Charlotte city leaders are fine-tuning changes to the policy the city uses to decide where new, subsidized low-income housing can and can’t be built.
City staffers last fall proposed a new “scorecard” system to rank proposed developments according to several criteria, such as proximity to public transportation, jobs and schools.
City Council member LaWana Mayfield says the policy will help city officials be more pro-active in meeting affordable housing needs as the community continues to change “because neighborhood changes have created some displacement, and those who would most qualify for public transportation, or where public transportation would be the best form and the best mode of transportation, have been moved further away from it.”
Charlotte voters in November approved a bond referendum to add $50 million to Charlotte’s affordable housing trust fund – more than triple the usual amount.
The city is working toward a goal of creating 5,000 new units of affordable housing by the end of this year.
Council members will get an update on the new ‘Housing Locational Policy’ during a strategy session that begins this afternoon at 5:00 at the government center.
WFAE is examining the affordable housing crisis in a year-long series called “Finding Home.” We’ll have new stories every Monday on 90.7 FM and at WFAE.org.
