Buncombe County Planning Board

FoTM has been working to diversify membership on the Planning Board.  Currently seven of the nine members of the board have strong ties to the  development community.  We are advocating for a balance on the board between development and community interests and have been supported by the WNC (Western North Carolina) Alliance and the Mountain Voices Alliance.  The Asheville Citizen Times and the MountainXpress have both published editorials or articles in support of diversity on the Planning Board.

The nine seats on the the planning board are allocated as follows: One for each of the six Buncombe County school districts, one for the Asheville city schools and two at large seats. The Commissioners have solicited for applicants to fill four open positions on the board.  The board openings are for seats from the Owen, Roberson, Erwin, & Enka school districts.  The commissioners plan to begin interviewing candidates before their September 16 meeting.

After questioning the county clerk today (Sept 3) we have discovered that there is a 5th seat on the board that will be vacant as the member has served two terms.  That seat is allocated to the Asheville City Schools and thus encompases the Town Mountain and Elk Mountain area. We do not know if the commissioners will be required to advertise that opening or can use the current pool of applicants that includes three of our area residents who we know will represent community interests on the board.

We encourage you to write or email our commissioners in support of bringing balance to the planning board by appointing members who do not have conflicts of interest due to being associated with the development, bulilding or real estate industries.