WILMINGTON — As the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County continue to attract new residents, the need for affordable housing becomes more and more pertinent – that is why the Committee on Workforce/Affordable Housing was formed. The committee was formed in 2016 as a partnership between the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County.
City Council members heard a presentation Monday morning with the final recommendations from the joint task force.
The purpose for the committee is, “The Wilmington City Council and the New Hanover County Commissioners appointed a joint ad-hoc committee to conduct a comprehensive examination of workforce/affordable housing efforts, along with the demand for and supply of such housing, and recommend the ‘best practices’ that would be most appropriate to improve and increase the stock of available workplace housing in this region,” according to the city’s website.
The committee met twice per month, for about six months, to understand the need and demand for affordable housing. Affordable housing is defined as when housing costs do not exceed 30 percent of a household’s total gross income, according to the existing conditions and recommendations report.
“In New Hanover County, including the City of Wilmington, 32,000 households, or one in three, pay more than 30 percent of their gross income for housing,” the report states.
What can be done?
The committee listed several recommendations according to priority. The most imperative recommendations included the creation of a permanent advisory committee, the creation and implementation of a housing study and opinion survey, funding a staff position, and a public awareness campaign.
The permanent committee, if approved, would continue the work the ad hoc committee has started. It was also suggested that members of the ad hoc committee be appointed to the permanent committee.
The proposed housing study would offer a deeper insight into the needs and desires of the community, and has proven an effective method for other cities that have faced similar issues, according to the presentation.
The committee also recommended requiring that city- and county-owned redevelopment projects include affordable housing, streamlining the permitting process, and establishing a housing trust fund. The recommendation is that these steps would take place within six to 18 months.
Some of the more long-term recommendations included: supporting financial literacy, encouraging Cape Fear Utility Authority to offer payment plans and rebates for affordable housing developers, and to encourage the use of the 4 percent low-income housing tax credit.
What will it cost?
The committee also analyzed some of the recommendations’ cost estimates. The housing study would cost an estimated $50,000 while the opinion survey could cost $10,000, according to the presentation. The creation of a new staff position with a full office setup would cost approximately $106,000, while the public awareness campaign could be $100,000 or more.
The creation of a housing trust fund would allow both private and public funding to be applied toward affordable housing access.
Some of the suggested sources for the trust fund included: designating one penny of property tax revenue toward the fund; the investment of 10 percent of the proceeds from the sale of county surplus or real property; general fund appropriations; and private donations.
The trust fund could be used to, “Increase funding for the Home Ownership Program (HOP), expand HOP workforce loans to the unincorporated county, provide low-interest loans for developers, down-payment assistance, and security deposit guarantee,” according to the presentation.
Public Perception
Affordable housing comes with negative connotations and a stigma that the public awareness campaign would attempt to address.
Councilman Charlie Rivenbark and Mayor Bill Saffo both spoke about the issues officials face when it comes to affordable housing campaigns.
“Affordable housing sounds damn good, but then you put it out there and it’s like a war, it’s like, we want affordable housing but don’t put it in my backyard,” Saffo said, referring to the reactions of some residents when it comes to affordable housing.
“I think people think drugs are going to take over and we are going to have ‘welfare mom’s’ living in there, and that’s just not true,” Rivenbark said.
According to a study on housing affordability in New Hanover County conducted by UNCW’s Department of Sociology and Criminology, roughly 61 percent of respondents would be supportive of affordable housing in the county, but 52 percent of people either agreed or strongly agreed that affordable housing in their neighborhood would lower property values.
The city council did not take any action of the information presented. But the discussion for affordable housing is not over and is expected to be a topic of discussion for future city and county meetings.
Reporter Michael Praats can be reached at michael.p@localvoicemedia.com.
