ASHEVILLE - City Council has denied an appeal by man with $1 million in fines for illegal Airbnbs.

But the extraordinary fines accumulated by Five Points neighborhood resident and property owner Reid Thompson weren't the main issue at the Oct. 9 council meeting.

Instead, it was Thompson's request to change zoning rules for his two Maxwell Street properties to allow an exception to Asheville's near-total ban on Airbnbs. Known by city planners as short-term vacation rentals, that type of tourist lodging has become a flashpoint in the affordable housing debate.

'Singled out'

Thompson and a dozen supporters who spoke at the meeting said an exception was justified because of how the the city allowed a high-end grocery store, now Whole Foods, to overrun the street with truck and other commercial traffic for 14 years. For the neighborhood, that has meant damage to cars, truck noise starting as early as 3 a.m. and a situation untenable for long-term rentals, they said.

"I feel like I've been singled out. Like I've been treated unfairly by the city for standing up for myself," Thompson told council members before a 4-1 vote against his rezoning request.

The vote was the latest chapter in a long-running fight that's drawn in political figures and spanned controversial topics from tourism to affordability.

Councilman Brian Haynes said Maxwell Street residents including Thompson have faced undue difficulties since the popular store opened as Greenlife Grocery in 2004 with a loading dock pointing toward the houses.

"He has obviously been wronged over the years and the city has an obligation to do something about that," said Haynes, the lone yes vote.

Mayfield: Airbnbs not answer

Council members Julie Mayfield and Keith Young agreed but said a bad precedent would be set by allowing the vacation rentals after years of contentious debate and enforcement efforts to stem them. A better course, Mayfield said, would be to clamp down on the store.

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"Turning these properties into short-term rentals doesn’t solve the problem," she said. "The problem is Greenlife. That is the problem we have to fix."

Whole Foods representatives have said the store "strictly adheres" to city rules about where, when and how deliveries can be made.

Mayfield and Young voted no along with Vice Mayor Gwen Wisler and Councilwoman Sheneika Smith.

Councilman Vijay Kapoor who was away on a scheduled absence, and Mayor Esther Manheimer did not vote. Manheimer, who is an attorney, asked to be recused, saying her employer, Van Winkle Law Firm, once represented Thompson in his conflict with the city and the store.

'Belligerent' but right, Bothwell says

Joining the debate was past council member Cecil Bothwell, who as a former reporter for Mountain Xpress detailed the early conflict over the store.

Speaking at the meeting as a member of the public, Bothwell said he understood Thompson acted in ways seen as "beliligerent."

"I get that he’s continued to short term rental there in opposition to the law. But isn’t he right?

For two years, Thompson racked up $1,500 daily fines, $500 for each of the three units he's rented between his two properties.

That would mean a total of $1,081,500 in penalties by the day of the council vote, according to a Citizen Times calculation.

Thompson, whose long-running feud with Asheville's government led him to be banned from municipal buildings, said he ignored mail from the city, including what were likely fine notices. The city sued him on March 22, 2017, when the penalties had reached $232,500. He countersued.

Fines persist

Thompson said city officials in charge of collecting the fines offered to cut the amount in half, at a Sept. 5 mediation session, but he declined, saying it was still too much. City officials wouldn't comment on the mediation except to say it ended without a resolution.

While the fines were not the main issue before the council, Asheville Urban Planner Jessica Bernstein said brushing them off could encourage others to break the vacation rental prohibition, which along with protecting housing supply is meant to keep neighborhoods from facing disruptions by streams of tourists.

"Staff has concerns that this is going to legitimize violating the city’s goals and the city’s ordinances," Bernstein said to council members.

State legislator tied to store property

Thompson, meanwhile, accused the city staff of targeting him. At one point he and fellow Maxwell Street resident Brandee Boggs said the store may have gotten preferential treatment because the property is owned in part by state legislator Brian Turner.

Turner, who was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2014, responded after the meeting to questions about his ownership, saying he's never had any interaction with city officials or staff about the store which is overseen by a property manager.

Asked if he felt the residents had been harmed by commercialization, Turner said the store has been in compliance with city rules or has gotten into compliance if notified of a problem.

He noted the building's history, including its original use as an A&P grocery store and later as a home medical assistant business.

"That property has been commercial since the 1970s. We didn't do the commercialization of the street."