Summary (updated 5/25/26): At their meeting on May 19th, members of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners acknowledged ongoing affordability concerns but did not meaningfully consider a broader anti-displacement framework, as we have repeatedly called for. As a result, major revitalization and infrastructure investments continue moving forward without comprehensive safeguards designed to protect vulnerable residents from long-term displacement pressures.

Because the County continues to ignore our written communication on this issue, we invite you to join us in making a public comment at their next formal meeting on June 2. Public comment is one of the first items on the County agenda for each meeting, so it takes place shortly after 5 pm. If you can join us at 200 College Street next Tuesday, please sign up below and we’ll follow up with you.

Original 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 (Updated 5/25/26): We invite you to join us in making a public comment at the next formal meeting of the Buncombe County Commission on June 2. Public comment is one of the first items on the County agenda for each meeting, so takes place shortly after 5 pm. If you can join us at 200 College Street next Tuesday, please sign up below and we’ll follow up with you.

Original Things to Do: We invited you to use the email template we had provided (removed, no longer active) 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.

Report Back

At last week’s meeting, County Commissioners largely approached affordability and redevelopment concerns through the lens of individual projects and funding decisions rather than through a broader structural discussion about displacement prevention. The absence of a comprehensive anti-displacement framework remains a significant gap in how the County evaluates revitalization and infrastructure investments.

Total GAP Supporter Actions Taken: 8

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