Public investment in Buncombe County should strengthen communities—not price people out | Government Accountability Project of Asheville

QUESTIONABLE

Summary: Buncombe County Commissioners will consider two public-investment decisions on August 4 that demonstrate the need for anti-displacement analysis: (1) advancing approximately 3.3 miles of greenways and related park improvements in Woodfin, and (2) supporting a $31 million expansion of Enka manufacturer Southeastern Container with up to $185,000 in state and County incentives. Both proposals may offer meaningful public benefits—including recreation, connectivity, jobs, and economic activity—but those benefits will not necessarily be shared equitably. The proposals do not assess whether the greenways could increase housing costs and development pressure or explain how public investment that creates jobs will affect local residents. These are precisely the kinds of questions a practical anti-displacement analysis framework would help the County answer before committing public resources.

The Facts: The County Commission’s August 4 agenda contains two proposals:

Woodfin greenways: The County proposes to amend its agreement with the Town of Woodfin and commit to completing two greenway segments: approximately two miles along Riverside Drive and 1.3 miles along Beaverdam Creek. The County would secure easements, complete engineering and permitting, fund and oversee construction, and eventually transfer the greenways to Woodfin. Woodfin would maintain them for public use, complete the first two phases of Riverside Park – including Taylor’s Wave – and restore Silver-Line Park with new public restrooms. Right-of-way acquisition is expected to begin this year, final design is anticipated in 2027, and construction would take approximately 16–18 months.

Southeastern Container expansion: Southeastern Container, an Enka manufacturer that currently employs 96 people, plans to invest approximately $31.3 million in its facility and create 12 full-time jobs paying an average of $32.90 per hour. The proposed incentives total as much as $185,000: a $100,000 state Building Reuse Grant and up to $85,000 from the County, including a $5,000 County match and a possible additional incentive for hiring commitments. Commissioners are being asked to authorize the County Manager to participate in the grant program. Public hearings and votes on the full economic-development agreement and incentives are scheduled for August 18.

Our Assessment: These are promising proposals. The Woodfin greenways could expand recreation, transportation, river access, and connections among public spaces. Southeastern Container’s expansion would support an established local manufacturer, preserve 96 existing jobs, create 12 new positions at a strong average wage, and bring substantial private investment to Enka. We hope both projects move forward and deliver their intended benefits. Our concern is not with the projects themselves, but with the absence of a consistent process for ensuring that their benefits are broadly shared and that foreseeable displacement risks are addressed early. An anti-displacement analysis would not presume that either proposal should be delayed or rejected. It would help the County strengthen these investments by identifying who may be affected, connecting existing residents to new opportunities, and incorporating protections before rising costs or other unintended consequences emerge. The Woodfin greenways offer the clearest example. Public parks, trails, and river access can greatly improve quality of life, but those amenities can also increase nearby land values and attract new development. Before construction, the County should know whether nearby renters, lower-income homeowners, manufactured-home residents, and locally owned businesses are already experiencing housing or commercial displacement pressure. It should also identify measures that would help existing residents remain and share in the benefits. This concern is supported by research on “green gentrification.” A study of new parks in ten U.S. cities found that greenway parks with walking or bicycling components were associated with more neighborhood gentrification than other park types. A broader Trust for Public Land review similarly found that large greenway parks are consistently linked to gentrification and explained how rising land values, rents, and living costs can displace longtime residents and businesses. These outcomes are not inevitable, but the research shows why displacement risk should be evaluated – and protections developed – while a greenway is being planned, rather than after surrounding costs begin to rise. The Enka proposal raises a different set of questions. The promised wages appear strong, but the County has not shown whether the 12 jobs will be accessible to nearby residents, how the expansion may affect surrounding properties, or whether public incentives could include commitments related to local hiring, transportation, or other community benefits. Research on economic-development incentives shows that jobs created with public support do not automatically benefit residents of the surrounding community. Southeastern Container is an established local employer, its proposed wages appear strong, and 12 new jobs are unlikely to create meaningful displacement pressure. The relevant issue is therefore not primarily displacement, but whether the County can use its investment to create greater opportunity for people already living in Enka. Before providing up to $185,000 in incentives, the County should identify barriers to local access, consider recruitment, training, childcare, and transportation strategies, and report who is hired and retained. These community-benefit measures would complement anti-displacement work by helping local households gain the economic stability needed to remain and prosper. For more than six months, GAP has asked the County to develop a scalable anti-displacement analysis framework. We have acknowledged the County’s affordable-housing, recovery, home-repair, and planning efforts, and we carefully reviewed the Comprehensive Plan, growth strategies, recovery plans, and other materials County leaders identified in response to our advocacy. Those plans contain important principles and programs, but they do not provide a decision-specific method for evaluating proposals like these. A useful framework could be scaled to the decision. It might ask:

What populations, neighborhoods, or commercial districts will be affected?
Are housing costs, land values, evictions, tax burdens, or commercial rents already rising?
Who is expected to receive the project’s benefits?
Could the decision intensify pressure on renters, lower-income homeowners, manufactured-home residents, or locally owned businesses?
What protections or community-benefit commitments could be incorporated before approval?
What data should be reported after implementation to determine whether the project is producing equitable results?

These proposals raise related but distinct questions. The Woodfin greenways demonstrate the direct need for the anti-displacement framework GAPavl has advocated for: a promising public investment could increase nearby property values and development pressure unless the County identifies vulnerable residents and businesses and adopts protections early. The Enka expansion instead raises a complementary community-benefit question about whether residents can access opportunities created with public support. GAPavl continues to call on the County to adopt our proposed anti-displacement framework, while also encouraging consistent standards for ensuring that publicly supported economic development benefits existing communities.

Things to do: Use our email template to ask the County Commission to direct staff to develop a practical anti-displacement analysis framework for major public investments, incentives, infrastructure projects, and real-estate decisions.

Email Template: You can send an email to the Buncombe County Commission by filling out the form below. Our email tool will send an individually addressed email to the recipients, and enable us to track how many emails were sent overall in the campaign. If you prefer to write your own email, you can copy and paste (and adapt) our template text – please cc: or bcc: info@gapavl.org on your individualized email, so we can better track how many emails were sent.

Important: If you receive a response to your email, please forward it to us at info@gapavl.org so we can reflect that in the report back.

To: alfred.whitesides@buncombecounty.org, amanda.edwards@buncombecounty.org, drew.ball@buncombecounty.org, jennifer.horton@buncombecounty.org, martin.moore@buncombecounty.org, parker.sloan@buncombecounty.org, terri.wells@buncombecounty.org

CC: or BCC: info@gapavl.org

Subject: Two promising projects—and a missing framework

Dear Commissioners,

Your August 4 agenda includes two promising proposals: (1) completing approximately 3.3 miles of greenways in Woodfin and (2) supporting Southeastern Container’s expansion in Enka.

The greenways could provide important recreational, transportation, and economic benefits. But by increasing nearby property values and development interest, they could also contribute to higher rents, tax burdens, and displacement pressure. Early analysis could help the County protect nearby residents and businesses while ensuring they shape and share in the project’s benefits.

The Enka expansion appears unlikely to create meaningful displacement pressure, but the proposed incentives raise a complementary community-benefit question. Before committing up to $185,000, the County should explain how existing residents will learn about and gain access to the new jobs and how hiring and retention outcomes will be reported.

These proposals illustrate why the County needs an anti-displacement analysis framework, which could also be understood as a resident-protection framework. Future decisions involving infrastructure, incentives, land use, budgets, and other public investments should be informed by a consistent assessment of who will benefit, who could face unintended costs, and what steps could improve outcomes.

GAPavl has already provided the Commission with a detailed proposal for a practical, scalable framework. Please direct staff to review and respond to that proposal and use it as a starting point for developing a County-wide process that identifies displacement risks, finds opportunities to increase benefits for current residents, considers appropriate protections or community commitments, and establishes ways to measure results.

Developing this framework would not mean opposing or delaying promising investments. It would help ensure that future decisions are more fully informed, equitable, and responsive to the communities they affect.

Sincerely,

[Name]

[Community or neighborhood]

REPORT BACK STATUS

Unresolved

Report Back

Coming Soon!