Asheville’s Plan for Growth and Development
Asheville’s Plan for Growth and Development
The City of Asheville is launching a multi-year effort to update the Living Asheville Comprehensive Plan and rewrite its development regulations. This work will reflect where our community is today and align City rules with a shared vision for the future.
This project supports a stronger, more resilient Asheville by:
- Updating the 2018 Comprehensive plan using current data and guidance from recently adopted plans, policies, reports, and Helene Recovery data.
- Creating new development regulations that reflect the goals and priorities in the Comprehensive Plan.
- Identifying updates needed to the Future Land Use Map and other documents used to guide land use decisions.
- Developing strategies that support long term resilience and recovery.
- Making development codes and guidelines easier to understand and use for current and future generations.
Happening Now
City Council approved authorization for this project on September 8, 2026. The project will kick off this fall and community input opportunities will be announced soon. Subscribe to this project to receive email updates when those opportunities are announced.
Background
Asheville’s current Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) is nearly 30 years old and has been amended almost 300 times. It no longer aligns with the 2018 Comprehensive Plan. This has led to confusion for property owners, developers, and City staff and development outcomes that do not fully reflect community goals.
The project will create clearer, more consistent development regulations—including the UDO, Standard Specifications and Details Manual, and Design Guidelines—that directly support the Comprehensive Plan’s goals for housing, the economy, and the environment.
Early work will focus on defining the project scope and assembling a multidisciplinary consultant team to support City staff. The goal is to deliver modern, effective regulations that address key community priorities such as housing affordability, growth management, environmental protection, and traffic impacts.
Opportunities for Community Involvement
The City of Asheville is committed to an open and inclusive planning process. Once the project begins, community members will have opportunities to learn more, share input, and stay engaged.
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