GAP Report for 1/26/26
Summary of the Report
New Item: Asheville needs to adopt an anti-displacement policy
Asheville is experiencing intensifying housing instability driven by rising rents, redevelopment, and public investments that increase land values without consistent safeguards for existing residents’ability to continue to afford to live there. In the absence of a clear, enforceable anti-displacement framework, individual City decisions that may seem reasonable in isolation can cumulatively accelerate displacement — particularly for renters, Black residents, low-income households, and others who have historically faced exclusion from the benefits of growth.
The January 27 City Council agenda illustrates this dynamic. Items related to zoning changes, rezonings, economic development incentives, and downtown management all shape housing demand, land use, and access to public space. Yet none of these decisions are currently required to be evaluated for their potential to displace current residents. This piecemeal approach obscures cumulative impacts and makes it difficult for Council to act strategically to prevent displacement.
GAP is proposing that Asheville City and Buncombe County adopt a comprehensive anti-displacement policy. The policy would require displacement risk screening for major actions, apply a tiered response framework that links higher risk to stronger mitigation, and establish clear monitoring and accountability mechanisms. Similar approaches are already in place in North Carolina jurisdictions such as Mecklenburg, Wake, and Durham Counties, where growth has continued alongside stronger protections for community stability. Asheville has an opportunity to build on these precedents and ensure that growth does not come at the expense of long-standing residents’ housing stability.
Item Updates
We have a report back on the issue we centered last week – Buncombe County needs to adopt an anti-displacement policy.
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