City of Asheville extends AVL Shares Space initiatives through Jan. 3 – Mountain Xpress

Press release from the city of Asheville:

The City of Asheville will be extending theAVL Shares Spaceinitiatives through Jan. 3, 2021, in order to continue providing businesses and organizations with opportunities to expand outdoors during COVID-19. In addition to the extension,newguidelinesare being provided to participants that address winter-related accommodations and safety requirements.

The goals of these initiatives continue to focus on supporting economic vitality and safe customer access in alignment with public health guidelines.

Launched in May and June, theAVL Shares Spaceinitiatives include the following:

There are currently 78 businesses and organizations authorized to expand outdoors through these initiatives. A survey conducted in early September resulted in the following feedback from participating businesses and organizations:

Thewinter guidelines for temporary outdoor expansion spaces are available here. They include requirements for use of outdoor heaters, sides for tent/shade structures, outdoor lighting and additional maintenance considerations like snow and leaf removal. The guidelines also include staff contact information for questions and a frequently asked question section. City staff has been working directly with the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association (AIR) on this rollout and will continue providing one-on-one support to businesses as-needed.

In addition, the City is providing materials to assist with temporary parklet installation and haspartnered with the American Institute of Architects Asheville(AIA) to improve accessibility into these spaces. Businesses owned or managed by people of color are especially encouraged to contact City staff for assistance.

Businesses and organizations can find applications for new temporary outdoor expansion and amend current applications with winterization changes through the CitysDevelopment Portal here.

The public can provide feedback on these initiatives by emailingpublicspace@publicinput.comand checking theproject page for updatesand input opportunities.

The City will make adjustments to the programs as-needed based on public health guidance, and will continue working with businesses and organizations to respond to critical needs, while considering new initiatives for the winter and spring and possible continuation of some opportunities longer term.

More information is available atwww.ashevillenc.gov/AVLSharesSpace.

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City of Asheville extends AVL Shares Space initiatives through Jan. 3 - Mountain Xpress