To: Asheville City Council
Delay of Funding and Approval for Lee Walker Heights Public Housing Redevelopment
I request that the approval and funding requests of the Redevelopment of Lee Walker Heights by the Housing Authority and its development partner, Mountain Housing Opportunities be delayed so that City Council can properly assess: the transparency, accountability, economic plausibility, management and developer capabilities, potential for gentrification and removal of a vulnerable African-American community, and to assess alternate plans which have community input and which create economic equity and inclusion.
Why is this important?
The African-American community has been devastated by urban renewal and redevelopment with policy initiatives which further systemic racism, exclusion and policies which have left it in economic, social, and cultural ruin. Many of us have lost our homes and businesses and a sense of place in Asheville as the result of urban renewal. We have nothing left to loose. It is time to stop accepting this condition as hopeless.