Buncombe County is confronting a decision that offers no painless outcome

Buncombe County Commissioners must choose between preserving County services by continuing to use older, less equitable property values and implementing the new appraisals and reducing County spending by approximately $24.75 million. The consequences of the first option are relatively well understood. The consequences of the second are not. County staff have not publicly identified what services or investments would be reduced if the County adopts the lower tax rate. The question before the County is not simply which option is preferable. It is whether residents and elected leaders have enough information to meaningfully compare the consequences of each approach.

Community advocacy helped preserve funding for 126 affordable apartments

Update: We’re leaving this action open for another week, and encourage you to email City Staff and City Council if you haven’t already.

On June 23rd, the Asheville City Council approved an amendment to the housing recovery portion of the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery action plan. They shifted $19.2 million originally allocated to infrastructure and multifamily affordable housing construction to fund more single-family home repair and reconstruction work. While we continue to have concerns about the transparency and efficiency of the Renew NC home reconstruction program, the final amendment approved by City Council preserved significantly more funding for affordable multifamily housing than originally proposed last December – enough to fund a new housing development that will offer 126 affordable units. This week, we’re taking a look at what changed, why it matters, and how GAPavl supporters’ efforts contributed to this positive outcome. We’re also encouraging folks to thank City staff and Council for listening to community input.

Buncombe County Has the Opportunity to Lead on Displacement Prevention

Two weeks ago, GAP published a special report asking Buncombe County to adopt a comprehensive anti-displacement policy as part of its housing strategy. As of this week’s report, we have not yet received a response from County staff or Commissioners. We’ll continue to follow this issue and report on any developments as they occur.