FAQs About Buncombe’s Bonds & Vote Yes on Bonds

This page includes FAQs about the 2026 Buncombe bonds and the Vote Yes on Bonds campaign. 

Vote Yes on Bonds is a committee and a call to action. We are led by Buncombe County residents who are conservation advocates, housing advocates, business leaders, and community organizers. Our Co-Chairs are Leah Wong Ashburn and Brownie Newman. 

You will see and hear from Leah and Brownie at community events and forums this summer and fall. Dozens of community leaders serve as Ambassadors for the message to Vote Yes on Bonds; you’ll see and hear from them, too. 

We seek to protect the people and places that we love. We seek to ensure Buncombe County still looks and feels like home. Join us! Vote Yes on the Open Space and Housing Bonds on November 3, 2026. Please continue to read responses to FAQs about bonds.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

What am I actually voting on?

Two bonds. One protects the land and rivers we love. One keeps our neighbors housed. Together, they move Buncombe County in the right direction by protecting natural resources and investing in affordable housing for the people who work in our community.

Less than $1 per week in taxes on a house valued at $450,000. That’s $18 annually for open space conservation plus $25 annually for affordable housing. This is roughly the cost of one dinner out per year—to protect drinking water quality, preserve natural resources, and ensure working people and seniors can continue to call Buncombe County home. The bonds will be paid within 20 years.
We did, and it’s working, and we need to keep the ball rolling. In 2022, the open space bond passed with 68.88% support, and the housing bond passed with 61.94% support. Since then core than 2,500 acres have been protected. More than 968 affordable homes are underway. Approximately $67M of the $70M 2022 program has been spent or committed. These 2026 bonds will double down on a process that is proven and has a transparent track record of results. See the Conservation page for wins from the past Open Space Bond. See the Housing page for wins from the past Housing Bond.
How do we know the money will be spent responsibly?
Accountability is built into the program. Accountability includes independent audits, a citizen oversight committee, public reporting including an ongoing dashboard, every dollar tracked, every project reviewed. This is the accountability model being used for the recent bonds. Voter-approved bonds are the a transparent revenue stream with lots of checks and balances.
Helene showed us we can’t count on Washington or Raleigh to take care of us. Those funds are slow to arrive and have hurdles. We have to move in the right direction ourselves. These bonds let us do that by protecting the land that sustains us and housing our neighbors who are rebuilding alongside us. Voter-approved bonds are the most accountable and reliable form of funding for our local needs.

The Open Space conservation bonds invest in clean water, working farms, natural resources, greenways, and parks. This bond will protect the water quality of the rivers, lakes, and creeks we swim in, fish in, and drink from. It will also create new parks and children’s playgrounds, and greenways, so families have places to gather for generations to come. The Open Space bond invests in conservation easements.

What does the Housing bond actually do?
The Affordable Housing bond preserves existing housing for residents who are seniors, so they aren’t priced out of their own homes. It creates homes for locals who can’t afford to win bidding wars with outside buyers and investors. The Affordable Housing bond invests in and provides affordable housing so local working families don’t have to leave. It frees up funds that can be used to improve existing housing for seniors, so aging neighbors can make critical repairs and stay safely in place.
30% of all families in Buncombe County are cost-burdened by housing. That is 29,560 out of 98,049 households. Source: The 2026 Housing Need in Buncombe County, NC Housing Coalition.
$62,680 per year is the income needed to afford a 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent apartment in Buncombe County. Average annual salaries in our community are: $32,730 Childcare; $40,750 Construction; $37,050 Firefighter. Source: The 2026 Housing Need in Buncombe County, NC Housing Coalition.
The Affordable Housing and Open Space conservation bonds are complementary and needed together to be effective. We want to make sure Buncombe County still looks and feels like home in twenty years. One bond directly protects the land. One bond directly protects the people. Our residents are key to our character.

5% or more. The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency helps pay for Buncombe County’s affordable housing projects. They require that at least 5% of units be fully accessible. Some Buncombe County affordable housing projects include even more.

Fully accessible homes are built for people who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices. 

54% of renters have difficulty affording their homes in Buncombe County. That’s 16,781 households. Source: The 2026 Housing Need in Buncombe County, NC Housing Coalition.

30% of all families in Buncombe County are cost-burdened by housing. That is 29,560 out of 98,049 households. Source: The 2026 Housing Need in Buncombe County, NC Housing Coalition.

12,779 local homeowners have difficulty affording their homes. That’s 19% of all homeowners. Source: The 2026 Housing Need in Buncombe County, NC Housing Coalition.

30% of all families in Buncombe County are cost-burdened by housing. That is 29,560 out of 98,049 households. Source: The 2026 Housing Need in Buncombe County, NC Housing Coalition.

The impact on property taxes is modest and predictable. These bonds, combined, will cost less than $0.83 a week, total, per year for the average homeowner (home tax value of $450,000), spread over 20 years.

What's the alternative if these bonds fail?

If voters do not approve these bonds, locals will continue to lose bidding wars on homes to people who move here with dramatically higher incomes and more assets. The housing shortage will continue displacing longtime residents and our working-class neighbors, including first responders, healthcare workers, teachers, plumbers, electricians, and service industry workers. Local seniors who can’t afford repairs will continue to be forced out of their homes. Farmland and forests will continue to disappear, sold to the highest bidder. We will lose what defines Buncombe County’s character, forever: its natural beauty and local residents.

October 9: Deadline to register to vote.
October 15: In-person Early Voting begins. Bring a valid photo ID.
October 20: Last day to request Absentee By-Mail ballots.
October 30: Last day of in-person Early Voting
November 3: Last day to return Absentee By-Mail ballo9

OPEN SPACE BOND: SHALL the order authorizing $30,000,000 of bonds to pay the capital costs of acquisition and improvement of land or interests therein for conservation and preservation of natural resources and preservation of farmland, including but not limited to, the development of greenways and trails for recreation purposes, and providing that additional taxes may be levied in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds be approved?”

HOUSING BOND: SHALL the order authorizing $40,000,000 of bonds to pay the capital costs of housing for the benefit of persons of low or moderate income, including construction of related infrastructure improvements and the acquisition of related land and rights-of-way, and providing that additional taxes may be levied in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds be approved?”

A coalition of residents from all walks of life support Vote Yes on Bonds.
For a Buncombe County that looks and feels like home.
Formal endorsers include:

Vote Yes for a Buncombe County that looks and feels like home. ​​