Charlotte supports affordable housing until neighbors push back

State of play: Half of renters in Mecklenburg County are cost-burdened, putting more than 30% of their income toward housing, according to the recently released Charlotte-Mecklenburg State of Housing Instability and Homelessness Report.

• Although the crisis is most severe for the lowest-income residents, moderate-income households are increasingly finding themselves cost-burdened, the report states.
• There's a gap of 12,143 rental units affordable to those earning 51 to 80% of the area median income, meaning there aren't enough places they can afford.

Driving the news: Earlier this April, council members approved True Homes' plan in a 6-4 vote to build 65 affordable townhomes at University City United Methodist Church, despite pushback from neighbors. The units would serve people and families earning 80% or less of the area median income.

• "Is this a great project? Yeah," council member LaWana Mayfield said. "This location? Not for me."
• (District representative Malcolm Graham voted it down, joined by Mayfield, J.D. Mazuera Arias and Renee Johnson. Victoria Watlington was absent.)
• Council was in the same scenario the month prior at its March zoning meeting. It narrowly passed Crosland Southeast's plan — again in a 6-4 vote — for a 55-and-up affordable community in the Wilora Lake area.
• "We are growing fast as a city, but it should not be at the expense of disrupting single-family neighborhoods," said district representative JD Mazuera Arias. He added that the project, along North Sharon Amity Road, is near "high-traffic congestion."
• (Mayfield, Watlington and Dimple Ajmera joined Mazuera Arias in voting no.)

What they're saying: "Some of our priorities become at odds with each other when it becomes time for execution," member Danté Anderson said during the heated March discussion.

The other side: Neighbors are objecting to these projects, largely citing traffic concerns.

• "We have so much growth ... that this tension is inevitable," Dr. Lori Thomas, executive director of the Charlotte Urban Institute, tells Axios.
• Developers are making modifications in hopes of getting petitions passed. Crosland, for example, reduced the number of affordable units from 144 to 125.

Yes, but: Building as much housing as possible within city limits reduces traffic in the long run, says Carolina Forward's policy director Theodore Nollert. Density supports investments in transit and public infrastructure, which also reduces the cost of living, he adds.

• "The question has to be, is affordability one of the goals and values driving the decision-making, or not?" Nollert says.

Threat level: Council member Ed Driggs warned during the April meeting that rejecting projects like the University City church proposal could discourage other affordable housing developers.

• When asked if he agrees, Ron Staley of True Homes, an affordable homebuilder, says the situation "highlights how important consistency and alignment are."
• "That's what gives both developers and community partners like University City UMC the confidence to continue investing in solutions," he added.

Between the lines: These votes come as several council members are expected to be preparing runs for a likely open mayoral seat in 2027.

The bottom line: More close votes are expected as Charlotte continues to grapple with explosive growth, as one of the nation's fastest-growing metros, and a widening housing crisis and spiking evictions.

• "There are just no silver bullets here," Thomas says. "It's in the messy working out of every single deal like this that we get progress."