Sign the Petition: Service Worker Affordable Housing Support and Committee Representation
March 5, 2023
March 5, 2023 Updated: July 13, 2023Summer 2023 Update After collecting more than two thousand petition signatures, our coalition rallied and presented public comments to the Buncombe County Tourism…
March 5, 2023 Updated: July 13, 2023
Summer 2023 Update
After collecting more than two thousand petition signatures, our coalition rallied and presented public comments to the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority at its May board meeting.
You can read all about it here in the Citizen Times.
The campaign will continue in the fall. Sign the petition below and stay tuned for updates.
This campaign is a joint effort with Buncombe Decides, Asheville Food and Beverage United, Asheville DSA, and other Buncombe County community members.
Tourism contributes to the local economy, but has also significantly impacted the quality of life for working class residents, especially around housing.
The county’s Tourism Development Authority (TDA) has spent many millions advertising our city and county to tourists over the years. In 2022, due to years of sustained community pressure, a new fund was created that provides an opportunity for occupancy tax funds to be spent on community uses.
We need YOUR help to send a strong message to the TDA to:
1) use these funds to support affordable housing for service workers, and:
2) make certain service workers are strongly represented on the committee (now forming) which decides how these funds are distributed.
Signing this petition sends a message to the TDA that this help is direly needed and the time has finally come for the TDA to be a more direct financial contributor to help address critical community issues.
Learn more about the Buncombe County TDA and why the TDA should support more housing for Asheville’s working people:
- Read a letter to the Mountain Xpress about the “Tourism Taxes for Affordable Housing” campaign.
- Read our “member commentary” blog posts on the subject here and here.
- Read more at the website of Buncombe Decides, a local grassroots effort to democratize how Buncombe’s County’s occupancy taxes are spent.
Petition text:
TO: LIFT COMMITTEE - BUNCOMBE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Tourism contributes to the local economy, but also has significant impacts to working class residents of our county, especially around housing.
