Asheville council approves citizen-led cottage and flag-lot UDO changes while excluding legacy parcels

The Asheville City Council on March 11 approved resident-led amendments to Chapter 7 of the city's Unified Development Ordinance to allow cottage developments and flag lots in most residential areas, while carving out specific parcels listed in a new Appendix 7F for further community engagement.

Council members said the change is intended to expand options for small-scale infill housing while pausing implementation in neighborhoods identified as legacy or particularly vulnerable to displacement. The ordinance amendments add a new Appendix 7F to the code; the appendix lists parcels that will be excluded from the new cottage and flag-lot rules so those neighborhoods' zoning remains unchanged while staff and neighborhood leaders work on protections and additional tools.

The measure on cottage developments drew extended staff and council discussion before a final vote. Chris Collins, assistant director of the city's Urban Planning and Urban Design Department, told the council the petitioner and staff are aligned on technical cottage and flag-lot standards but differ over the minimum number of units required to qualify as a cottage development. Collins said the resident petition asked for a two-unit minimum, while the city's missing middle housing study recommended a three-unit minimum because the cottage type is intended to create a small clustered community with shared open space. "When you move into cottage development standards, you're no longer bound by density limitations of the district," Collins said, cautioning that a two-unit definition starts to look like a duplex and would have implications for other city rules.

Council members also cited recommendations from the Urban Forestry Commission and tree-canopy rules when debating the minimum-unit threshold. Staff noted that two-unit…