Be a local leader: Apply to serve on a board or commission

Illustration of people gathered around a table talking

The City of Asheville currently has openings on various committees. Do you want to have a voice in the City’s growth and future? If yes, take that initial step forward and put your perspective, leadership, and knowledge to task by serving on a Board or Commission. For descriptions and additional information about each board, please “click” on the board name below to visit the individual board’s webpage. 

Please note: City leadership has decided that all advisory and quasi-judicial boards staffed by City employees and all Council Committees will be suspended until January 1, 2025, at the earliest. Exceptions will be granted on a case-by-case basis if a board or commission needs to meet to discuss time-sensitive or storm-related items. This action is necessary so that staff can focus on recovery efforts.

Boards with a application deadline of Sunday, December 8, 2024

Audit Committee

  • Applicant must be a CPA or CPA-retired

The Audit Committee was established with responsibilities to:

  • Review internal audit reports
  • Review (with management and the external auditors) the results of the financial statements audit
  • Report to City Council about committee activities, issues, and related recommendations as needed ( with a minimum of one time a year)
  • Provide an open avenue of communication between internal audit, the external auditors, and City Council

Board of Adjustment

  • 4 alternate seat vacancies
  • Must be City residents
  • The City of Asheville’s Board of Adjustment has jurisdiction to hear cases regarding variance requests from the provisions of the Unified Development Ordinance. Additionally, the Board of Adjustment has jurisdiction to hear appeals regarding interpretations of the Unified Development Ordinance, Floodplain Ordinance, Housing Code Ordinance and Historic District Guidelines.

Design Review Committee

  • 2 at-large seats
  • Applicants should have a demonstrated special interest, experience or education in architecture, historic preservation, landscape architecture, urban planning, or related fields. Preference will be given to applicants who represent at least one of the following: persons with disabilities, transit users, and/or seniors.
  • The Design Review Committee was created to perform design review for all major works in the River District Design Review area, the Central Business District, and hotels outside of those areas.

Downtown Commission

  • Applicants must be members of the private sector of the community and shall represent various segments of the greater downtown community such as, but not limited to, property owners, merchants, residents, businesses and institutions; and shall have a willingness to participate actively in commission efforts; and shall possess expertise and interest in the sustainability and development of downtown.

Metropolitan Sewerage District Board

  • Must be city residents
  • The Metropolitan Sewerage District Board of Directors consists of 12 members: three appointed by City Council (which must be city residents), three appointed by the Buncombe County Commissioners, one appointed by the Town of Weaverville, one appointed by the Town of Black Mountain, one appointed by the Town of Biltmore Forest, one appointed by the Woodfin Sanitary Water and Sewer District, one appointed by the Town of Montreat; and 1 appointed by the Town of Woodfin.

Neighborhood Advisory Committee

  • one 28805 representative
  • 2 at-large seats
  • Must be residents of the City or the City’s extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction and shall reflect the socioeconomic diversity of Asheville
  • The Committee was established to advise the City Council on neighborhoods within the City of Asheville’s zoning and planning jurisdiction.  The Committee shall have the following powers and duties:
    • Develop rules and by-laws for the conduct of its business, including but not limited to meeting schedules, officers, voting, sub-committees;
    • Develop a plan to strengthen neighborhood identity and resilience, and to facilitate communication and cooperation between Asheville’s neighborhoods and City offices;
    • Develop benchmarks and standards by which progress towards implementing the plan can be measured; and
    • Work on special projects that are consistent with the goals of the committee, as assigned or directed by the City Council.

Noise Advisory Board

  • 1 vacancy for an at-large seat
  • Must be City residents
  • The Board maintains the following advisory responsibilities: 
    • Evaluate the effectiveness of Revised Ordinance No. 4390 regarding Noise Regulation and related City policies with the goal of developing recommendations regarding amendments, additions, or deletions;
    • Evaluate the effectiveness of enforcement of this article, including but not limited to response times, compliance rates, distribution of complaints, and ensuring equitable outcomes; and
    • Propose long-term objectives for achieving reduction of sound levels in the community, and propose means for implementing such objectives.

Riverfront Commission

  • 1 vacancy reserved for an art advocate/artist/arts administrator
  • 1 vacancy reserved for a Housing Authority resident/staff or voucher recipient
  • The purpose of the Asheville Buncombe Riverfront Commission (ABRC) is to recommend to the City and County an overall policy for the continued development and sustainability of the regional riverfront. The Commission provides recommendations to the City and County for effective management of the public resources for the districts, and actively pursues and assists private sector investments in the districts. The Asheville Buncombe Riverfront Commission assists through cooperative measures to evaluate and represent the recommendations of other organizations, including, but not limited to property owners, merchants, residents, businesses, tenants, non-profits, institutions, as well as other members of the riverfront and regional riverfront district communities.

Sustainability Advisory Committee

  • The Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC) is responsible for developing and recommending policies to support initiatives such as sustainable energy, waste reduction, sustainable economic development, and land use planning. 

Urban Forestry Commission 

  • The purpose of this chapter is to regulate the planting of new trees and shrubbery; to vigorously encourage the protection of existing trees and shrubbery, including their root systems; to regulate the preservation, replacement and indiscriminate removal of trees and to establish procedures for fulfilling these purposes.

Boards with Application Deadline of November 30, 2024

Housing Authority

  • The Mayor appoints members to this board.
  • Consideration of appointments will be made after the application deadline.
  • The board reviews and approves budgets for submission to the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, approves plans and specifications, awards contracts and appoints the Executive Director of the Housing Authority.

Application is open until vacancy is filled

Active Transportation Committee

  • Link to the application
  • Application is open until vacancy is filled
  • Members are appointed by the Multimodal Transportation Commission, not City Council
  • The mission of the City of Asheville’s Active Transportation Committee is to advise the Multimodal Transportation Commission and City staff on greenways, bike and micro-mobility facilities, and sidewalks within Asheville while educating and engaging the public and advocating for funding.

The application deadline is Saturday, November 30, 2024. For additional information please click here.