Asheville for All

Here’s what we found to be the most important housing-related items at Asheville’s City Council meeting of Tuesday, January 27, 2026.

ADU Cleanup Amendment

Outcome: Approved

Votes:
In favor: S. Antanette Mosley, Bo Hess, Kim Roney, Sheneika Smith, Maggie Ullman, Esther E. Manheimer

There was one item of note on this agenda as far as we were concerned: an amendment to the city’s Unified Development Ordinance—the “UDO”, aka its zoning code—that had to do with Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs.

ADUs are residential unit additions to parcels with existing homes that can serve as more flexible housing. They can be standalone structures in a backyard, or “attached,” in the case of basement units, or perhaps a dwelling above a garage.

Asheville’s Planning and Urban Design Department presented a brief overview of what Accessory Dwelling Units are at the January 27th City Council meeting.

The amendment up for discussion at the meeting was absolutely minor. In fact, it was so inconsequential, that it didn’t have anything to do with building new dwellings or home additions at all! It only really related to the question of whether or not existing structures could be converted into an ADU.

But somehow, this very minor change to the UDO became a big deal. Council did end up unanimously approving the amendment. So was this whole thing a symbolic victory? A harbinger for more changes to come to the city’s ability to add more attainable housing inside of our core residential neighborhoods? Or was the months-long ordeal a distraction that kept city government from cultivating bigger changes? We’ll let you decide.

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Specifically, the amendment under consideration was about existing accessory structures (things like backyard sheds) that the city would consider non-conforming. These are old structures that existed before the city’s current zoning code—its UDO—existed in present form. So if a large shed was built close to the edge of the property in the 1980s, that might violate the current required setback. And that’s actually totally fine, normally. Lots of buildings are technically non-conforming in the city, it doesn’t actually mean anything is wrong.

The problem happens when someone decides they want to take that existing accessory structure and put it to a better use; for example, to add some drywall and plumbing and convert it into a home for a relative or for a tenant. Under such circumstances, homeowners needed to go to Asheville’s Board of Adjustment to make the case that those setbacks that were enacted after their backyard structures were built shouldn’t have to apply in their case.