Asheville City Council
Regular meeting: City Council Meeting (In-Person)
HousingHelene recoveryOther City businessStreets and transit
10 decisions: 8 approved together in one consent-agenda vote, and 2 voted on separately.
The rule covers homes that become unfit to live in, unsafe, and a threat to life or property. First, an inspector finds a problem, and the landlord gets a chance to fix it and be heard. If it is not fixed, the inspector can issue an order. The Asheville Area Tenants Union asked for the change.
Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
City Collective, LLC will plan land the City and the Housing Authority own in Deaverview. The Housing Authority wants to replace the 160-unit Deaverview Apartments so residents move just one time. The plan will cover housing for a mix of incomes, places to learn and play, and support services. It should take about 18 months, with meetings with neighbors all along.
Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
The money comes from federal and state emergency reimbursements. The City says it will pay for costs coming up, like a temporary bridge for Gashes Creek, replacing Parks contents and managing grants. The City says past Helene budgets, which total $219.5M, are nearly used up. Council also moved a $105,000 gift to buy supplies for a temporary skating rink.
The short version is picked by a fixed rule, never by the order of the minutes: split votes and failed motions first, then changes to a program, a service or who qualifies, then the largest amounts, then budgets, zoning, laws and fees. Schedules, appointments, event permits and tax refunds come last.
Only what the record supports for each item, and what's still pending.
Once that order is issued, the owner can't collect rent from the tenant living there or let anyone new move in. The City's lawyer noted that state law says a tenant may not hold back rent on their own before a court rules.
Still pending: The plan does not approve any building. Carrying it out will need later approval from City Council, the Housing Authority board and the PEAK Academy board.
Still pending: The trailer and barricades have not been bought yet. The grant money must be spent by February 28, 2027.
Still pending: This contract starts the work. The new plan and rules are not written or adopted yet. Three tasks, including updates to the Downtown and River District Design Guidelines, were set aside and could be done later if more money becomes available.
Still pending: The state still has to grant the money.
The Deaverview Apartments are a 160-unit public housing development built in 1971; the housing authority wants to replace them while requiring residents to relocate only once. The city and housing authority own the surrounding land.
The topics public speakers raised, as the minutes list them. These are residents' comments, not findings.
Each of these had its own motion and vote.
Council makes it unlawful to collect rent on unsafe homes after a City inspector's order.
Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
The rule covers homes that become unfit to live in, unsafe, and a threat to life or property. First, an inspector finds a problem, and the landlord gets a chance to fix it and be heard. If it is not fixed, the inspector can issue an order. The Asheville Area Tenants Union asked for the change.
What this changes: Once that order is issued, the owner can't collect rent from the tenant living there or let anyone new move in. The City's lawyer noted that state law says a tenant may not hold back rent on their own before a court rules.
Council hires a firm for up to $399,800 to draw up a master plan for Deaverview.
Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
City Collective, LLC will plan land the City and the Housing Authority own in Deaverview. The Housing Authority wants to replace the 160-unit Deaverview Apartments so residents move just one time. The plan will cover housing for a mix of incomes, places to learn and play, and support services. It should take about 18 months, with meetings with neighbors all along.
Still pending: The plan does not approve any building. Carrying it out will need later approval from City Council, the Housing Authority board and the PEAK Academy board.
8 items, approved in one vote without separate discussion. Any member can pull an item out for its own vote.
Council adds $4.2M to the Helene recovery budget for costs like a temporary bridge.
The money comes from federal and state emergency reimbursements. The City says it will pay for costs coming up, like a temporary bridge for Gashes Creek, replacing Parks contents and managing grants. The City says past Helene budgets, which total $219.5M, are nearly used up. Council also moved a $105,000 gift to buy supplies for a temporary skating rink.
The Asheville City Schools Foundation will give a $2,000 scholarship to each graduate of the City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy. The Academy is a job and leadership program for high school students. The Foundation gets a 5% fee, and the total can't go over $54,500. The deal now runs one year at a time, and Buncombe County's $65,000 also goes through it.
Council approves, after the fact, a $25,000 federal grant for emergency barricades and a trailer.
Public Works applied for and won the U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant in 2024, but Tropical Storm Helene put off its use. Public Works plans to buy a response trailer and barricades to close roads, steer traffic and protect people and property. The City's grant rules have changed since then, so staff asked Council to formally approve the grant before using it.
Still pending: The trailer and barricades have not been bought yet. The grant money must be spent by February 28, 2027.
Council approves up to $1,403,000 to update Asheville's comprehensive plan and development rules.
Opticos Design, Inc. will update the Living Asheville Comprehensive Plan and rewrite the City's development rules, with input from the public. It will also review a City standards manual. The cost is $1,200,000 from a federal disaster recovery grant and $203,000 from City stormwater funds. The work on the plan and rules is set to end in October 2027.
Still pending: This contract starts the work. The new plan and rules are not written or adopted yet. Three tasks, including updates to the Downtown and River District Design Guidelines, were set aside and could be done later if more money becomes available.
Council allows beer and wine at Oktoberfest on Coxe Avenue on October 3, 2026.
The Asheville Downtown Association asked to serve beer and wine at the event and let people drink it there. Alcohol is limited to the boundaries shown on the event site maps. The City says sales help the sponsoring nonprofits raise money, and it found no cost to the City.
Council agrees to seek and accept $1,104,732 in state bus maintenance money for fiscal year 2027.
The N.C. Department of Transportation gives this formula grant each year to eligible cities that run bus systems. The money can only pay to run and maintain the system, such as upkeep of the City's transit fleet, equipment and buildings. The amount is 0.59% more than the $1,098,253 the City got for fiscal year 2026.
Still pending: The state still has to grant the money.
Council approves applying for $48 million in federal money for a new bus maintenance garage.
A 2021 study found the City's transit garage at 360 West Haywood Street is too small and can't reasonably be expanded. It named City land at 224 Louisiana Avenue as a strong site for a new one. The whole project is estimated at $60 million. The grant would need a 20% local match, or $12 million.
Still pending: This is only an application. It does not approve final design or construction. If the grant is awarded, staff would come back to Council to budget the money and the rest of the match.
Council approves applying to Dogwood Health Trust for help writing disaster recovery grants.
The Dogwood Health Trust Leverage Fund helps public and nonprofit groups in Western North Carolina write grants. Cities with budgets over $5 million in the 12 counties hit hardest by Hurricane Helene can now use it. The City wants help with hard federal grants, such as from FEMA. It also wants help seeking money for storm needs like debris removal, infrastructure and parks.
Still pending: This is an application. Dogwood Health Trust has not awarded anything yet. If it does, Council lets the City Manager accept the help and sign the needed agreements.
From the minutes, in the order the City lists them. Each item's first lines are the minutes' own words.
8 consent-agenda items, approved together in one vote.
Ordinance amending Chapter 4 of the Code Of Ordinances of the City of Asheville by adding a new Section 4-209(c) in order to provide additional protections for tenants from unsafe dwelling conditions
“The Asheville Area Tenants Union is requesting the City Council consider an amendment to the Asheville Housing Code to make it unlawful to collect rent if a dwelling contains a life safety/unsafe condition.”
Public comment
Summaries are written by hand from the minutes, and every number and name in them is checked against the minutes' own words. An item not written yet shows a summary built by fixed rules from its official title. Every item shows its official title. Procedural motions, like approving the agenda or adjourning, are left out.