Removal of the Vance Monument can proceed, following a March 29 ruling by Buncombe County Superior Court Judge Steven Warren to deny a motion calling for a temporary restraining order to prevent its removal.
Following Asheville City Council’s March 23 vote authorizing demolition of the 75-foot obelisk on Pack Square, The Society for the Historical Preservation of the 26th North Carolina Troops Inc., filed a lawsuit to stop the monument’s demolition. The suit alleged that the City of Asheville is in breach of contract after a 2015 signed agreement between Asheville and the 26th N.C. to restore the monument for which the group raised $138,447.
In addition to opposing the Plaintiff’s request for a temporary restraining order, the City has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which is pending before the court.
The City can now proceed with the contracts for removal, which include removal of the scaffolding, demolition of the monument this spring/summer and installation of landscaping in its place while the City conducts a community visioning process to consider what might go in its place.
Attached: Judge’s ruling
Related: Asheville City Council approves Vance Monument removal, visioning process for future of the site