REBIC’s Matt Allen Reports Haywood City Wins, 1 Year After Helene’s Devastating Blow

From REBIC

 

We’ve chosen to highlight two important stories that are intrinsically connected and highly relevant to our members. First, we recently invited Matthew Allen, J.D., into the REBIC family as an Area Advocacy Manager for Haywood, County NC. (In addition to being Director of Professional Development & Government Affairs, for Land of the Sky Association of REALTORS®, he is also our current October Member Spotlight. See his feature here.) But there is much to share about a region inside the destructive crosshairs of Hurricane Helene that devasted much of Western North Carolina this time last year. We asked Matt, whose presence is pivotal in providing REBIC with land use and policy updates from this part of our state, to weigh in on progress. This is his report:

We began by tracking the City of Asheville’s work in updating its flood plain ordinance and advocated for safe, and reasonable updates to the ordinance, (especially when updates were necessary to align with the NFIP). We also worked to ensure that a property owner’s vested rights were not being infringed upon. Dig deeper here:

Since there are many inquiries about the appropriateness of rebuilding, especially in areas prone to flooding and specifically with residential uses, we took the opportunity to highlight the importance of infill residential development in downtown Asheville. It is noted that Asheville is a higher elevation and not prone to flood plain woes, but it does have existing infrastructure. To that end, we were part of a group of stakeholders that, in March of 2025, successfully advocated for some changes to our own UDO that loosened the rules on creating residences on flag lots, and eased the requirements to create cottage developments. Homes built on flag lots and as a part of cottage courts are typically smaller and, therefore, sold at more attainable price points for first-time and lower income homebuyers. More info on that here:

In addition to the above ordinance-specific wins related to the disaster, here is a summary:

• In the aftermath of the storm, our LOTSAR building served as a collection point for donated supplies from REALTORS® across the state, which were then distributed by volunteers to local organizations assisting neighbors in need.
• Members and staff also helped homeowners and tenants receive $1.2 million in recovery funds through the National Association of REALTORS® and NC REALTORS®.
• Additional efforts included sharing resources for rebuilding, guidance on state and federal assistance applications, providing water testing information when the local supply was compromised, working alongside an affordable housing developer to offer temporary housing cottages, and hosting presentations on legal and regulatory issues related to the hurricane’s impact on real estate.
• Currently, LOTSAR is involved with The Grace in Action Fund, working to raise funds to keep folks housed in WNC. Lots of local folks are still struggling from the economic impact of Helene. Link to information about the fund.

Rob’s Take: It’s great to have Matt on board providing important updates from Haywood County and being our eyes and ears on the ground there. He’s a fantastic local resource and an incredibly capable advocate. Welcome Matt!