Summary (Updated 6/29/26): City Council unanimously approved the Deaverview Road rezoning, allowing somewhat higher-density housing on a vacant parcel consistent with the City’s comprehensive plan. Read more in the Report Back below.

Summary (Original): Council will consider a rezoning on Deaverview Road that would allow additional residential density on a vacant parcel. We support this proposal.

The Facts: The proposal would rezone a vacant property on Deaverview Road from RM-8 to RM-16, allowing higher-density residential development. City staff argue that the proposal is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and would support the City’s housing goals by allowing additional residential units.

The property is currently vacant and no existing residents would be displaced by the rezoning itself.

You can see the staff report on this issue here and the presentation slides here.

Our Assessment: Asheville needs additional housing, and vacant sites are often among the most appropriate locations for increasing supply.

While every development proposal deserves careful review, this project appears fundamentally different from situations where housing construction directly displaces existing residents or businesses. The fact that the property is currently vacant reduces many of the concerns that arise in other development debates.

At the same time, housing decisions should not be evaluated solely on the number of units created. The anti-displacement analysis framework currently being developed by the City and GAP and other community partners should help provide a more complete understanding of how projects affect surrounding neighborhoods and residents over time.

Things to do: No action is needed at this time.

Report Back

City Council unanimously approved the rezoning of a vacant parcel on Deaverview Road from RM-8 to RM-16, allowing somewhat higher-density residential development if the property is developed in the future. Because this was a straight rezoning request rather than a specific development proposal, no site plan was approved. Any future development would still have to undergo the City’s normal site plan review process before construction could begin.

As we noted last week, proposals like this can help expand Asheville’s housing supply without redeveloping existing homes or displacing current residents. While every proposal deserves careful review, modest increases in housing opportunities on vacant land are generally among the lower-risk ways to add new housing, particularly when they are consistent with the City’s comprehensive plan and the surrounding neighborhood.