Asheville council removes Tanger lease from consent agenda, takes dais vote to fill Planning & Zoning vacancy

The Asheville City Council approved its consent agenda after removing item C — a resolution regarding a lease for Tanger Asheville LLC — for later consideration and conducted a dais vote to fill a vacancy on the Planning & Zoning Commission.

At the start of the meeting the mayor asked staff to pull item C from the consent agenda so that the lease resolution would be heard at a later date; the mayor and staff indicated the item will be considered in late January and one speaker referenced a January 27 date for that matter. A council member moved to approve the consent agenda without item C, a second was recorded, and the mayor called for the ayes; the mayor recorded no opposition.

Vice Mayor announced there was one Planning & Zoning Commission vacancy limited to a city resident and read recommendations from the commission and staff. Names presented included Jonathan Anzolito, Randall Barnett, Michael Especiale, Michael Peasant, Seth Conley and Julie O'Dyer. Council members cast votes aloud from the dais; the name "Anzolito" was called multiple times during the roll call and the vice mayor noted, "We received 4 votes." The council did not conduct in‑person interviews and the vote was taken from the dais.

Separately, the council read a proclamation recognizing Evergreen Arbor Day and invited city urban forester Keith Aiken to receive it; the proclamation noted the city has been a Tree City USA designee for 44 years and urged residents to participate in the Urban Forest Master Plan outreach in the spring.

No additional formal motions or ordinance votes were taken on new business that evening; the council moved on to general public comment.