City unveils downtown activation pilots; noise ordinance change clears first vote, social-district proposal continued amid legacy-neighborhood concerns

The Asheville City Council heard a presentation on a suite of downtown activation pilot initiatives and took split action: staff previewed open-streets mini grants and a food-truck pilot that require no ordinance change, sought council approval for a temporary increase in allowable sound-exceedance events for certified performance centers, and proposed a pilot social district for the South Slope tied to specified special events in 2026.

Assistant City Manager Ben Woody presented four initiatives requested by the council’s Planning & Economic Development Committee: (1) open-streets mini grants to cover barricade and fee costs for event organizers; (2) a Central Business District food-truck pilot that places rotating vendors at PAX Square from Oct. 3 through Dec. 19 to test demand; (3) a change to the city’s 2021 noise ordinance to increase the maximum number of type-3 sound exceedance events for a certified performance center from 30 to 50 on a pilot basis with an automatic sunset of Dec. 31, 2026; and (4) a South Slope social-district pilot permitting consumption of alcohol in a defined outdoor district during specified events, pending ABC Commission approval.

Open streets and food-truck pilot

Woody described the open-streets mini grants as a mini-grant program administered with ArtsAVL to cover costs associated with temporary street closures and event logistics. He said…