NEW HANOVER COUNTY — An amendment that would make the development of supportive housing easier has stalled with the New Hanover County Planning Board.
READ MORE: Supportive housing use proposed for by-right in seven NHC zoning districts
Planning board members were unanimous in their Thursday vote to keep working on the amendment to allow supportive housing by-right in seven of the county’s current zoning districts. A public hearing was scheduled, though no one signed up to speak.
Currently, supportive housing is not a specified use in the land code.
This is not the creation of a new zoning district. Rather, supportive housing developments would be allowed without need for county approval in the following districts: rural agriculture, low density residential (R-20S, R-20, R-15, R-10), planned development, and office and institutional.
The amendment defines supportive housing as a residential group living community or campus that combines services, such as substance abuse or mental health resources, to assist transitioning to household living.
While the most obvious beneficiary of this amendment would be homeless services, supportive housing can also be offered to people with disabilities or substance use disorders, teenagers in or aging out of foster care, survivors of domestic violence or adults re-entering society after a prison sentence.
According to planning staff, the intent of the amendment is to reduce development barriers for providers, such as domestic violence or homeless-reduction organizations, support the county’s mental health and substance use disorder strategy, and reduce subjectivity in the interpretation of the UDO when it comes to supportive housing.
Supportive housing developments would not have to be for a certain federally protected class — such as those with disabilities or of a certain age — to qualify under the amendment, whereas group homes in the county do.
“There may be individuals that need supportive housing that would not qualify for a disability or protected class under the Fair Housing Act or the ADA — just as an example, perhaps victims of domestic violence or abuse,” Planning Manager Ken Vafier said on Thursday. “So we were trying to do this in an attempt to not rule out anybody or make anybody ineligible for the use of this.”
Board member Hansen Mathews took issue with the amendment’s scope.
“I understand both sides’ point, but once you stray from the definition it just opens up a whole plethora of possibilities, some of which are beneficial and some of which would not be,” Matthews said.
The other side he was referring to was neighbors concerned about supportive housing developments moving in next door. Several board members said they received calls or emails from residents questioning if the amendment would negatively impact their neighborhood.
Board member Cameron Moore asked if a developer could buy vacant lots in an established neighborhood for supportive housing. Vafier said that is not explicitly prohibited as written, but language could be added to prevent this.
“I feel like we’re in the right ballpark, but I’ve also gotten some calls and some concerns that this could just happen in any neighborhood,” Chair Jeffrey Petroff said.
Moore asked about external services — such as transportation, access to groceries or health care — that may not be located in residential areas where supportive housing could be placed. He said the county may be “creating a disability” with the amendment.
Planning Director Rebekah Roth admitted the public Wave buses do not service every part of the county, but the Wave micro transit could help alleviate some of the gap.
The other elements of the amendment, which have not been changed since the planned board reviewed them last month, were not specifically questioned on Thursday.
The developments must meet the density requirements in their respective district, though the developer could request a conditional zoning to increase that threshold per county commissioner approval. They also must meet all dimensional standards design requirements per their zonings.
Structures that don’t meet building code — campers, trailers, pods — will also be prohibited. Zoning requirements are applicable to the property’s support services for residents, which could include amenity centers, offices and clinics.
Additionally, 0.5 parking spaces per unit would be required in off-street parking, plus 2.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet of office, amenity or other building space.
The amendment also states supportive housing developments cannot be approved to exist within 2,000 feet of each other.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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