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Housing Call: December 3, 2024

Organizational Update

Our Post-Election Housing Policy Update webinar will take place this Wednesday, December 4 at 1:30pm. We’ll discuss how new federal and state administrations may impact housing policy and resources in North Carolina, the NC Housing Coalition’s response and 2025 Policy Agenda, and how you can join us in the movement to protect housing investments in 2025 and beyond. Speakers will include Kim Johnson of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and Samuel Gunter and Stephanie Watkins-Cruz of the NC Housing Coalition. Register here.

 

Federal Updates

  • Congress is back in session after the Thanksgiving break. Between now and December 20 they’ll be working to negotiate and pass a disaster aid package and Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded and avoid a partial shutdown. Read more here.
  • What to know about Scott Turner, Trump’s pick for housing secretary President-elect Donald Trump has selected Scott Turner to serve as secretary of the US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). During Trump’s first administration, Turner led the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, which Trump established to to target, streamline, and coordinate Federal resources to be used in Opportunity Zones and other economically distressed communities.

 

State Updates

  • The General Assembly was back in session yesterday afternoon.
    • The NC Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 382. The House will reconvene on Thursday, where they are expected to override the Veto then or when they come back on December 11.
  • The NC Senate approved Senate Bill 920, which would bring to the ballot in November 2026 a proposed change to the state constitution that sets a maximum allowable income tax rate of 5 percent for profitable corporations and the wealthiest North Carolinians. Check out the NC Budget & Tax Center’s Fact Sheet on the problems with this Constitutional change here.
  • The state Supreme Court race recount continues this week and Democrat incumbent Allison Riggs continues to maintain a lead of 600+ votes over Republican Jefferson Griffin. Griffin has called for over 60K votes to be tossed, including Riggs’ parents’ ballots.
  • Public invited to comment on proposed use of state disaster mitigation funds

The N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) is seeking public comments through Dec. 14 on a proposed amendment to the action plan for administering HUD Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation funds. The proposed action plan amendment is intended to address homeowner mitigation needs, including establishing the Residential Property Elevation Fund, which will be used to rehabilitate, reconstruct or replace properties located in a floodplain or at risk of future flooding. The new fund will help protect properties against future flood damage through structural elevations and related activities. This fund is separate from the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery-funded ReBuild NC Homeowner Recovery Program which primarily serves properties that do not need home elevation.

Proposed changes include allocations to the Affordable Housing Development Fund, Public Housing Restoration Fund, Infrastructure Recovery Program and Strategic Buyout Program, among other updates.

A draft of the new Substantial Action Plan Amendment 6 for Mitigation funding is available for review online. The public is strongly encouraged to submit comments by email to ncorr.publiccomments@ncdps.gov or by U.S. Postal Service mail to: NCORR Public Comments, P.O. Box 110465, Durham, NC 27709. Public comments on the new draft action plan must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024.

In addition to mitigation initiatives, NCORR administers programs that include long-term disaster recovery, resiliency, community development, affordable housing, strategic buyout and local infrastructure. Learn more about NCORR programs at https://www.rebuild.nc.gov/.

 

Helene Recovery

 

Local Updates

Charlotte magazine recently published an in-depth piece on how congregations in the area are using their land to create affordable housing. The article details how 7 faith-based organizations – Newell Presbyterian, St. Paul Baptist, Little Rock AME Zion, Mayfield Memorial Missionary Baptist, The Park, the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, and Caldwell Presbyterian –  have all developed affordable housing in recent years. In addition, Covenant Presbyterian, Myers Park Presbyterian, and Myers Park Methodist have each donated $1M+ towards the development of affordable housing. The churches have used a variety of tools to put deals together, including tax credits, grants, the city’s Housing Trust Fund, bank loans, and financing through the NC Housing Finance Agency. For folks interested in learning more about how faith communities can build affordable housing, the article notes that Rev. John Cleghorn of Caldwell Presbyerian in Charlotte recently published a book on the topic, Building Belonging: The Church’s Call to Create Community & House our Neighbors.

St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Raleigh recently donated $300K to the Raleigh Area Land Trust for the Cottages at Idlewild, a community of 18 affordable houses being built by our fall conference keynote speaker and NC Central basketball coach LeVelle Moton and his partners at Raleigh Raised Development.

  • Low-income residents at two naturally occurring affordable housing developments in Charlotte are facing displacement. According to residents, the new owners at Tanglewood Apartments are sending notices to vacate to tenants who have paid rent on time. Across town, residents at the Lamplighter Inn motel are being displaced after the motel failed to bring several health and safety issues up to code. The city has implemented displacement protocol for both communities and is working to support affected residents.
  • Winston-Salem City Council approves affordable housing guidelines | WS Chronicle Winston-Salem City Council voted last month to approve guidelines for their Affordable Housing Development Program. The guidelines set up a standardized scoring system for affordable housing proposals under review. The City will begin accepting proposals in early 2025. More details can be found on the City’s Neighborhood Services website.
  • ‘They want to stay here’: Preserving the future of Chapel Hill’s oldest historically Black community | WUNC A recent article from WUNC details the work of the Northside Neighborhood Initiative, a joint effort of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center, UNC-Chapel Hill, the Town of Chapel Hill, and Self-Help Credit Union. In 2015, the partners formed a land bank in Chapel Hill’s historically Black Northside neighborhood. To date, the land bank has acquired 45 properties.
    • If you haven’t listened to our most recent “Unlocked” podcast episode about property taxes featuring Ms. Kathy Atwater at the Marian Cheek Jackson Center in Northside, check it out here!

 

Events

 

Reports & Resources 

 

In the News

Recommended read

Bonus Episode: Property Taxes Unlocked, Part 1

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