HUD approves Asheville’s hurricane recovery plan after initial objection over DEI

After an initial rejection and amendment of its required Hurricane Helene recovery plan as it seeks more than $200 million in federal funds, the City of Asheville, North Carolina’s revised plan has received approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In March, HUD rejected Asheville’s initial draft action plan, a required step to access the $225 million in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds first approved near the end of the Biden administration. The allocation was announced on Jan. 7 by North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) and then-acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman.

Two weeks later, President Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time and he ultimately chose Scott Turner as the new HUD secretary. In March, Turner said the draft action plan submitted by the city conflicted with the Trump administration’s efforts to bar diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs from receiving federal funding.

Asheville subsequently made revisions to the plan and resubmitted it to HUD. While awaiting approval on the revised plan, the department signed off on North Carolina’s action plan that sought $1.4 billion in recovery funding for the state.

The city announced on Thursday that the revised plan had been approved. It called the move “a major milestone in the process to access the funding, which was allocated by HUD on Jan. 16, following a December 2024 Congressional appropriation.”

According to the announcement, the plan allocates $125 million for infrastructure, $52 million for economic revitalization, $31 million for housing, $11.2 million for administration, $3.7 million for planning and $2 million for public services.

The funds are not yet ready to be released, however, since HUD must still approve the city’s “financial, procurement, and grant management practices to certify that the city is prepared to effectively manage the grant funds,” the city said in its announcement.

Asheville “has already submitted all of the documentation necessary for HUD and is awaiting certification. Once certified, HUD will distribute a grant agreement, which both the city and HUD will sign,” the announcement explained.

“We moved quickly because we understand how critical this funding is for our community,” Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said in a statement. “We’re grateful to HUD for their swift decision, and our entire council is pleased with how well the plan incorporates community feedback.”

Conversations between city leaders and HUD are ongoing as they continue to demonstrate compliance and governance responsibilities according to Nikki Reid, the city’s community and economic development director

“We’re talking every day about how to use these funds effectively and efficiently in our community, including developing program area guidelines and manuals,” Reid said.

“Planning projects, such as the French Broad Riverfront Parks Recovery project, are being identified and programs will be rolled out as they are created. We expect the first programs to kick off this fall.”