New Hanover County backs away from commitment to affordable workforce housing

view original post

The New Hanover Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 Monday to walk away from a joint committee with the City of Wilmington that was created to look into workforce housing issues. (Photo: Screenshot from commission video feed)

In a politically charged vote, the New Hanover County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 on Monday to withdraw from a committee devoted to workforce housing issues. The board’s three Republicans voted in favor of the controversial move and its two Democrats voted against it.

The commissioner’s vote ended the county’s participation in the Workforce Housing Advisory Committee (WHAC), which was a joint committee between the county and the City of Wilmington. It was created in 2019 to develop a study and to make recommendations to promote the development of affordable housing for public employees.

GOP commissioners emphasize budget cuts, lower taxes

During the county’s recent budget process, the board’s Republican majority — LeAnn Pierce, Dane Scalise and Bill Rivenbark — voted to cut funding to the committee, which amounted to $3 million a year. Part of the money was used to help workforce housing developers leverage federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to reduce the cost of housing.

“I’m bringing to you a recommendation that I think is clearly in keeping with the board’s adopted policy as it relates to withdrawing funding from the workforce housing program,” County Manager Chris Coudriet told the board.

Coudriet noted that, to date, the county has spent $9 million on WHAC to support affordable and workforce housing. He said that “work will continue.” A previous board agreed to spend $15 million on WHAC over five years.

The board’s decision to back away from the WHAC comes as New Hanover County and many other counties and municipalities across the state and nation are making investments to increase housing supplies to accommodate an unprecedented demand for affordable housing.

Commissioners who favored withdrawing from WHAC said they must balance financial considerations and quality of life demands with the county’s need for affordable housing.

“Our citizens overwhelmingly told us that they did not want to see their tax rate go up.” Commissioner Pierce said. “They overwhelmingly said they were struggling at home, and they wanted us to hear them.”

A growing statewide problem

A recent study commissioned by the North Carolina Chamber found that the state has a significant housing crisis and needs 760,000 new housing units over the next five years to meet demand across its 100 counties. According to the study, New Hanover County has a 21,656-unit housing gap when owner and renter data are combined.

The county’s withdrawal also comes amid steep budget cuts for New Hanover County. In June, the county chopped $36 million from its budget and cut 70 filled positions to avoid a tax increase. It also comes as New Hanover County is experiencing record growth. According to USA Facts, New Hanover County’s population grew 15.6% between 2010 and 2022. By comparison, the U.S. population grew 7.7% during that span and North Carolina’s population grew 11.7% during that period.

Providing affordable housing has been a big problem, particularly in the state’s urban areas. Some counties and municipalities have partnered with nonprofits to build workforce housing for teachers, police officers, firemen and other critical workers who otherwise couldn’t afford to live in communities they serve.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development generally refers to workforce housing as housing that is affordable to workers earning 80% and 120% of the area media income. That is the range in which individuals and families may earn too much for traditional subsidized housing but struggle to to afford  housing in their local market.

Thirty-four percent of renters and homeowners in New Hanover County are burdened by housing costs, according the N.C. Housing Coalition’s 2025 profiles of the state’s 100 counties. Families that spend more than 30% of its income off housing are considered cost burdened.

Challenges posed by growth

Commissioner Scalise said private developers are better equipped to manage the housing crisis. He said the board’s policy shift is a response to citizens demand for more thoughtful housing development.

“Our community members have repeatedly over the last couple of years have indicated to us that they are concerned about the rate and speed of density in New Hanover County,” Scalise said.

A resident speaking against a rezoning for a townhome community urged commissioners to reject all requests for high-density zoning.

“We need to stop building and clarify our goals as a county,” Adrianne Garber said. We need a rate-of-growth ordinance limiting the number of residential and non-residential [building] permits each year.”

Garber called for a moratorium on all building permits until the county develops a plan to regulate growth.

“Not everyone can live here,” Garber said, restating a phrase used frequently by those who supported withdrawing from the WHAC. “There are eight billion people on this planet; they cannot all live here.”

Scalise said the board must pay attention to residents’ concerns. County policy should not burden the community with apartments and diminishes the quality of life for residents.

“It’s not to say I’m unconcerned about the issue of affordability — of course I am, and it would be ridiculous to say otherwise — but I’m also concerned about the quality of life of the people in this community and we cannot simply build our way out of this issue.”

In recent years, Scalise said the county has spent $29 million on affordable housing and workforce housing with little to show for it.

“Don’t we owe it to the people that we represent to at least pause for a moment and determine how successful or not successful the investments we’ve made are going to be before we continue on unabated with further investment into this area?” Scalise asked.

Democrats push back

Democratic commissioners Rob Zapple and Stephanie Walker voted against Coudriet’s recommendation. The two challenged their colleague’s perception that WHAC did not perform as intended.

“In the three years since [the board agreed to spend $15 million on WHAC], we have spent $9 million and it has done exactly what you said you were not aware of,” Zapple responded. “It’s [county funding] leveraged $150 million in private investment that has gone into trying to solve this [housing] problem.”

Zapple said the WHAC has offered ideas and solutions to help mitigate the housing crisis in the county at minimum cost. The county’s efforts have also produced 400 new housing units as a result of its WHAC participation, he said.

“This is a huge problem in New Hanover County, and yes, we cannot fit everybody in,” Zapple said. “We certainly can be creative, look around the country, which is what we’re doing, grabbing those initiatives  that will help us … make our critical employees, many of which actually work for New Hanover County who can’t afford to live in New Hanover County.”