Greensboro city council preview

The Greensboro City Council will hear a report from City Attorney Terry Wood at its meeting on Tuesday about an initiative petition to raise the city’s minimum wage above that of the state of North Carolina. Materials attached to the meeting agenda indicate that the Guilford County Board of Elections certified that 6,089 Greensboro residents signed the petition — short of the 8,438 signatures needed to put the initiative on the ballot. The city charter requires that 25 percent of citywide voters in the last municipal election signed a petition in order for it to qualify. The initiative committee submitted its petition last October, so the signatures were counted against the 2007 municipal election, which saw a turnout of 33,752 voters.

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The use of federal recovery zone facility bonds to finance the downtown luxury hotel is not on Tuesday's agenda. A knowledgeable inside source tells me that's because the partners agreed at Mayor Bill Knight's suggestion to pull together a business plan to present to council. I'm not sure exactly when the deadline falls.

Regardless, supporters of the project are being asked to show up at council chambers to express support. The following is an e-mail from Ole Asheboro Neighborhood Association President Barbara Akins:

To all who have been supportive to us on this journey... building a legacy is never easy, it takes peering into the unknown in order to form a vision that works for all. This requires each of us to think about how we fit into this legacy rather than ways to disagree. We need to support this effort each in our own way because our collective future is at stake. This is our opportunity where we can build capacity as a community... a future as a city... and a legacy as a people.

The Ole Asheboro Street Neighborhood Association (OASNA), United Hotel Group (UHG) and other partners in this project request your support for this initiative both in writing and your presence in front of the Greensboro City Council on January 19th.... Let's fill the council room! Let others know about this meeting!

Interested citizens, take note: The council will discuss the use of federal recovery zone facility bonds to finance the project during a briefing in the plaza level conference room at 3 p.m. before the regular meeting. The regular meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.

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Government watchdog Keith Brown brought to my attention that the developer interesting in building student housing at the edge of College Hill has delayed taking its case before the Greensboro City Council. As previously reported on this blog, Edwards Communities had planned to make its request in early February. But a letter from Edwards lawyer Henry Isaacson included in that attachments included with Tuesday's agenda states that the developer is requesting to be heard on March 2. The rezoning case is on Tuesday's agenda, with a notation that "council is being asked to continue this item until the March 5, 2010 council meeting with further advertising."

Isaacson writes to Mayor Knight:

If this request is granted we would use this additional time not only to complete the new site plan and elevations, but would also continue to pursue a resolution of the case with the College Hill neighborhood and their counsel. Some neighbors have recently suggested that the buildings be modified from their original design, and we are attempting to respond to those requests, however, those changes will require additional time and effort on the part of our architects and engineers. Knowing this, I wanted to advise all the interested parties of what we believe will be a longer than expected delay in completing such work, and to request the additional time.