GAP Report for 8/17/26
County Staff Calls for an Impact Analysis – So Why Approve the Rezoning Before It’s Done? Buncombe County Commissioners will vote August 18 on a request to change two Kampgrounds of America (KOA)-owned parcels near US 70 from commercial to residential zoning. County...
GAP Report for 8/10/26
A Better Transit Network for Many Riders -- But Not Everyone At its July 28th meeting, the Asheville City Council reviewed the proposed Asheville Rides Transit (ART) network plan. Community feedback was overwhelmingly negative, but staff still recommended the plan be...
GAP Report for 8/3/26
Public investment in Buncombe County should strengthen communities—not price people out (new) Buncombe County Commissioners will consider two public-investment decisions on August 4 that demonstrate the need for anti-displacement analysis: (1) advancing approximately...
GAP Report for 7/27/26
Promising Anti-Displacement Commitment Needs a Timeline (new) On Tuesday, July 27, the Asheville City Council will consider a resolution acknowledging the harm caused by redlining, urban renewal, zoning decisions, and development pressures, and committing the City to...
GAP Report for 7/20/26
The County’s property-tax dilemma makes the case for an anti-displacement analysis framework (new) Last week, new state legislation forced Buncombe County Commissioners to choose between reverting to older, less equitable property values to maintain their adopted...
GAP Report for 7/13/26
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...
GAP Report for 7/6/26
Community advocacy helped preserve funding for 126 affordable apartments 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...
GAP Report for 6/29/26
Building on Buncombe County’s Commitment to Preventing Displacement (new) Last week, Buncombe County responded to GAP’s earlier report, explaining that it already has a number of policies and programs intended to reduce displacement. We agree that the County has taken...
GAP Report for 6/22/26
Public land should create the greatest possible public benefit (new) Overall, we view this as a promising proposal and an example of the City using public resources to address the housing crisis. At the same time, important questions remain about whether the project’s...
GAP Report for 6/15/26
0 Items Buncombe County still won’t answer questions about displacement (new) Asheville should support both affordable housing construction and home repair (updated with new template) o Items Asheville should complete its affordable housing recovery investments...