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Asheville staff outline timeline to update comprehensive plan and rewrite UDO; contractor negotiations to start
Summary
Planning staff told council they have selected a top-ranked firm to lead a comprehensive plan update and full UDO rewrite, funded by CDBG-DR planning dollars, with negotiations starting immediately and the project aiming for deliverables by the end of 2028.
Asheville planning staff told the City Council on June 18 that the city is moving forward with a technical update to its comprehensive plan and a full rewrite of its Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), a multi-year effort funded primarily through CDBG-DR planning dollars.
The presentation, led by Steph Monson Doll, planning and urban design director, described three main components: an administrative update to the Living Asheville Comprehensive Plan, an updated future land use map, and a graphics-first, plain-language UDO rewrite aimed at modernizing zoning, improving legal defensibility, and simplifying procedures. "I'm Steph Monson Doll, planning and urban design director," she said, introducing the scope and timeline.
Why it matters: the rewrite is intended to align zoning with the city’s policy goals on climate resilience, housing, and anti-displacement, and to make regulations easier for residents and developers to understand. Staff emphasized community engagement, inclusion of underrepresented populations, statistically valid public outreach, and integrating recent recovery and resiliency work into the plan.
Staff described the procurement and selection process: eight qualified proposals, a nine-member interdepartmental remote selection team led by Will Palmquist (principal planner), and three finalists. "Our top-ranked firm has been notified," Monson Doll said, adding that contract negotiations and scope refinement will occur before public announcement. Staff said the firm will be publicly named at the PEDE meeting prior to council authorization of the contract.
Funding and timing: staff said the project is funded primarily with CDBG-DR planning program funds and must meet federal administrative requirements. The schedule presented calls for internal kickoff in August, a public kickoff in September, a draft comprehensive plan in advance of fall 2027 public review, and completion of all deliverables by the end of 2028. Monson Doll noted the team may deliver modular UDO work earlier as individual amendments if needed.
Council members pressed staff on hiring outside consultants and the balance between consultant expertise and city capacity. Monson Doll and City Manager D.K. Wesley said outside firms bring specialized teams (stormwater engineers, code writers, digital tool coders) and allow the city to avoid temporary staff ramps. "For a city our size... these massive projects necessitate hiring a firm that specializes in this," Monson Doll said, explaining that consultants can bring comparative experience from other jurisdictions.
Next steps: staff will conclude negotiations, assemble the contract for council authorization, and keep council informed with a regular cadence of check-ins built into the contract. Staff also pledged to integrate anti-displacement priorities and resiliency explicitly into the negotiated scope.
The briefing concluded with council questions about engagement and opportunities for council members to review project materials ahead of formal authorization; no final action was taken at the June 18 briefing.
