Sharing this way to support our independent restaurants from our friends at the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association. A bi-partisan group in the House and Senate introduced a bill called the RESTAURANTS ACT. This bill is the first industry-specific relief bill to be introduced for restaurants since the onset of the COVID crisis. The bill would create a Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which allows restaurants to obtain a lump sum from the Treasury to use towards a broad range of operating expenses over the balance of 2020. Learn more at 
The City of Asheville Department of Planning & Urban Design is in the process of drafting a new ordinance to regulate hotel development, based on recommendations from the Urban Land Institute through a technical assistance panel public process and ongoing analysis.
As part of the public process, the City is conducting an online survey to engage the community to gather input that will guide the drafting of the new ordinance. The proposed ordinance will also take into account the Urban Land Institute’s recommendations on best land-use practices and other tools and strategies the City should consider to better plan for and regulate hotel development.
The proposed ordinance is designed to meet the following goals:
Limit hotels to some select areas of the city based on compatibility, availability of infrastructure and other criteria;
- Improve design, development and operational standards of hotels;
- Require hotel developers to incorporate public benefits into their projects to meet Asheville City Council goals and address community concerns; and
- Create greater predictability in the development review process and better outcomes for the community
The online survey will be open for the community to provide comments from July 7 until Aug. 2. Please review the video embedded in this survey and answer the questions that follow. Your input will inform the final proposal for City Council’s consideration.
Background
In September 2019, Asheville City Council passed a temporary moratorium on the approval of new hotels, which means that no hotel development applications will be approved for a year. The purpose of the moratorium is to allow City staff time to further study the issues surrounding hotel development and assess the impacts, both real and perceived. Before the moratorium expires, the Asheville City Council intends to adopt new rules for hotels that will guide any further hotel development in the city.
