The issue we’ve tracked most extensively this past year has been the ongoing affordable housing crisis, and the danger of displacement for many lower income families, especially within the Black and Latine communities. City and County leaders often express concerns about these issues, but there is a leadership vacuum when it comes to turning those concerns into policies and plans.

Both the City and County have labeled “affordable housing” a top priority, which is a broad term that includes housing just below market rates that is affordable to moderate- (but not low-) income people. A significant percentage of Black and Latine families make less than 50% of Area Median Income (AMI) and need “deeply affordable housing.” Local leaders typically acknowledge the need to build this kind of housing, but their plans and strategies often muddy the two, making it unclear what kind of housing will be built and for whom.

City and County leaders also express a desire to limit the displacement of vulnerable residents, especially Black and Latine community members who live in legacy neighborhoods. However, they chose not to include a commitment to anti-displacement in their Helene Recovery Plan. The lack of a coherent anti-displacement policy or strategy has also complicated plans to add “missing middle” housing, which is a strategy for increasing housing stock by allowing more subdivision of properties so additional homes can be built on them. What’s needed are strategies for increasing housing stock, especially deeply affordable homes, while at the same time guarding against gentrification and displacement. This isn’t an easy balance to strike, and requires strong leadership and consensus-building, which has so far been lacking in both local governments.

Because this crisis continues to grow, related crises are amplified: some folks unable to afford housing end up homeless; some of those folks end up panhandling. This past summer, Asheville voted to crack down on the presence of people panhandling by increasing the number of areas where it was an arrestable offense. This kind of expansion of poverty criminalization does nothing to address the underlying affordability crisis driving panhandling, and instead leads to more poor people caught up in the criminal justice system.

Here are our relevant reports on the issue:

• Asheville needs to prioritize deeply affordable housing with recovery money
• The Helene Recovery Plan should include an anti-displacement commitment as well as equity-informed community engagement and data collection
• Asheville police want to arrest more panhandlers
• Asheville City Council considers changes in cottage and flag lot standards that could negatively impact legacy neighborhoods
• Is Buncombe County’s rental assistance program being administered equitably?
• Buncombe County needs to set clear targets for deeply affordable housing

The Community Reparations Commission made their final reports to both the City and County this past Fall. There was no clear path forward at that time, and so we pressed for one. GAP Supporters sent over 60 emails, yielding responses from Council Members Bo Hess and Maggie Ullman, and County Commissioner Drew Ball. All of them essentially said that staff was working its way through the recommendations and would be bringing them back for formal consideration soon. There was no timetable provided for that process, and there still isn’t one.

In late October, GAP Team met with County Commissioner Jennifer Horton and Al Whitesides, along with other local leaders to discuss the future of reparations in Asheville and Buncombe County. They shared that they saw no pathway to formal action on reparations because of the likelihood that this would trigger damaging retribution from the federal government. They said they hoped to move the issue forward more informally – “under the radar.”

Here are our relevant reports on the issue:

• Asheville and Buncombe County need to take action on the reparations recommendations
• Asheville reparations process needs a clear timeline

Another issue we tracked all year, as in year’s past, was whether the City and County were using an equity lens in their collection of information to guide policy decisions. With each policy conversation, we wondered who was being counted and who was being listened to. We continue to be concerned that both governments don’t go as far as they could to ensure that the marginalized people, such as those with lower incomes, and especially those within Black and Latine communities, are getting their concerns acknowledged and addressed.

A prominent example from this past year was the City of Asheville’s decision to shut down dozens of advisory Boards and Commissions. The rationale was a need for greater efficiency in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, but the shift had been in the works for years before the storm. It’s worth noting that most of the members of these advisory boards are white, but there are several crucial commissions (now suspended) with significant participation by Black and Brown community members, such as the Human Relations Commission and the African American Heritage Commission.

In addition to offering fewer opportunities for community members to make input, there was also an inconsistent commitment to tracking who was being listened to – and benefiting from – various Helene recovery initiatives. For example, it wasn’t clear if Buncombe County plans to track racial demographics in (a) its community outreach around recovery priorities, or (b) which community members were receiving economic support. We recognize that there is now open hostility from the federal government to any policy that attempts to address inequities or promote diversity or inclusion. But that shouldn’t be an excuse to stop collecting information and reporting it, so our community knows who is being given the opportunity to inform efforts and who is being assisted by those efforts.

Here are our relevant reports on the issue:

• Asheville City Council considers restricting input from community-led Boards and Commissions
• Asheville Policy, Finance and Infrastructure Committee needs to hear from community on policy decisions
• Buncombe County recovery-related community engagement efforts should track racial demographics
• Buncombe County needs to track demographic information as it navigates the recovery process
• Buncombe County should track racial demographics and address inequities in its housing, commercial waste hauling, and personnel policies