ASU WITHDRAWS ZONING VARIANCE REQUEST

We heard last night that ASU was withdrawing its zoning case from the Quarterly Public Hearing tonight. By this a.m. we'd received at least 27 copies of an administration e-mail circulating on campus with this explanation:

Many of you have probably seen the front page of today's Watauga Democrat that has a story about the new education building and the fact that the university is applying for a zoning variance. As is often the case with these requests, not all of the story is told, but fundamentally, the facts about size of building, etc., are correct and obviously will require some zoning adjustment in an area which is currently zoned residential; hence the request for a zoning variance.

After further dialogue with a variety of people, the university has withdrawn its request for a variance at this time and will continue to seek dialogue with the Town Council and others to determine the most appropriate approach(es) to be taken. Therefore there will be no presentation tomorrow [Thurs.] evening for the Town Council.

Although I have been assured the university remains committed to try to make the current site work, should that not transpire, then the attention, obviously, will shift to sites previously identified to determine their feasibility.

As we learn more, I will try to share whatever I can. The good news is that we are receiving favorable reports on funding for the building being made available, but we still have a long way to go.

A new tone? Why, yes. Any time a university "suit" uses the word "dialogue," twice in the same sentence, especially when referring to the Town of Boone and its citizens, that's got to be considered progress.