During the Tuesday, Nov. 4 meeting, Buncombe County Commissioners voted to adopt the 2030 Strategic Plan, outlining the county government's priorities for the next five years. The plan was originally set to be adopted around this time last year, but after three rounds of community engagement opportunities, it has been revised to adapt plans in the wake of Helene.

This roadmap has seven focus areas — six public-facing and one internal — each including two to three objectives and a list of specific goals. Here are some key goals detailed in the six community-based focus areas:

Growth and Development

Support development of 1,500-1,850 rental units and 400 ownership units for households at <80% AMI.
Complete a minimum of 3.5 miles of Buncombe County-managed greenway projects.

Economic Development

Increase the percentage of new Economic Development Investment Program projects that offer worker benefits beyond health care (Ex. childcare, housing, transit, etc.) from 14% to 25%.
Increase the number of small businesses in Buncombe County from 9,429 to 9,900.

Education

Partner with community organizations to increase the percent of children aged 0-5 in childcare and Pre-K from 27% to 31%.

Community Health

Increase the number of residents successfully connected to the health resources they need through a community referral system from 61.1% to 76.1%.

Public Safety

Increase the number of community members that are trained in risk reduction/preparedness from 3,307 to 20,000.
Increase the number of responses by trauma-informed alternate emergency responder services from 5,208 to 6,250.

Energy and Environment

Restore 10,000 linear feet of streambank.
Conserve 20% of the county’s total acres by initiating conservation of 700 acres per year.
Achieve 100% renewable energy usage for County operations.

These are just a handful of the 64 goals detailed in the 2030 Strategic Plan — read up on the full plan to get the big picture. The plan will go into effect on January 1, 2026.