The June 4 decision by the North Carolina Court of Appeals to order Asheville and Buncombe County to desist in deconstructing the Vance Monument in heart of downtown Asheville was “a very historic order” in the state’s history, according to H. Edward Phillips III, the attorney who represents the Society for the Historical Preservation of the 26th North Carolina Troops. 

“This is the first time a court in North Carolina has come out and said, ‘We’re stoppig a political subdivision in North Carolina from removing a monument,’” Phillips told the Daily Planet in a June 8 telephone interview.

“It’s historic!” Phillips said of the decision, noting that he felt “ecstatic” about it.

While the other side’s attorneys are saying the case with take a few months to resolve, Phillips said, “The average appeal time in the state of North Carolina takes 15 months.”

He added, “They (the city) can’t dispose of anything” to do with the monument until the appeal is decided. “The city has a responsibility to make sure nothing happens to it. You have to hold on to every single thing and make sure nothing happens — and protect everything... I begged them not to put themselves in this spot.”

What’s more, Phillips projected that “they’ve blown north of $100,000 on this (demolition), so far... Rental fence. Rental dumpsters. Rental cranes... And they are — and will continue to be — burning money on the rentals” into the foreseeable future.

From Staff Reports 

The North Carolina Court of Appeals on June 4 ordered the City of Asheville and Buncombe County to halt their demolition of the Vance Monument in downtown Asheville.

“The order said Asheville and Buncombe County must desist ‘any further action to deconstruct, demolish or remove the Zebulon Baird Vance Monument’ pending the outcome of an appeal,” Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported. 

“The order said Asheville and Buncombe County must retain all parts of the monument already taken down.”

On June 5, Asheville City Attorney Brad Branham released the following statement about the court’s ruling:

“On Friday afternoon, the N.C. Court of Appeals issued a stay on all demolition activities for the Vance Monument. This means all work must cease immediately, pending the outcome of the current appeal. Although no time frame is certain, this could take several months to resolve. The City of Asheville still feels confident in our legal position, but we’ll have to wait for some time to finish the removal of the Vance Monument.”