City staff and council discussed downtown activation proposals July 24 that the Asheville Downtown Association (ADA) requested, including social districts tied to events, parking/fee waivers, and other downtown-event incentives. Staff said a PED (Planning, Economic Development & Enterprises) briefing will include feasibility analysis and legal review of event-based social districts, plus consideration of fee-waiver strategies and potential noise-ordinance adjustments.

Why it matters: ADA’s proposals aim to increase downtown events and economic activation; council members cautioned that some proposals would require ordinance changes and could interact with prior council work on zoning and protections for historically Black or “legacy” neighborhoods. Vice Mayor Antoinette Mosley raised the overlay/protection issue and urged staff to consider timing and legal limits; staff and the city attorney noted that recent state statutes limiting downzoning affect the suite of tools available locally and that pending state action could change municipal flexibility.

Key procedural points: Staff said the social-district proposals will include Brad Branham’s office legal analysis and that PED will receive both feasibility information and potential ordinance changes. Council members also signaled an intent to add noise-ordinance changes to the PED agenda to address downtown permit volumes and enforcement gaps. Staff committed to a follow-up report clarifying timing, legal risks and next steps.

Community concerns: Members of council relayed receiving emails asking the city to slow down some housing- and planning-related actions and asked staff to reconvene advisory input. Councilmembers emphasized the need to include historically underrepresented neighborhoods in a deliberative process and to ensure any downtown activation proposals do not unintentionally harm those neighborhoods.

Ending: Staff will include legal and feasibility analysis in the PED follow-up report and bring the ADA proposals, social-district analysis and suggested noise-ordinance changes to upcoming PED and Public Safety committee agendas for further discussion.