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Asheville council retreat: affordable housing, homelessness among top priorities

Sarah Honosky
Asheville Citizen Times
Asheville City Council developed priorities for the coming fiscal year at its March 18 annual retreat.

ASHEVILLE - In the midst of urgent calls for homelessness services and affordable housing, council named these issues among strategic priorities for the coming fiscal year, as well as bolstering city services that have suffered during the pandemic. 

These priorities are "guardrails" and "guidelines" that will help lead the city forward, said Mayor Esther Manheimer. 

Strategic priorities have historically ebbed and flowed with leading issues in the community, she said, and many of this year's priorities address crises exacerbated by the pandemic. 

Council selected its strategic priorities at its March 18 annual retreat at Harrah's Cherokee Center downtown. 

Though the issues are not ranked, they will help to direct city staff where to focus attention, said City Manager Debra Campbell. 

Asheville City Council will resume in-person meetings Feb. 22. Pictured here, City Manager Debra Campbell speaks before the Asheville City Council on June 8.

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“I think there is a huge sense of urgency right now," Campbell said. “This really, really, really isn’t about naming priorities. It truly is about making a difference.” 

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Four new issues were added to the list::

  • Equitable, affordable housing and stability 
  • Houselessness Strategies 
  • Improve/Expand core services
  • Neighborhood resilience 

These priorities will join continued reparations efforts and reimagining public safety, which were among last year's priorities. 

With the Community Reparations Commission slated to be seated this month and public safety work underway, like the reallocation of some funding, council said the efforts have been started, but are not operationally far enough along to take off of the strategic list. 

Affordable housing was first out of the gate for the city, and was also named as the county's top priority at its retreat in December. 

"We’ve never taken our foot off the gas pedal when it comes to the issue of affordable housing," Manheimer said. "But I think we are wanting to emphasize that focus more than ever." 

Asheville City Council heard a budget update and set council priorities at its March 18 retreat.

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More than just building new homes at affordable prices, it was framed around sustaining existing homeownership and reaching the "most vulnerable" of Asheville's population. 

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Neighborhood resilience captured both long-term strategies related to Asheville communities, as well as outfitting neighborhoods for crisis and emergency response. 

Included in the priority were goals like resource mapping, neighborhood grants and participatory budgeting, implementation of the climate justice initiative, urban forestry efforts and bolstering food security and systems. 

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Though the city always works to ensure core services — such as police, fire, street infrastructure, cleanliness and water — staffing issues, operational costs and the pandemic have created challenges, Manheimer said. 

Now, she said, it's important to "bring the focus back around" and emphasize the delivery and enhancement of these central responsibilities of the city. 

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Campbell said staff will return to council at the beginning of the fiscal year in July to provide departmental work plans for each of the priorities, a "path forward," she said. 

Whether the pursuit of these goals requires outreach or new programming, she hopes to have "boots on the ground" as soon as possible.

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky.