Shuttered Asheville Primary School to open as shelter, pending resolution of zoning issue

By Hannah Mackenzie

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — At its meeting on Dec. 15, the Asheville City Schools board voted in favor of temporarily utilizing shuttered Asheville Primary School as a cold-weather shelter – but there was one condition. The shelter is contingent on clearing up zoning issues.

According to Interim Superintendent Dr. Jim Causby, half of the school, which is on Haywood Road, is zoned in an area that does not permit the building to be used for sheltering purposes.

“Is there the potential for there to be a need to rezone the building to ensure accessibility for the shelter use?” asked newly appointed board member, Liza Kelly.

“I don’t know. In the next couple of days I think we’ll know,” Causby responded.

An Asheville school official said attorneys are working with the city to determine the next steps forward.

If the shelter goes ahead, it would be limited to 10 shelter-seekers temporarily housed within four classrooms, with no more than 20 people inside at a time. ACS would not incur costs.

As News 13 previously reported, the shelter would be paid for and operated by a trio of churches: Trinity United Methodist Church, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church and Grace Episcopal Church, as well as Counterflow Asheville.

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