How to assure affordable housing?

This week the two candidates for mayor and the five for town commissioner were asked to respond to these questions.

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The board of commissioners talk about affordable housing, but are not going to get into the business of building/managing such housing.

What should the town do to assure that everyone who works in Wake Forest has a home they can afford so they can live here too? Remember that one affordable situation, the Wellington Mobile Home Park, only charged $300 a month while another affordable and still existing housing charges $550, which is somewhat of a stretch for some residents. The land has been rezoned so this housing may be torn down soon.

And remember we do have homeless people in town. What can the town do to help them find shelter?

Also, the town has supported the local efforts to help provide food for families in this pandemic when so many people cannot work. It authorized the use of a truck and gave one employee paid time to head up a group working on food availability. It also loaned the former Suntrust bank building parking lot as a central distribution hub for food efforts. Would you back these efforts going forward?

The two candidates for mayor responded:

Mayor Vivian Jones:

The Town has just entered into a contract for a consultant to help us develop an affordable housing plan. I am very pleased we are doing this because I do not believe any of us really have the knowledge necessary to address this issue without some study and research. I believe this study will help us figure out what we need to do.

I will continue to support any efforts to make food available for those that need assistance.

Commissioner Bridget Wall-Lennon:

Since joining the board in 2017, I’ve consistently been a champion for affordable housing.

It took me raising the issue for the board to take action.

The first initiative I pushed when elected commissioner was affordable housing. Wake

County and the City of Raleigh had affordable housing plans, task force, or committees

focused on affordable housing. Wake Forest did not have any substantial information

regarding the need for or the lack of affordable housing. I advocated for the town to

conduct an affordable housing study to position ourselves to have a formal affordable

housing program. Starting with our 2020-21 Annual Budget, we approved a .005 (halfcent)

dedicated tax for our affordable housing initiatives. Our budget included funding for

a staff person to focus on long-range planning, such as affordable housing and an

affordable housing study that just started in July 2021.

Currently, we have three town-supported affordable housing developments underway

that will provide single-family homes in the price range of $240,000 to $260,000. New

homes in this price range are hard, even rare, to find in Wake County. We put in our

development agreements that only buyers at 60% to 120% of AMI would be eligible to

purchase these homes. We also put in one of the development agreements that the Town

of Wake Forest employees would have the “first right of an offer to purchase” and that if

no town employee offered to purchase, the home could go on the open market. More

agreements like this are just one of the many ways we can move forward. I would also

like to see affordable housing options at 30% – 80% AMI because this captures incomes

between $27,000 and $72,000, which is what we consider “workforce, middle income”

housing that so many teachers, police, firefighters, and retail workers need. As Mayor, I

will continue to work with town staff, developers, Wake County, and other resource

organizations to advocate for these types of affordable housing options and initiatives.

NC law prohibits caps on rentals of privately owned property. To find a solution, we

need all options on the table. Public and private partnerships, community, and a

partnership with the county are creative ideas that may help yield some positive results

to help find housing options. We can look further at how Raleigh and Wake County are

taking different approaches toward remedying similar problems with different resources.

We have several public housing developments owned and maintained by the Wake

County Housing Authority that we need to leverage our resources for the redevelopment

of these homes.

My commitment to helping residents transition to new housing has already been

exhibited through my work with Wellington Mobile Home Park residents. To bring help

for the residents, I spent countless hours identifying an amendable solution, as I am

sure staff and the other elected officials have done. I also attended meetings over the

past three months in Raleigh to learn of and identify resources for the residents of

Wellington Park. I worked with Middleburg Communities, Wake County’s Affordable

Housing Department, and Triangle Family Services to identify eligible relocation, direct

payments, and reimbursable expenses for the residents. Covered expenses range from

a down payment on a new mobile home or apartment to utility connections, moving

fees, temporary lodging, childcare, and storage units. Our Planning Department is now

overseeing this process and the developer’s plans will not be approved until the

residents receive the help they were promised.

During the discussions, I learned that it’s frowned upon in the industry for developers to

provide cash to individuals because it can be viewed as them paying someone to speak

in favor of their development. Then a challenge of “how to help the residents” with

practical, accountable, and meaningful assistance. However, it is a practice for Triangle

Family Services to provide cash advances to clients they work with. But I was able to

advocate for TFS to provide gift cards that residents could use for gas, groceries, and

food. I advocated for a dedicated staff person from Triangle Family Services to be

assigned to Wellington Park residents, and Case Management would be provided to the

residents:

• Identification of available lots in other mobile home parks.
• Identification and pursuit of alternative housing options and arrangements

(temporary or permanent).

• Coordination of moving arrangements.
• Identification of additional benefit/entitlement programs and other sources of

assistance.

• Help to access and maintain community services, including strengthening

connections to available local resources and natural supports.

Homelessness is a very complex issue and often involves other services that are

needed alongside finding shelter. Wake County provides some options to assist in this

area. There may also be some federal help available. Many of our homeless are

veterans. Our faith community and community non-profits may be of some help here as

well. My goal as Mayor is to continue promoting the affordable housing initiative I

advocated for as a town commissioner by implementing a formal affordable housing

plan and its recommendations.

About the community efforts to feed people, these are extraordinary times that require extraordinary actions. I’m proud of our

community. We came together to help each other. Yes, I supported these efforts and

will continue to support efforts to help our neighbors and community.

Our town employees are caring and giving people. They are public employees and part

of this community. And our community takes care of each other.

I will serve as your Mayor in a Concerned, Committed, and Community-focused

manner. Please join me on November 2nd and Vote Bridget Wall-Lennon for Mayor of

Wake Forest. You may visit my website for more information

at www.BridgetForWakeForest.com.

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The five candidates for the town board responded:

Patrick Griffin:

As the only candidate in any of the races that’s not raising any funds or spending any money I am running for office because I truly want to serve the residents of Wake Forest and is a goal/vision I’ve had since my first political science class at UNC Greensboro in 1999.  Multiple housing interest groups reached out to me to participate in questionnaires regarding apartments or single family residential properties/town homes etc (not multi family).  I knew one day during the campaign if I accepted any donations or received any support from any special interest group I would be at that point compromised and would not have the public’s best interest at heart.  This is a grass roots/organic campaign and I’m proud to say no party or group controls this candidate.  So when it comes to fair housing and taking care of our most vulnerable citizens who need a hand up as opposed to a hand out I’ll always be there for them by doing everything I can within my power as a town commissioner to insure there is plenty of educational and employment opportunity to improve ones situation in life.  I have stories, ideas, and interactions with folks in our community and can be viewed at:

https://www.facebook.com/Patrick-Griffin-for-Wake-Forest-Commissioner-103715032045088/

Nick Sliwinski:

Currently, Wake Forest is working through an affordable housing study.  What we need to do is first define affordable for our area and identify the needs of residents at all income levels.  I am an advocate for gathering all relevant information regarding a situation before trying to provide solutions to an issue.  We do need to continue to study this issue and keep it at the forefront of our minds as our town grows and evolves.

In regards to Wellington Park, I agree with the statement that Commissioner Sary made on the night of the rezoning vote, this could have been handled better.  The town did not evict the residents of Wellington and had to make a tough decision on how to best help those residents moving forward.  This situation does, however, highlight the rezoning issues that exist in Wake Forest and brings up concerns about how these issues will be addressed in the future.

There are several organizations in Wake Forest that exist to help those in need.  We can provide grant money for organizations like the Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry and Raleigh Dream Center, who both serve Wake Forest Residents, to continue to provide their services.  I would back efforts that are designed to assist our residents who need help the most.

Commissioner Liz Simpers responded:

As a board, we are continuing to work with local developers, private landowners, and Wake County to help us find funding for affordable housing. The County Board of Commissioners works with us to share resources and find options for funding and connections to regional and national partners. When it comes to funding, oftentimes the money is there, we just need to have the connections to find it!

Local faith organizations like Olive Branch Baptist Church, Tri-Area Ministries, and the Hope House have been instrumental in helping families in need. The Town of Wake Forest currently does not have a homeless shelter or a local facility for those experiencing homelessness. I would like to see us investigate ways to directly help those citizens in need.

Michael Molinaro responded:

Michael Molinaro did not respond to these questions.

Keith Shackleford responded:

Clearly, Wake Forest like other Wake County municipalities is experiencing an increase in the cost of housing. We need more housing that is affordable to a broader range of income levels.  Promoting apartment living, duplexes and/or triplexes and encouraging density in single family housing would not likely address the issue and would compound other issues the town is already experiencing. We must encourage developers to build housing at lower price points and make sure that the targeted consumers are given the opportunity to purchase/rent those units. Our affordable housing stock with only increase with the cooperation of the homebuilding industry. We should consult with homebuilding trade associations to ideas and perhaps support for a project focused on affordable housing.

I wholeheartedly support and will continue to support the efforts to provide food for families.

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Wake Forest voters will elect a mayor and two commissioners on Nov. 2.

The Gazette was wrong in stating that there is no early voting for this election. There is early voting but not in Wake Forest. Instead, on or after Thursday, Oct. 14, voters can go to the Wake County Board of Elections Office at 1200 N. New Hope Road, Raleigh, NC 27610 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. any weekday. The telephone is 919-404-4040.

Go to Wakegov.com, click on Departments and then on Board of Elections for full information about voting by mail and the election.

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