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2010 Asheville City Plan

Housing

HOUSING

TRENDS AND PROJECTIONS
The City of Asheville's recent housing market history reflects many of the trends which are occurring in housing nationwide. Included among these trends are: an increased demand for multi-family housing (apartments, townhouses, condominiums); an increase in the percentage of renter-occupied vs. owner-occupied units; and an increase in the use of manufactured housing. Over the last 25 years, there has been a 368% increase in the number of mobile homes within the City.

The following tables highlight housing developments experienced in the City of Asheville over the past 25 years. All figures are based on the City limits as they existed at that particular time.
In the 1985-88 Housing Assistance Plan, prepared in 1985 for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by the City of Asheville's Division of Community Development, it was estimated that there were 4,048 substandard housing units (15% of total) in the City at that time. This figure was arrived at using a specified HUD methodology which takes into account such factors as the lack of complete plumbing, overcrowding and the age and value of a structure.

It is anticipated that 62%, or 3,032 units, of the net increase in dwelling units projected over the next 25 years will be in multi-family units. Although single-family housing is expected to increase in absolute numbers during this period, the percentage share of such units in the City is projected to decline as the demand for multi-family housing increases. The growing scarcity of developable residential land in the City, which has tended to favor the construction of multi-family housing in recent years, further reinforces this trend.

In 1980, 56.8% of the dwelling units in the City of Asheville were owner-occupied while 37.4% were renter-occupied units. It is expected that a slight increase in the percentage of renter-occupied units will be experienced over the next 25 years continuing a trend which began in the City in 1970 as a result of the increasing cost of purchasing a home and the growing desire for smaller housing units.

GOAL: Decent, safe, and sanitary housing provided for all Asheville residents and the elimination of blighted areas in the City through efforts of code enforcement, redevelopment, rehabilitation, and conversation.

The City of Asheville has for many years been involved in carrying out programs designed to meet the housing needs of lower-income residents in the City. These programs have been administered through the City of Asheville's Community Development Division contracting with the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville for program management.

Traditionally, housing programs in the City, as throughout the United States, have taken the form of federally-assisted and publicly constructed/managed housing communities. The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville currently operates twelve such public housing communities with a total of 1,722 dwelling units. Approximately, 1,660 families (total population of 4,430 people) live in these units.

In recent years, however, a marked change in the type of housing assistance available has been experienced. A shift in federal funding for housing programs has been away from funding the new construction of public housing communities and toward:

1. the establishment of programs for the maintenance and modernization of existing units;
2. the assistance of low-income residents in the rehabilitation or construction of private homes; and
3. the support of private developers in the construction or rehabilitation of housing for low-income persons.

Additionally, a reduction in the amount of federal monies available for all types of housing assistance has created a need for new local initiatives in the provision of low-income housing. The City's Community Development Division has recently announced the creation of a Neighborhood Housing Services Program in Asheville to provide assistance (primarily through the development of a loan pool in cooperation with local lending institutions) to qualified individuals for the rehabilitation and construction of dwelling units.

OBJECTIVES AND TOOLS
To provide a program of assisted housing which meets housing needs not served by the private market.

• Develop a long-range plan for addressing special housing needs, i.e., low income, handicapped.
• Promote the conservation of Asheville's older housing stock by developing new tools and creative programs (such as Neighborhood Housing Services) to assist with rehabilitation efforts.
• Encourage the new construction of housing affordable to low-income persons.
• Encourage the appropriate governmental bodies and community agencies to provide emergency shelter/housing for the chronic homeless.

PRIVATE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

GOAL: A broad range of housing opportunities for all citizens in keeping with demographic changes, economic conditions and availability of land.

As the housing market in Asheville changes over the next twenty-five years so must residential development standards. Zoning and subdivision regulations that were designed to govern single family, detached residential development on large lots do not permit the flexibility needed in a changing market.

Asheville is currently experiencing an increase in the demand for multi-family housing, a trend of declining household size, rising housing costs, an increased demand for retirement housing and a scarcity of developable residential land. Issues such as densities (people per acre), at which housing, is built and required minimum lot sizes may need to be re-examined when attempting to create new avenues for housing affordability.

OBJECTIVES AND TOOLS
To establish the location and density of housing in accordance with:

1. master plans and policies for the provision of municipal services (water, sewer, sidewalks . . .);

2. accessibility to business/service centers, and,
3. terrain limitations (soil conditions, slope . . .).

• Encourage and concentrate high-density housing development in the Urban Center with access to retail/ businesses, pedestrian amenities, public transportation, cultural activities and parks.
• Encourage and concentrate medium-density housing development within proximity of the Urban Center, in the Urban Fringe, and along major traffic corridors and business/service centers.
• Encourage and concentrate low-density housing along local streets within proximity to service centers, yet buffered from excessive noise, traffic, and development.

• Review and adjust current minimum lot size area and allowable densities in residential zones, to allow the use of smaller lots and higher density development where appropriate, without diminishing the advantages of the conventional detached single family unit. Research new avenues with regard to land use intensity, such as, the addition of entirely new residential zoning districts, i.e., single family attached at higher densities, single family cluster allowing both detached and attached, or the consideration of the total elimination of minimum lot area requirements for multi-family development, using instead bulk regulations (height, building coverage, floor-area-ratio, bulk plane, land-use intensity ratings) as a development standard.
• Modify the approval process of existing site review to streamline project approval.
• Consider the clustering of residential development in environmentally sensitive areas.
• Provide increased opportunities for single family housing, townhouse, and duplex development by encouraging zero-lot line development, allowing reduced lots, larger side yards, improved open space maintenance and ensuring privacy.
• Provide for adequate staffing to implement a consistent code enforcement program with an emphasis on correction and prevention of substandard housing.

To encourage infill housing which would promote development on vacant substandard lots and establish standards for conversion.

• Survey the City to identify appropriate infill sites.
• Review minimum spacing requirements for individual lots under consideration.
• Adjust density requirements when considering infill in the Urban Center.

To actively promote the development of multi-family housing where suitable and deemed appropriate.

• Survey the entire City to determine the most suitable sites for multi-family housing.
• Target appropriate areas for rehabilitation/reuse of buildings for multi-family development.
• Encourage a diversity of pricing in the multi-family rental and ownership market.