Government Accountability Project of Asheville

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• Buncombe County needs to adopt an anti-displacement policy
• Asheville needs to adopt an anti-displacement policy

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Special note: For most of our history, GAPavl has focused on the full range of issues that come before City Council and County Commission, encouraging timely action on specific agenda items. We’re going to keep doing that whenever the need arises. But we also know that real political change requires a long-term perspective. It requires perseverance. It requires staying with an issue long after it stops being “new.”

As we see it, pushing Asheville and Buncombe County to commit to anti-displacement is of vital importance, which is why we’ve been emailing you about it for over a month now. We know it’s hard – for elected officials and for all of us – to maintain focus on an overarching policy change that will take time to develop and implement. We’re not entirely sure we have the perfect formula for doing that, but we are committed to trying, and encourage you to stay with us.

Updated Item: Buncombe County needs to adopt an anti-displacement policy – County Commission meeting underscores the need for an anti-displacement policy

At its February 3rd meeting, the Buncombe County Commission addressed several housing-related issues — including winter shelter capacity, homelessness response, and affordable housing development — but did not discuss anti-displacement or long-term housing stabilization. While Commissioners acknowledged rising need and escalating costs, the conversation focused primarily on emergency shelter operations and reactive responses rather than preventive strategies. The meeting highlighted the growing pressure on the housing system, but was also a missed opportunity to connect these challenges to a comprehensive anti-displacement framework that would prevent residents from losing housing in the first place.

We were encouraged to receive a follow-up email from County Commissioner Drew Ball, and are working to schedule a meeting with him, Commissioner Jennifer Horton, and hopefully other County electeds and staff. We will continue to update you on that process as well.

Updated item: Asheville needs to adopt an anti-displacement policy – Asheville officials also express an interest in developing an anti-displacement policy

Members of the GAP Strategy Team met with City staff on Friday, February 6th, to discuss how the City might begin to develop an anti-displacement policy. It was a constructive conversation, mostly focused on how the community might be engaged to participate in this process. Crafting a policy like this can tend to move quickly into technical terrain, making it hard to follow for many community members. Many residents are also wary of investing time and concern into giving their feedback to the City, since prior processes like these have often seemed performative, minimally considering resident input. The City staff we spoke with recognized these challenges and were eager to construct a process that was both inclusive and meaningful. We explored a range of options for how to move forward. We plan to expand the dialogue we’ve started with them, bringing in other community leaders. We’ll keep you updated.