How can the county practice environmental stewardship and promote broad-based economic growth at the same time?
I do not support growth for the sake of growth, but I think it’s unrealistic to think that people are going to stop moving to Asheville in the near future. Our goal must be to assure that we shape a pattern of development that reflects our community goals and values. By insisting that new development be as green and energy efficient as possible, improving the energy efficiency of the existing built environment and creating new sources of clean energy, we can place our community on the path of sustainability. Similarly, we should focus new growth in areas within our existing developed landscape, rather than on our best remaining farmland and natural areas. The pursuit of such development is a great forward step in green job creation. The Buncombe County commission has a leadership role in job creation in our community and I would pursue this avenue of green job creation aggressively. One final concrete example of the marriage of environmental stewardship and economic growth is the promo
