Tell City Council to Vote YES on ALL FIVE Pro-Housing Measures on February 11th, for a Little More Housing Everywhere in Asheville
February 3, 2025
We sent the letter below to Asheville City Council on February 10th. Want to learn more about pro-housing actions that you can take with us in the future? Sign up for our email list here.
We sent the letter below to Asheville City Council on February 10th.
Want to learn more about pro-housing actions that you can take with us in the future? Sign up for our email list here.
Some working people want to live on a commercial corridor. Others might prefer a cottage court. Adding a little more housing everywhere in Asheville means that everyone that works, lives, and goes to school in Asheville can better find and afford a home. Image sources: City of Asheville “Missing Middle Housing Study and Displacement Risk Assessment” p. 13; City of Asheville “Urban Centers”; City of Asheville “Haywood Road Form District”, p. 1.
One Night; Five Votes
A package of pro-housing reforms is getting a hearing in front of Asheville City Council this month. We need YOU to let City Council that they need to vote YES.
The five reforms on the agenda for February 11th all update the city’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO)—its zoning code—in different ways:
Commercial Corridor Reforms
1. COMMERCIAL ZONING AMENDMENT
: This promotes more multifamily housing and mixed-use buildings on the city’s transit-supportive corridors. It also incentives pedestrian-friendly design.
2. PARKING MINIMUM REFORM
: This eliminates costly parking mandates in most commercial corridors. New apartments and businesses can choose to have fewer parking spots, making space for more attainable housing.
3. ZONING THRESHOLD REFORM
: This makes permit approvals faster and more consistent for residential and mixed-use multifamily buildings that meet the UDO’s requirements. It also enables faster permitting for larger developments if they include below-market-rate homes.
Residential Neighborhood Reforms
4. COTTAGE COURT REFORM
: This will legalize more kinds of “cottage courts homes,” which are small homes that share a common yard.
5. FLAG LOT REFORM
: This will make it easier to add homes in back of other homes on smaller lots.
(For more details on the first three items, you can read Asheville For All’s . For more on flag lots, from 2023.)
