In September, Asheville City Council approved 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 the City time to further study the issues surrounding tourism and assess the impacts of hotel development, both real and perceived.
The city contracted with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to evaluate the issues associated with tourism and hotel development, utilizing a Technical Assistance Program Panel (TAP) process. This process included a briefing by city staff and listening sessions with the community in order to understand concerns, provide context and quantify the impacts of new hotel development before presenting their findings on best practices tools and strategies to deal with the issues. Their findings were presented to the community on Jan. 30, and will be followed by a written report in early March.
At 3:00 pm on Feb. 25, staff will discuss the Urban Land Institute findings with Asheville City Council during a work session in the city council chambers, second floor of Asheville City Hall. Staff will be seeking direction from city council on the viability and prioritization of the strategies proposed by ULI. The public is invited to the work session, but the council will not be taking public comment.
Following the work session, city staff will do any additional research as necessary and develop the appropriate regulations and policies that fit best for the Asheville community to share with the public and relevant boards and commissions before coming back to council with final recommendations during the summer of 2020.