Asheville City Council
September 8, 2026
Regular meeting: City Council Meeting (In-Person)
HousingHelene recoveryOther City businessStreets and transit
What it did
- Hires a master planner for Deaverview.Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
- Amends Chapter 4 of the Code 0f Ordinances of the City of Asheville by adding a new Section 4-209(C)…Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
- Prohibits collecting rent on unfit dwellings.Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
- Signs a $54,500 agreement with the Asheville City Schools Foundation for the disbursement of college scholarship funds to graduating seniors from the City…Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
- Votes recorded
- 12
- Voted on separately
- 3
- Routine items, one vote
- 9
- Votes that split
- 0
Why it matters
Regular meetings are where Council votes on laws, the budget, contracts and zoning. Routine items pass together in one vote, called the consent agenda.
The recording
Everything on the agenda
From the minutes, in the order the City lists them. Each item's first lines are the minutes' own words.
Consent Agenda
9 routine items, passed together in one vote.
New Business
Ordinance amending Chapter 4 of the Code Of Ordinances of the City of Asheville by adding a new Section 4-209(c) in order to provide additional protections for tenants from unsafe dwelling conditions
“The Asheville Area Tenants Union is requesting the City Council consider an amendment to the Asheville Housing Code to make it unlawful to collect rent if a dwelling contains a life safety/unsafe condition.”
Informal Discussion and Public Comment
Public comment
- need stronger bear initiatives to include mandated bear-resistent trash cans and dumpsters, and support Pardon Dolly campaign
- taxpayer mandates
- need for transit to be for the people who need the bus service
- homelessness population in west Asheville
- City needs to partner with Buncombe County to grow the paramedic program
- request Council support for EcoForesters plan to save Haw Creek Park, along with allows Parks and Recreation staff to initiate collaboration and allow staff participation to remove materials and periodic crew support, as needed
- thanked City Council for canceling the Flock surveillance cameras
- need for more transparency of the budget
Voted on separately
Each of these had its own motion and vote.
Hires a master planner for Deaverview.
Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
Prohibits collecting rent on unfit dwellings.
Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
More from the minutes
- What the minutes say it will do: “This ordinance will also function to help preserve naturally occurring affordable housing.”
- “Vice-Mayor Mosley said that Jen Hampton, Asheville resident and staff organizer for the Asheville Area Tenants Union, asked her to read the following statement: “ Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to Asheville residents and for taking the housing habitability crisis in our city seriously.”
- “I especially want to express gratitude to y'all for hearing the stories shared by members of the Asheville Area Tenants Union (AATU).”
- “Right now, too many Asheville tenants are forced to pay rent for homes that are unsafe and unfit for human occupancy because they feel like they have to sacrifice dignity for affordability with very little legal leverage to get repairs made quickly.”
Routine items, passed together
The consent agenda: items Council approves in one vote, without separate discussion. A member can ask to pull an item out for its own vote.
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
More from the minutes
- The money, in the minutes' words: “Motion to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement with the Asheville City Schools Foundation, facilitating the allocation of $2,000 scholarship awards to qualifying graduates alongside a 5% administrative fee for the Foundation, not exceeding a total of $54,500.”
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
More from the minutes
- The money, in the minutes' words: “Motion to adopt a resolution ratifying the grant application and award acceptance from the 2024 Homeland Security Grant Program for the Barricade Trailer Project, authorizing the City Manager to execute any related documents, and motion to adopt a budget amendment in the amount of $25,000.”
Adds $4.2M more to the Helene recovery budget.
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
Applies for the Fiscal Year 2026 Federal Transit Administration Low or No Emission Grant…
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
More from the minutes
- What the minutes say it will do: “The application will include a scalable,phased plan in the event the fully requested amount is not able to be awarded (this scaling is also an application requirement).”
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
The plain-language lines are written by fixed rules from each item's official title, which is on each decision's page. Every vote the minutes record is listed; procedural motions, like approving the minutes or adjourning, are left out.