Summary (updated 3/30/26): City staff recently unveiled a detailed plan for the development of an anti-displacement policy over the course of the next year.

(If you want to see the earlier versions of this issue report, you can do so here.)

The Facts: At the March 19th City Council Briefing, Communication and Public Engagement Director Dawa Hitch and Assistant City Manager Ben Woody made a detailed presentation on the City’s strategy for developing an anti-displacement policy over the coming year. The key takeaways:

• “The proposed project aims to pair new housing production with anti-displacement protections.
• “Project success depends on authentic community engagement and cross-departmental coordination.
• “The project strategy draws from Missing Middle Housing Study & Displacement Risk Assessment recommendations, Affordable Housing Plan strategies, and Legacy Neighborhoods Coalition (LNC) priorities.
• “The project is action-oriented and includes multiple initiatives and efforts that can start now and all be accomplished within a one-year timeline.”

You can see the full presentation slides here and watch the video of the presentation here (begins at the 29 minute mark).

Our Assessment: Displacement typically is not the result of a single dramatic decision, but through a series of incremental actions made without a shared framework for assessing cumulative impact. Without an overarching anti-displacement policy, City leaders are left to evaluate each item in isolation, if they do so at all, when the combined effect may be to increase housing pressure and instability.

Community leaders have emphasized that displacement is not merely an economic or technical issue, but a social and cultural one. As Sekou Coleman of the Legacy Neighborhoods Coalition has written, decisions about land use and development often unfold without headlines or political noise, yet they determine whether long‑time residents are able to remain rooted in their neighborhoods. Coleman underscores the importance of focusing not just on process, but on whether those with power are willing to use it to help residents remain in their communities – a framing that helps clarify why a comprehensive anti-displacement policy is necessary.

A consistent anti-displacement policy would provide Council with the tools to evaluate cumulative impacts, apply proportional safeguards, and ensure that growth and investment advance racial and social equity rather than undermine it. Precedent for this approach already exists in Mecklenburg, Wake, and Durham Counties, where similar frameworks have been integrated into land use, housing, and economic development decision-making.

Our Proposal: We propose a comprehensive anti-displacement policy for both the City of Asheville and Buncombe County to adopt. You can read our more detailed proposal here. The policy would include:

• Displacement Risk Screening: Early-stage evaluation of potential displacement for all major actions.
• Tiered Response Framework: Categorization of actions by low, moderate, or high displacement risk, with proportional mitigation requirements.
• Required Mitigation Tools: A menu of strategies, including permanent affordability, right-to-return provisions, tenant protections, property tax relief, anti-speculation measures, local hiring, workforce housing contributions, mixed-use requirements, short-term rental limits, and community benefit agreements.
• Monitoring and Accountability: Annual public reporting on displacement indicators, disaggregated by race, income, tenure, and geography, with authority to adjust policies if outcomes indicate increased risk.

This framework would ensure that growth and development in Asheville and Buncombe County can proceed responsibly, preventing avoidable displacement and advancing racial and social equity while drawing on proven precedents in other North Carolina counties. 

Our full proposal can be reviewed here. You can read a summary of what other North Carolina cities and counties have implemented here.

Things to Do (updated 3/30/26): We invite you to join us in sending an appreciative email for City Council’s plans for the development of an anti-displacement policy, as well as for their inclusion of a “partnership” provision for The Block and East End / Valley Street neighborhoods in the exploration of a performing arts center possibility (see above).

Report Back

(Updated 3/30/26): While a plan is just a plan until it is implemented, we were very encouraged by the strategy and timeline the City has put together. They have appropriately centered the priorities outlined by the Legacy Neighborhood Coalition, which has been the leading voice on this issue for several years. They plan to move forward with ongoing community engagement, and their timeline includes detailed touchpoints and benchmarks. If they are able to move forward in the way they’ve envisioned, the resulting anti-displacement analysis tool and policy could make a huge difference in protecting vulnerable communities in our City from being pushed out.

Total GAP Supporter Actions Taken: 44

Recipients and Responses:

Asheville City Council

• Mayor Esther Manheimer: No response
• Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley: No response
• City Council Member Bo Hess: No response
• City Council Member Kim Roney: Responded, see below
• City Council Member Maggie Ullman:  Replied, asking for more information
• City Council Member Sage Turner: No response
• City Council Member Sheneika Smith: No response

Response from Council Member Kim Roney (March 9)

Thank you for writing in support of a comprehensive Anti-Displacement Policy. 

I appreciate the work of the Government Accountability Project (GAP) and the policy proposal they’ve outlined here.

Asheville City staff have been meeting with representatives of the Legacy Neighborhoods Coalition (LNC) to understand their needs and recommendations. I understand the LNC is close to making a formal recommendation, and I look forward to seeing what they propose, bringing their lived and professional experiences to the table.

Our community is so blessed by volunteers working diligently to bring forward solutions. Together, I believe we can secure neighborhood resiliency and the healing our community longs for.

With gratitude,

Kim