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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02. February 2021 minutes New Hanover County-City of Wilmington Workforce Housing Advisory Committee February 3, 2021 Regular Meeting Committee Members Present: Sharm Brantley, Patrick Brien, Don Harris, Katrina Knight, Katrina Redmon, Frank Smith, Steve Spain, David Spetrino, Paul Stavovy, Glenda Tate, Lori Wainright Staff Present: Tufanna Bradley (NHC), Joe Donohoe (NHC), Rachel LaCoe (NHC), Thom Moton (CoW), Suzanne Rogers (CoW), Rebekah Roth (NHC) Call to Order The meeting was called to order and a quorum was established through roll call at 3:02 pm by Chairperson David Spetrino. Approve Agenda & Approve Minutes Sharm Brantley made a motion to approve the agenda and draft minutes from the January 6, 2020, which was seconded by Katrina Knight and adopted unanimously. Public Comments None New Business Information Item: UNCG Presentation, Dr. Stephen Sills Chairperson Spetrino recognized Dr. Stephen Sills of the University of North Carolina Greensboro for an update on the UNCG portion of the Comprehensive Housing Study. Dr. Sills and Mr. Bruce Rich informed the committee that the information shared in the presentation was pulled from the draft report. Dr. Sills continued by presenting some of the key findings from the Affordable Housing Survey Report. These findings included information about public perception of affordable housing in New Hanover County/City of Wilmington, homeownership achievability, challenges for finding affordable and quality housing, perceptions of gentrification as a result of residential development, desired housing types and locations, and support for affordable housing policies. Following the presentation, Dr. Sills opened the floor for questions. There was discussion among the committee about New Hanover County/City of Wilmington’s need to frame rapid growth as the driving focus for affordable housing. There was also brief discussion about the demographic trends of those relocating to the area, the cost-burdened population, the possibility of an affordable housing bond as a tool to address the affordable housing needs of the community, and the benefits of by-right development. Information Item: Bowen National Research Presentation, Patrick Bowen Chairperson Spetrino recognized Mr. Patrick Bowen of Bowen National Research for an update on the Bowen portion of the Comprehensive Housing Study. Mr. Bowen presented some of the key findings from the Housing Needs Assessment study which included information about the quality and affordability of the local housing stock, economic trends, employee community patterns, multifamily rental housing trends, the for-sale housing supply and trends, and housing gaps by affordability. After the presentation, Mr. Bowen opened the floor for questions. The committee discussed the increase rate of development, the economic impacts of affordable housing, population trends, and the metrics used to calculate the substandard and overcrowding trends. There was also the request from several committee members for the both Bowen National Research and the University of North Carolina Greensboro to provide specific recommendations to address the affordable housing needs. Housing Work Plan Update, Rachel LaCoe Ms. LaCoe provided a brief overview of the housing work plan updates. Ms. LaCoe assured that the committee is still on track to provide presentations to the governing bodies in early April. After staff vetting in preparation of the release of pubic drafts, committee members should be receiving drafts of both the UNCG study and the Bowen report in mid-February. Announcements None. Adjournment With no further questions or comments, a quorum was established through roll call. Chairperson Spetrino adjourned the meeting at 4:54 PM.