At our October 2025 Civic Conversations, Buncombe County Commission Chair Amanda Edwards and County Manager Avril Pinder shared background on the operations of county government and updates on current activity.
County overview
Buncombe County operates like a company with 30 lines of business (ie. different departments), powered by about 2,000 employees who serve 270,000 residents and keep essentials running, from animal services and emergency response to libraries and zoning. The seven-member Board of Commissioners sets policy; staff delivers, guided by a community-informed strategic plan focused on growth, public health, safety, equity and housing. The 2030 Strategic Plan will be coming to council in a few weeks for approval.
Business Community Engagement
“The business community can help meet our goals,” Pinder noted. “Hearing from you is really important. Your voice is powerful. We want fresh voices, fresh perspectives.”
Ways to engage include:
Visit engage.buncombecounty.org for meeting info, surveys and other public engagement info.
Helene Recovery
Recovery remains front and center for County operations. The Helene Long-Term Recovery Plan includes 114 projects across 7 local governments with 31 major projects in unincorporated areas such as rebuilding Owen Park. FEMA reports only 31 families remain in temporary housing, down from hundreds displaced last fall.
Affordable Housing
Buncombe County has a goal of impacting 2,800-3,150 affordable housing units by 2030. Goals include increasing the supply of affordable housing for rent and homeownership; preserving the supply of naturally occurring affordable housing; supporting activities that achieve functional zero homelessness and supporting activities that encourage the use of all vouchers. Since 2004, the County has invested $37.9M to support 3,046 units/households.
Commissioner Edwards shared that the County has allocated $30 million of $40 million available from the affordable housing bonds. She also talked about how the County has leveraged County land as options for affordable housing projects including Coxe Avenue and Ferry Road projects. “I want everybody thinking about where housing can be built,” Edwards said, noting that infill and density maximize existing infrastructure. Pinder added that the County continues to approach development alongside goals of sustainability and land preservation.
“If we can all adopt a mindset of ‘yes in my backyard’ to housing, it will help our county in more ways than we can count,” Edwards said. “Our commissioners are so committed to housing and conservation. We really do appreciate how those two things coexist and aren’t mutually exclusive.”
Economic Development Partnership
Commissioner Edwards noted the success of public-private partnership as a key driver in retaining and growing jobs, supporting business resilience and attracting diverse industries that strengthen the local tax base. The Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County is a 31-year partnership of Buncombe County, the City of Asheville and the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce advancing opportunity, quality of life and economic sustainability in Buncombe County through workforce investment, high-wage job creation and economic diversification. The AVL 5×5 Strategic Plan dovetails nicely with the goals of the County’s Strategic Plan.
“The EDC breaks down those silos – brings us all together and gets us laser focused on what we need to do together to make sure that we can retain talent here, that we can grow jobs, that we can make it affordable for people to live and move here,” Edwards said.