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Letters to and From City Council regarding Campus Crest Deforestation and Perjury:

January 28, 2005

Dear Mr. Shuford and City Council,

I’m writing in response to the disgusting situation in Montford caused by the Campus Crest developers who promised under oath to leave an 80-foot buffer of forest along Montford Avenue. As a property owner, neighbor of the area and voter, I demand that these irresponsible people be fined to the fullest extent of the law. It is clear that the Campus Crest developers have no respect for you, their neighbors, or this city. If you let someone who is sorry enough to lie to your faces about their project get off the hook so easily, they why would any developer go by the rules of this city?

We know that you care about Asheville and love this city or you wouldn’t be on the Council. Please do right by the community and punish these liars for creating a blight in our city and thumbing their noses at the public interest. There was no miscommunication. These jokers wanted the trees gone, and they got rid of them. Please don’t let them get away with it!

Sincerely,

Heather Rayburn

also on behalf of Ben Gillum

No Replies Received to date.

February 1, 2005

Dear Council Members,

I have only recently realized the depth of deception on the part of the developers, and the remarkably weak response from the city regarding the clear cutting of land that was promised not to be touched on the campus crest development site.

Please let me know briefly and clearly, your position on this issue.

Peter Brezny

No Replies Received from Councilors Worley, Bellamy, Davis, Jones. Indirect response received from Councilor Newman. Direct responses listed below:

From Councilor Dunn February 1, 2005

Your email seems to paint these developers as being folks who have no conscience. The developer did make some mistakes, and things should have been better, but I feel council has looked into this issue. We had staff come talk to us and get the developer to talk with the neighbors. We have hundreds of developments going on throughout the city and rarely do we have a problem with them. Yes, the buffer was disturbed. Yes, it should not have happened. But is it fixable? Yes. The final product will look good and this buffer will quickly be repaired. When I did oral surgery, the bleeding and tissue looked pretty bad. Once the healing took place, the end result was good. Aesthetics and functions improved. I see this development in the same light. Best wishes, Joe Dunn

From Councilor Mumpower, February 1 2005

Peter,

If you receive a limited response to your email, it may be partially due to the demanding and critical tone of your communication. A majority of the Council feels that when the problems were brought to our attention we responded promptly and with concern. I specifically requested that it be addressed at our next work session, a request that was supported, again, by a majority of Council. We asked for and received a detailed presentation from staff. In that this involves a conditional use permit with resulting legal complications, our ability to address the matter directly was somewhat limited. Nonetheless, we followed the recommendation of one of our members and requested that the developer meet with neighborhood representatives to explore mitigation possibilities. The matter is not settled -- we are continuing to explore possibilities.

As to my personal position, I prefer measured deliberation over adversarial process, and I will not join with those who seem more interested in blaming and attacking than seeking more constructive solutions. I am not impressed with the manner with which the developer has handled aspects of this project. What they can do and should do are not necessarily the same thing. I believe the neighborhood has some legitimate complaints, still the responsibility to work, together, will not be well replaced by the apparent rush to cast blame and criticism.

Carl Mumpower
Vice Mayor