The City of Asheville is updating its plan for how to spend $225 million in disaster recovery funds after a statement from the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rejected the plan because it included diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) criteria.
“HUD looks forward to helping thousands of North Carolinians rebuild after Hurricane Helene by directing funding assistance to impacted businesses, nonprofit organizations and neighborhoods. However, Asheville’s draft action plan incorporated DEI criteria to prioritize some impacted residents over others, which was unacceptable,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner stated in a media release March 11.
The city had uploaded a 125-page draft action plan on March 4 that outlines how it plans to allocate $225 million in Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding.
On page 76 of the draft action plan, the City of Asheville wrote: “Within the Small Business Support Program, the City will prioritize assistance for Minority and Women Owned Businesses (MWBE) within the scoring criteria outlined within the policies and procedures.”
Turner said that HUD would not approve the plan because of President Donald Trump‘s executive order to “End Radical and Wasteful Government DEI programs and preferences.” It pulls any federal funds that could be used for DEI practices.
“Once again, let me be clear DEI is dead at HUD. We will not provide funding to any program or grantee that does not comply with President Trump’s executive orders,” Turner stated.
The city is updating its plan to comply.
“City staff is working closely with HUD as we continue to navigate the changing compliance requirements of the new administration. We are grateful for the administration’s support in our recovery efforts. The city will ensure it meets current federal standards in order to facilitate approval of critically needed funding to help the city recover from the devastation of Tropical Storm Helene,” Mayor Esther Manheimer stated in an email to Xpress.
Staff will present the final plan to the Asheville City Council for approval on Tuesday, April 8, and then submit it to HUD for final approval by Monday, April 21.
The city is holding three public input sessions where residents can learn more about the plan and suggest improvements. Each session will discuss the overall plan and focus on one of three categories: housing, economic revitalization and infrastructure.
Residents can register on the city’s public input page.
Public sessions:
- Wednesday, March 19: Housing – Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville, Banquet Hall from 6-8 p.m.
- Monday, March 24: Economic Revitalization – Radical Hotel, Golden Hour Restaurant from 10 a.m.-noon
- Wednesday, March 26: Infrastructure – A-B Tech, Ferguson Auditorium from 10 a.m.-noon
