Government Accountability Project of Asheville

• Asheville should reject or substantially revise the Caribou Road and Sweeten Creek developments in response to community concerns from Shiloh (new)
• Asheville should reject the proposed RTIC/Axon surveillance expansion until real oversight and accountability exist (new)

• Buncombe County is advancing budget, land use, and investment decisions without any anti-displacement analysis (updated)

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• Asheville should move forward with the proposed CDBG-DR affordable housing investments (new)

This week’s City Council agenda contains two particularly significant decisions for Asheville’s future: two large-scale multifamily housing developments proposed in and around the Shiloh neighborhood, and a proposed expansion of police surveillance infrastructure through the Real-Time Intelligence Center (RTIC) and Axon/Fusus system.

The proposed Caribou Road and Sweeten Creek developments have generated organized opposition from the Shiloh Community Association, which argues that the projects conflict with the adopted Shiloh Community Plan 2025, exceed existing infrastructure capacity, threaten neighborhood character and environmental quality, and fail to reflect the community’s long-term vision for growth and development. 

Meanwhile, the RTIC proposal raises major concerns about accountability, transparency, and public oversight. Asheville is being asked to move quickly on a powerful new surveillance system before clear civilian guardrails, independent oversight mechanisms, or long-term governance structures are in place. Community advocates, including Sunshine Labs, have warned that once these systems are established, they are difficult to unwind and often expand beyond their original scope.

The agenda also includes one important positive step: nearly $18 million in CDBG-DR affordable housing investments that would create more than 330 affordable units with substantial long-term affordability protections. While not without limitations, these investments appear to represent a meaningful anti-displacement response to Asheville’s post-Helene housing crisis.

Finally, we have a disappointing (but unsurprising) report back from our report focus last week. We raised concerns that Buncombe County was moving forward with major budget, land use, and investment decisions without a clear anti-displacement framework. At the subsequent County Commission meeting there was little substantive discussion of displacement risk analysis, neighborhood vulnerability, or mitigation strategies tied to these major development and investment decisions.

Take action with us:

• Email the Asheville City Council about surveillance and Shiloh issues.

Resources:

• Click here to read our full proposed anti-displacement policy proposal.