Municipal Service District, as it is defined by state statute, would leverage a special tax on property owners within a specific area to fund additional services or improvement projects.

It is not intended to replace city services, but to supplement them.

Final say falls to Asheville City Council. Two separate votes are needed to establish a BID and set the tax rate — currently proposed at 9 cents per $100 of assessed value. Votes are scheduled for May 14 and June 11.

Downtown Commission Chair Bryan Moffitt, a local architect, said he couldn't support a BID being established with details left to work out later. The current proposal was brought by the Asheville Downtown Association and Chamber of Commerce, though it closely mirrors efforts from more than a decade before.

While council's vote would detail the bounds of the BID district and the tax, the governance structure would be determined "at a later date," according to a recent staff report — this includes the specifics of board structure and the BID's services, which have been topics at the center of much of the debate.

Some of these details could be defined in a request for proposal, which council would likely use to solicit an outside organization to manage the city's BID. The Chamber and ADA have indicated they intend to respond to the RFP.

While supportive of BIDs conceptually, "I am concerned that we’re establishing a baseline that is below the level of service we should be getting," Moffitt said.

Nur Edwards, a commission member and owner of Asheville Discount Pharmacy, said her support hinges on the specifics.

"My tax is going to be a very, very small portion of this, but I would like to know what it's going for," she said. "Other property taxes are increasing, water is increasing, so why should we increase my burden if downtown still feels underrepresented?"

The Downtown Commission comprises 11 members, many of them property owners, merchants and other downtown stakeholders, plus City Council and Asheville Downtown Association representatives. They are tasked with providing council recommendations on downtown policies and programs. Several of its members were also part of the BID Steering Committee, or among its partners.

ADA Executive Director Hayden Plemmons, a commission member, recused herself from the vote as the ADA may have "material involvement" with the BID if it passes. She did remain in the audience to take questions, alongside Zach Wallace, with the Chamber, which deputy city attorney John Maddux said was permitted under the Downtown Commission's rules of procedures.

There are more than 60 BIDs in North Carolina, according to the latest data from the N.C. Department of Revenue, and more than 1,000 across the country.

Wallace said BIDs create a "nimble, responsive tool" for communities, one whose guardrails would be delineated by council through both the creation of an ordinance and the language of the RFP.

What did the commission vote on?

“Clean and safe” are the proposed services at the center of the Chamber’s operational plan. It’s a familiar call of BIDs nationwide, proposing uniformed “hospitality ambassadors” to engage with visitors, business owners and the city's homeless population by directing them to services, and enhanced cleaning, like litter removal, street sweeping and pressure washing.

“The city is not providing the services that keep us clean and safe in our downtown businesses,” said Eva-Michelle Spicer, a commission member and co-owner of downtown's Spicer Greene Jewelers.

She has been a vocal proponent of the BID, also a member of its steering committee, and said as a downtown tenant, not a property owner, she's willing to shoulder any extra rent cost likely to be passed down if it means more support.

However, critics of the district fear that downtown ambassadors won't result in better service — only more calls to police, community paramedics and other service providers, many of which are strapped for resources and staff. Others worry it will only result in displacement of the city's homeless population, driving people further to the outskirts.

"The devil is in the details," said Nina Tovish, who spoke at the morning's public comment period. "Clean and safe for whom? Paid for by whom? Monitored by whom? Held accountable by whom and how frequently?”

Commission Member Jefferson Ellison acknowledged the work of the ADA and Chamber, but said it was clear more input was desired.

"What this whole thing has shown us is there is more community that has things to say than has access to certain people and certain rooms,” Ellison said. There's mistrust in this process, he said, and right now there isn't a "mechanism" for people's input to be heard.

What resulted from nearly an hour of back-and-forth was a motion to recommend support of council moving forward with the BID map and tax district, but with conditions around implementation that included: additional public input on the RFP, an open board application process, a communitywide public survey included as part of the annual report, establishment of a job description for ambassadors along with training requirements, clarity on use of weapons and level of authority, plus consideration of adding support for community responders.

The motion failed in a 4-4 tie, with Edwards, Robin Raines, Ricardo Seijo and Stu Helm voting against.

"I just don't feel comfortable voting to enact a BID when the details might take longer than the tax bill to arrive," said Raines.

An earlier motion from Spicer to recommend council approve the BID as currently proposed, but with further oversight from the commission, failed for lack of a second. She left the meeting before the second vote was taken, but indicated she would also be against it.

A failed motion means that it will not move forward as a recommendation to City Council, Downtown Projects Manager Dana Frankel told the Citizen Times.

"However staff will document the failed motion (and vote split) along with some discussion points in the minutes," she said via email. "This information could be shared by staff in the context of any future memos or staff reports provided to Council about the proposed BID."

More: Volunteers ask Asheville's homeless: What do you wish our community understood?

More: 'Clean and safe' for who? Asheville council hears anxieties around proposed BID

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville vote to support Business Improvement District fails