Asheville submits revised action plan to HUD after initial rejection over DEI

As it continues to navigate post-disaster recovery needs, the city of Asheville, North Carolina this week has submitted an updated action plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), aiming to garner approval so that the city can access an estimated $225 million in assistance funds to support its recovery efforts from damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

The revised action plan follows a previously-submitted plan to the department, which was rejected on the grounds that included targeted relief for women- and minority-owned businesses that HUD Secretary Scott Turner said was in violation of an executive order from President Donald Trump targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in government.

HUD requires an action plan to access funds provided through the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, the first step in accessing funds allocated by HUD in January following approval from Congress this past December.

Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer (D) previously told local media outlets that the rejected plan had already been amended at the time that HUD announced its request for a revised plan expunged of any provisions it interpreted as supporting DEI.

The city undertook a 30-day comment period following the initial publication of a draft action plan in early March. This allowed residents “to give their feedback on the plan via the CDBG-DR Engagement Hub, email, and mail,” the city said, in addition to hosting three in-person public feedback sessions that month allowing city leaders and citizens to weigh in.

“These sessions included a review of the entire plan, but each had a key focus area on programs in the Action Plan: Housing, Economic Revitalization, and Infrastructure,” the city explained.

James Shelton, the city’s community development division manager, called the process the “most collaborative” he has been involved with. Following the taking of public feedback, several revisions were implemented into the plan’s allocations.

“It reallocated $5 million that had been set aside for infrastructure to three other programs,” the city said of the changes, sending $2 million dollars to a small business support program, raising the total for it to $17 million. Another $2 million was shifted to a multifamily construction program boosting its total to $28 million, and a final $1 million was moved to the city’s planning efforts.

In total, $125 million of the total funds will support city infrastructure, $52 million will go to economic revitalization, $31 million to housing, nearly $3.8 million to planning, and $2 million to public services.

“The City has also set aside $11,250,500 to cover the administrative costs that will come with running the CDBG-DR programs over the next six years,” the city said. Annually, Asheville receives $1 million through the CDBG program which is managed by a staff of five.

HUD has 45 days to review the plan and to approve or deny it. Presuming HUD agrees to the revised plan, a grant agreement could arrive for the city by the summer, and implementation can start by this fall and the beginning of next year.

“We’ve been in close coordination with HUD since the beginning of this process,” Shelton said. “We’ve worked with our federal partners as they’ve updated guidance and we’ve taken proactive steps to ensure a quick approval of this plan, and they’ve been impressed by our collaboration with the state and Buncombe County.”

Mayor Manheimer previously did not express much concern about the idea that the revised plan would be rejected. HUD and the Trump administration are “very eager” to support recovery efforts for the city and the entire state, she said in March.