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Council approves zoning text amendment to restore sidewalk‑related language removed in March ordinance
Summary
The Asheville City Council voted June 24 to approve a zoning text amendment restoring language in Chapter 7 of the Unified Development Ordinance that was inadvertently omitted from an ordinance adopted March 11, while keeping the intended change to when new sidewalk construction is required.
The Asheville City Council voted June 24 to approve an amendment to Chapter 7 of the Unified Development Ordinance to reinsert subsections that were inadvertently removed when the city adopted ordinance 51‑27 on March 11, 2025, while keeping the intended policy change on when new sidewalk construction is required.
Will Pompquist of Planning and Urban Design told council the amendment — described in staff materials as the "sidewalk requirements cleanup" — restores sections 7‑11‑8(c)–(f) that clarifies when new sidewalk construction is required and when a fee‑in‑lieu may be used. He said the March ordinance had correctly amended thresholds for when sidewalks are required (for example, removing a new construction trigger when a building is vacant for more than 180 days) but inadvertently omitted following language that previously clarified applicability and administrative process. The Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed the text amendment on June 4 and recommended approval with an additional criterion on fee‑in‑lieu eligibility for conditional zoning applicants.
City staff told council the version before them does not incorporate the Planning and Zoning Commission’s extra fee‑in‑lieu criterion because the city attorney had advised that the suggested wording would not be legally permissible within the conditional‑zoning process. The city attorney’s office and staff framed that distinction as analogous to the community‑benefits approach used with hotels: council can adopt broader policy by ordinance, but it should not impose fee‑in‑lieu requirements as a contract‑style rezoning condition.
Council adopted the text amendment by motion and voice vote. Staff said the amendment would clarify when sidewalks are required, when the city may accept payment instead of construction, and thereby support goals in the comprehensive plan to make streets more walkable and enhance pedestrian safety.
The approved ordinance keeps the intended March 11 change that removed a specific trigger for requiring new sidewalks when a building is vacant for more than 180 days, while restoring other procedural and applicability language that had been removed by omission.
