Summary: Buncombe County’s 2030 Strategic Plan’s housing goals are not specific enough when it comes to deeply affordable housing.

The Facts: The Buncombe County Commission will be voting on its 2030 Strategic Plan at their November 4th meeting. This plan includes the following goals:

• 1,500–1,850 rental units at <80% Area Median Income (AMI). (80% AMI is $74,500 for a four-person household.)
• The County claims that their housing will “average <60% AMI” (60% AMI is $55,860 for a four-person household.)

You can read the full 2030 Strategic Plan here.

Our Assessment: We’d like to see a more specific commitment by the County to build deeply affordable housing (targeted at families earning less than 50% AMI, which is $46,550 for a family of four.)

Based on the Buncombe County Housing Needs Assessment, the county needs 1,937 units of deeply affordable housing. The 2030 Strategic Plan calls for 1,500–1,850 rental units at <80% AMI. They claim their housing will “average <60% AMI,” but that’s not good enough. We know from the Thrive Asheville report that housing <60% AMI increases racial housing disparities.

Buncombe County should convert ‘average <60% AMI’ into explicit AMI-band targets:

• ≥200 units at <30% AMI
• ≥700 units at 30–50% AMI
• ≥1,000 total units at <60% AMI by 2030

We’d also like to see the County track units by AMI and race/ethnicity annually on their dashboard, so we can see if the gap is increasing or decreasing.

Things to do: Join us in reaching out to Buncombe County leaders to express concern about the 2030 plan’s lack of specificity around deeply affordable housing. The template below articulates this, and also expresses appreciation for the goals that address racial gaps in youth court referrals, kindergarten readiness, and graduation rates.

You can send an email to the Asheville City Council and City Manager by filling out the form above, under the “Buncombe County’s 2030 Strategic Plan sets compelling goals for addressing racial disparities in criminal justice and education” report.

Report Back

The Buncombe County Commission uninmously approved the 2030 Strategic Plan on November 4, 2025.

Total GAP Supporter Actions Taken: 11

Recipients and Responses:

Buncombe County Commission

• County Commission Chair Amanda Edwards: No response
• County Commissioner Al Whitesides: No response
• County Commissioner Drew Ball: No response
• County Commissioner Jennifer Horton: No response
• County Commissioner Martin Moore: No response
• County Commissioner Parker Sloane: No response
• County Commissioner Terri Wells: No response