With a waiting list of about 1,000 households next in line for rental assistance in Chapel Hill, the town is holding its first of about 20 meetings Thursday to evaluate its affordable housing strategy.
An advisory group will meet with organizations ranging from UNC undergraduates to Chapel Hill Transit staff to hear thoughts and opinions about affordable housing options.
By April, officials hope to have a strategy document reflecting community priorities and goals, said Rae Buckley, town housing and neighborhood services senior planner.
“We want to have that conversation with the community to make sure goals are coming out of those discussions instead of just me making decisions from behind my desk,” she said.
Robert Dowling, a member of the advisory group and the Community Home Trust’s executive director, said he would like to address how being a college town limits the number of affordable homes in the area, especially in the Northside neighborhood.
“Three to four students can afford to pay more than a single mom with a couple of kids,” he said.
The trust was established in 1991 — among the first of its kind in the nation — and sells affordable homes for low to moderate income families in the area.
The advisory group expects to hold meetings with a variety of student groups to discuss affordable housing and its correlation with student housing.
With a 2010 median home price of $323,300, Chapel Hill is one of the most expensive places to live in North Carolina, Buckley said. The median household income for the area is $47,051, according to 2009 U.S. Census data.
