The Asheville Downtown Commission was created by City Council for the sustainability and continued development of downtown, a vital urban center of western North Carolina’s economic, cultural and visitor activity.
The Downtown Commission provides City Council with recommendations on downtown policies and programs. In addition, Downtown Commissioners fill 3 out of 9 seats of the City’s Design Review Committee, which reviews development projects within the Central Business District, the River Arts District and hotel projects outside of those areas. The Downtown Commission provides input on development projects outside of the scope of Design Review, including impacts related to land use, economic development, parking, public space, safety, sustainability, etc.
View current members and board composition requirements here
Downtown Commission Establishing Ordinance
Regular Meeting Schedule
(See Special Notices Below)
The Downtown Commission meets in-person on the 4th Friday of each month at 9:00 a.m. in the first floor conference room of City Hall (70 Court Plaza). The typical length of each meeting is 1-2 hours. All meetings are live streamed on the City’s YouTube Channel and the Downtown Commission’s Public Input Page.
Voicemail and written comments may be submitted before 5:00 p.m. the day before the meeting and will be provided to Downtown Commission members prior to the meeting. The email address for public comments is AVLdowntowncommission@publicinput.com.
More information about submitting public comments in advance of the meeting is available here. Public comments during the meeting can only be made in-person. (In-person public comment opportunities are not currently available for virtual meetings.)
Have an issue with participating in a board or commission meeting, in person or virtually? Use this form to let us know!
Upcoming Meetings & Special Notices
12/18/24 NOTICE FOR ADVISORY BOARDS:
Effective immediately, all advisory boards staffed by City employees will remain suspended until further direction following the City Council retreat, in mid-February 2025. We will provide updates as new information becomes available. This applies to the Downtown Commission.
Quasi-Judicial Boards (Planning & Zoning Commission, Asheville-Buncombe Historic Resources Commission, Board of Adjustment, Civil Service Board) will resume their regular meeting schedules beginning January 1, 2025.
To receive Downtown Commission meeting notices and agendas by email, please contact Dana Frankel at dfrankel@ashevillenc.gov. Contact Dana or Clay Mitchell (cmitchell@ashevillenc.gov) with questions.
Sub-Committees
Design Review Committee
Information about the Design Review Committee can be found at ashevillenc.gov/drc. Please contact Will Palmquist at wpalmquist@ashevillenc.gov with specific questions about the downtown design review process.
Downtown Public Space Enhancement Committee
At the May 24, 2024 meeting the Downtown Commission established a Public Space Enhancement Committee in the place of the previously established Public Space Management Committee. More information on this committee and its meeting schedule is in-progress. Committee co-chairs are Hayden Plemmons and Nur Edwards.
Business Improvement District Working Group
At the May 24, 2024 Downtown Commission meeting, a Business Improvement District (BID) Implementation Working Group was established to provide input to staff on the public engagement process that will take place prior to issuing an RFP for a service provider. The working group will report out updates to the Downtown Commission during their regular meeting times. More information about the Downtown BID and the process of implementation is available here.
Downtown Public Space Management – not currently active
An ad-hoc Public Space Management Committee was formed in late 2018 to undertake guide policy and operational updates to address needs identified in the Downtown Master Plan related to management of public spaces. Following an extensive public engagement process, a Downtown Public Space Management Framework and Recommendations document was developed.
The committee’s work was suspended during COVID, and staff’s focused turned toward the AVL Shares Space temporary outdoor expansion initiatives. It was re-established in January 2022. Participation in 2022-2023 is viewable here.
More information is available here. Applications are not being actively reviewed at this time. The committee may re-assemble on an ad-hoc basis.
Membership and Resource Documents
- 2024 Meeting Dates
- Membership Roster
- Downtown Master Plan
- Downtown Commission Charter
- Rules of Procedure (updated May 2021)
- 2018 Annual Report
- 2019 Annual Report
- 2020 Annual Report
- 2021 Annual Report
- 2022 Annual Report
- 2023 Annual Report
Member contact: Bryan Moffitt, Chair – Bryan.moffitt@arca-design.com
Contact Information
Dana Frankel, Downtown Planning Manager
828-273-5248