All of unincorporated Buncombe County will now allow building more than one home per lot, following a unanimous vote by the Board of Commissioners Tuesday evening.
Most of the county already had such zoning, except for the Beaverdam Low-Density Residential District: a roughly 3,350-acre horseshoe of land enveloping Asheville’s northeast city limits. Shannon Capezzali, a county planner, told commissioners that the Beaverdam development rules were first established in 1981 and no longer aligned with Buncombe’s land use goals.
Mandatory single-family zoning, Capezzali explained, “is conflicting with our push for more missing-middle housing,” such as duplexes or basement apartments with separate entrances. Buncombe’s 2043 Comprehensive Plan, approved in 2023, calls for those types of development to increase housing density and provide more affordable options.
Susan Bean, housing and transportation director for local nonprofit MountainTrue, echoed those themes during public comment on the Beaverdam proposal. She argued that denser development can offer both economic and conservation benefits to the county.
“We desperately need more small homes in places where infrastructure already exists, and on relatively flat land that is not located within the floodplain,” Bean said. “That is the best way to increase housing choices for our neighbors while minimizing negative impacts to our natural environment.”
No commenters spoke against the proposal, and board Chair Amanda Edwards was eager to express her enthusiasm for the change prior to her vote. “This is a big moment in Buncombe County history, that we are ending single-family zoning after many, many years of work, and making some really significant progress in putting a dent in our affordable housing stock and the need that we have,” she said.
Although the city of Asheville allows accessory dwelling units — small, detached living spaces also known as “in-law suites” or “granny flats” — in many residential areas, its zoning code still forbids two-family development in the lowest-density districts. The city has been revising its development ordinances to encourage more density, with the latest round of changes approved in March.
Other tidbits
- Commissioners voted to join a statewide agreement for distributing additional settlement funds from local government lawsuits against opioid manufacturers. An estimated $577,000 will come to Buncombe over the next decade, which must be used to address the opioid overdose epidemic. Previous opioid-related settlements are slated to send the county over $30.3 million through 2038.
- Opponents of UNC Asheville’s proposal to convert an urban forest into a soccer stadium, housing, and retail development again dominated public comment, asking commissioners to approve a resolution against the plan. Speaking with advocates after the meeting, Commissioner Drew Ball said that he, along with Parker Sloan and Al Whitesides, had met with UNCA Chancellor Kimberly van Noort on Monday. Ball characterized that initial meeting as a good start to dialogue and said van Noort would plan “more robust public engagement” in the coming weeks.
- Buncombe closed out its property tax collections for fiscal year 2025 with a 99.54% collection rate, lower than the 99.8% collected in fiscal 2024. The unpaid taxes represent more than $1.17 million in missing county revenue. However, County Manager Avril Pinder said that collections were stronger than staff had initially projected in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
- The board approved a $1 million project to replace a cooling tower at the Ferguson Center for Allied Health and Workforce Development on A-B Tech’s main campus. The current tower, completed along with the building in 2015, is made of plastic and has several broken pieces; the new tower, made of stainless steel, is projected to last over 20 years.
- Commissioners accepted a $25,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation to support storm preparedness through the use of drones. As of early Wednesday, the county did not respond to a BPR request for records that would shed more light on the project.
Every first and third Tuesday, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meets at 200 College St., Room 326, in downtown Asheville, beginning at 5 p.m. See the full recording and agenda of the Aug. 5 meeting.
