City Clerk

General Information

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.

Documents

Asheville Downtown Commission Documents (meeting materials, annual reports, annual work plans, governing documents, enabling statutes, resolutions, ordinances, etc.)

Membership

The commission shall consist of 11 members. The appointed composition will be as follows:

• Two members appointed by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.
• One member of the city council appointed by the city council.
• Seven members appointed by the city council from the private sector of the community.
• A member of the board of directors or the executive director of the Asheville Downtown Association.

The members appointed by the city council and county commissioners from the private sector of the community shall represent various segments of the greater downtown community such as, but not limited to, property owners, merchants, residents, businesses and institutions; and shall have a willingness to participate actively in commission efforts; and shall possess expertise and interest in the sustainability and development of downtown.

Members of the commission shall serve staggered, three-year terms, with the exception of the city council member, and the person serving in the position allocated for the Asheville Downtown Association, each of whom will serve according to the length of their respective terms of office. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all members appointed by the Asheville City Council shall serve at the pleasure of Council, and may be removed at any time with or without cause. At-large members will be eligible for reappointment for one term.

Regular Meeting Schedule

Meetings of the Asheville Downtown Commission will be scheduled as-needed until June 30, 2027, unless noticed otherwise. 

Public Access:

• Attend in person. 
• Watch a livestream on the Engagement Hub or the City’s YouTube Channel 
• Call toll-free to listen to the meeting on your phone: Call (855)-925-2801. Enter the Meeting Code: 9272.
• Have an issue with participating in a board or commission meeting, in person or virtually? Use this form to let us know!

Public Comment:

• Call-In Public Comments: Call (855) 925-2801 Enter Code: 9272. Comments will be limited to 3 minutes. Comments may only be made in advance and close at 5:00 p.m. the day before the meeting.
• Written Public Comments: Pre-submitted written public comments may be emailed to AVLDRC@publicinput.com (closes at 5:00 p.m. the day before the meeting).
• In-Person Comments: Comments will be limited to 3 minutes for individuals and 10 minutes for a group’s primary spokesperson (requires three individuals to cede their time to a fourth person – all four people must be present at the meeting).

Subcommittees

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.