Dear fellow birders and tree admirers: 

I’m asking for your help on behalf of our beloved trees at the Asheville “Muni” Golf Course. The City of Asheville recently released a plan to cut down 157 trees, the majority of which are mature canopy trees (oaks and pines) that have stood tall for decades. I’ve seen countless warblers and other migrants feeding in these trees over many years. These trees are on City property, so all of us in Asheville, and in Buncombe County, have a say in what happens next. 

The previous golf course operator, Pope Golf, did a very poor job maintaining the course and its grass. The new company, Commonwealth Golf Partners, wants to look good fast with quick-fix solutions to re-grow grass by cutting many more trees than necessary. The golf course’s grass looked great just a few short years ago — underneath those same large shade trees!

February 11, 2022

A message from Perrin de Jong, an 11-year Asheville resident, is a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity and a commissioner on the city of Asheville’s Urban Forestry Commission

Dear Neighbors,

The Open Space Amendment will dramatically slash, and in some cases, eliminate, the open space that developers are now required to provide with larger construction projects

In addition, the proposal contains many loopholes that allow developers to avoid even those meager requirements. For example, it would:
• Relieve some developers from providing up to 80% of their required open space due to the use of stormwater mitigation measures that are legally required anyway.
• Relieve developers that provide a percentage of temporary “affordable” housing units from having to provide up to 80% of the open space that would otherwise be mandated.
• And relieve developers from providing an extra 10% of the open space that would otherwise be required in exchange for providing a flat, rectangular spot with pedestrian-accessible seating, resulting in a total potential discount of 90% of the open space required.