In September 2019, the Asheville City Council approved a temporary moratorium on the approval of new hotels, which meant that no hotel development applications would be approved for a year. Since then, staff and consultants have worked diligently to understand the issues surrounding hotel development and assess the impacts. In late summer, the City launched a hotel survey to gather public input, and that survey collected more than 3,000 comments.
Due to COVID-19, during the Sept. 8 Asheville City Council meeting, Council will hold a public hearing regarding extending the moratorium for two months. The actual vote on this matter is scheduled for Sept. 22. This extension is necessary for the following reasons:
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- The COVID-19 pandemic delayed opportunities for community engagement early in the planning process
- During the pandemic, city staff and resources were redirected to address other priority community needs
- Additional time is needed to complete the hotel development study, conduct additional community engagement, draft the proposed zoning amendments and present the new zoning amendments to the Asheville City Council for consideration of adoption.
The Sept. 8 public hearing only relates to extending the moratorium. Public comments must be related to that specific item. The public comment period has closed for the survey and any comments related to the survey will not be included in staff’s final proposal.
The City appreciates your passion and interest in hotel development.