Summary: As Buncombe County considers both its proposed FY2027 budget and a major Commercial District Revitalization initiative, the County continues to advance recovery, redevelopment, and infrastructure investments without a clear anti-displacement framework; we believe County leaders should immediately begin incorporating displacement-impact analysis and community protections into these decisions before final approval.

The Facts: Buncombe County is currently considering and advancing several major initiatives connected to post-Helene recovery, infrastructure investment, and economic revitalization. These include:

• A proposed Commercial District Revitalization initiative — separate from but closely connected to the County’s broader recovery agenda — that would support corridor revitalization and infrastructure improvements in Swannanoa and other storm-impacted areas;
• A proposed FY2027 budget that includes major investments in recovery, transportation partnerships, public facilities, economic development, and other capital and infrastructure projects during a period of rapidly rising property values following a countywide reappraisal that increased assessed values by approximately 43%.

The Commercial District Revitalization proposal includes projects related to sidewalk construction, pedestrian connectivity, commercial corridor improvements, remediation of storm-damaged properties, and activation of properties acquired through the federally funded Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which supports the acquisition and redevelopment of disaster-impacted properties to reduce future flood and hazard risks. The FY2027 budget includes funding for public safety facilities, transportation-related partnerships, greenway and recreation projects, facility renovations, economic development incentives, conservation easements, and affordable housing services.

You can see the County’s commercial district revitalization presentation slides here and the budget presentation slides here. You can read the County’s proposed budget in brief here.

Our Assessment: Many of the investments currently being discussed by Buncombe County may provide real public benefits. Recovery investments, transportation improvements, and commercial revitalization efforts can help communities recover from Hurricane Helene and improve long-term quality of life.

But public investment can also increase land values, accelerate speculation, raise rents, and increase displacement pressure — especially in communities already facing affordability challenges. Sidewalk improvements, corridor revitalization, infrastructure upgrades, and economic development initiatives often make neighborhoods more attractive to outside investment while providing few protections for existing residents and small businesses.

For the past five months, the County has been hearing concerns from residents, advocates, and community organizations about displacement and affordability pressures. Yet the current Commercial District Revitalization proposal and the proposed FY2027 budget still do not appear to include any measures to protect existing residents and businesses from displacement pressures (i.e. a broader anti-displacement framework, displacement-impact review process, or targeted protections for communities facing heightened displacement risk during post-disaster recovery and redevelopment).

This is especially concerning because the County is making these decisions during a period of post-disaster rebuilding and rapid increases in assessed property values. The absence of an anti-displacement framework is no longer simply an oversight — it is becoming a pattern of governance that leaves vulnerable communities exposed to the unintended harmful consequences of public investment.

Our Proposal: We have repeatedly called on Buncombe County to adopt a comprehensive anti-displacement strategy that incorporates housing stability, community preservation, equitable development, and displacement-risk analysis into public decision-making. (You can read our full proposal here.) The County still has an opportunity to begin moving in that direction before final adoption of the FY2027 budget and approval of related recovery and revitalization initiatives.

At a minimum, the County could take several immediate steps over the next two weeks:

• Direct staff to identify communities and corridors at elevated risk of displacement connected to recovery and infrastructure investment;
• Require basic displacement impact analysis for major revitalization and capital projects;
• Prioritize affordable housing preservation and anti-displacement protections in areas targeted for public investment;
• Commit to developing a formal County anti-displacement framework during the upcoming fiscal year.
  

These would not solve the problem overnight. But they would represent a meaningful acknowledgment that public investment decisions can have unintended consequences — and that protecting vulnerable communities should be part of responsible recovery and budgeting.

A basic displacement-impact review process could provide County leaders with data about which communities are most vulnerable to rising rents, redevelopment pressure, speculative investment, and commercial displacement connected to public investment decisions. That information could help shape final budget priorities, including where to direct affordable housing resources, small business support, preservation funding, infrastructure phasing, and community stabilization efforts.

We have been warning Buncombe County for many months that growth and redevelopment pressures could displace longtime residents and small businesses. The County still has an opportunity to show that it is willing to plan for those impacts instead of reacting after displacement has already occurred.

Things to do: We invite you to use our email template below to urge the Buncombe County Commission to incorporate anti-displacement protections and displacement-impact analysis into both the proposed Commercial District Revitalization initiative and the FY2027 budget before final approval.

Email Template: You can send an email to the Buncombe County Commission by filling out the form below. Our email tool will send an individually addressed email to the recipients, and enable us to track how many emails were sent overall in the campaign. If you prefer to write your own email, you can copy and paste (and adapt) our template text – please cc: or bcc: info@gapavl.org on your individualized email, so we can better track how many emails were sent.

To: alfred.whitesides@buncombecounty.org, amanda.edwards@buncombecounty.org, drew.ball@buncombecounty.org, jennifer.horton@buncombecounty.org, martin.moore@buncombecounty.org, parker.sloan@buncombecounty.org, terri.wells@buncombecounty.org

CC: or BCC: info@gapavl.org

Subject: Please include anti-displacement protections in Buncombe County’s recovery and budget planning

Dear Commissioners,

As Buncombe County considers both the proposed Commercial District Revitalization initiative and the FY2027 budget, I urge you to recognize that public recovery and infrastructure investments can contribute to displacement pressures if they are not paired with intentional protections for vulnerable residents and small businesses.

The County is currently advancing major recovery, revitalization, and infrastructure investments without any clear anti-displacement framework or displacement impact analysis. Recovery and investment are important, but they should not come at the cost of pushing longtime residents out of their communities.

Before final approval of these initiatives, I ask that the County take immediate steps to begin incorporating displacement-impact analysis and anti-displacement protections into these major recovery, revitalization, and infrastructure decisions.

Thank you for your leadership,

[Your Name]

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