Agenda 04-21-2026; 8-a - Minutes for March 19, 2026, March 21, 2026, and March 23, 2026

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39 1 Commissioner Carter asked Ian Scott about the Chamber's initiative on workforce housing 2 and opportunities for public private partnerships to address that need. 3 Ian Scott said the Chamber launched a strategic campaign two years ago with three top 4 initiatives based on member priorities: housing supply diversity meeting price points across the 5 income spectrum, workforce development connecting young people to local career pathways, 6 and expanding underrepresented business ownership to address persistent income gaps by race 7 in Orange County. He said the Chamber has been working primarily with Chapel Hill, which has 8 set and met numeric goals for housing units. He noted confidence in recommending policy 9 changes when diverse development community stakeholders agree on barriers and solutions. He 10 emphasized both for-profit and non-profit developers face the same constraints: land cost, labor 11 cost, construction materials cost, and legal costs. He sees partnership between sectors spanning 12 the housing need continuum, though they're still falling short despite progress. 13 Delores Bailey said EMPOWERment has program for assisting minority business owners 14 with sustainability. She said housing challenges got worse after the pandemic. She said the local 15 government housing staff are doing what they can with the resources they have. She said they 16 are opening Peach apartments in April which are directed to those who earn 30%AMI. 17 Commissioner Greene asked Ian Scott to share any success stories regarding the position 18 the county helped fund for minority economic work 19 Ian Scott said he did not have that information today, but it could be provided. He said 20 the three initiatives established by the Chamber are interconnected, but housing is number one. 21 He said Chapel Hill has set and met numerical goals for total housing unites and affordable 22 housing units. He said most of the barriers are just math: land cost, labor cost, and the cost of 23 construction materials. He said the not-for-profit builder faces the same constraints as private 24 developers. He said there's been significant progress in Chapel Hill and Carrboro intends to make 25 strides in affordable housing as well. 26 Chair Hamilton said that the county faces water and sewer issues that are different from 27 municipalities. She said they have challenges in knowing what we can and cannot do to make 28 sure the county is protecting the environment and the headwaters which tend to be in the 29 unincorporated parts of the county. She said because the county works in partnership with the 30 with the municipalities, they will have to lean on the towns to provide more of that denser 31 housing. She said the high cost of building is one of the drivers that the Board cannot control, as 32 well as the demand for housing from people moving from out of the county. 33 Vice-Chair Fowler said regarding changing the comprehensive land use plan, during the 34 discussion of barriers, she heard about decreased lot sizes and parking minimums. She asked 35 what things the county could do in the land use plan to improve access to affordable housing. 36 Kimberly Sanchez said the county could figure out where higher density is appropriate 37 and connecting it to transportation. She said allowing various housing types including multifamily 38 apartments would also help, and providing opportunities for naturally occurring affordable 39 housing acquisition and rehabilitation.She said quick capital access would help nonprofits acquire 40 aging inventory before investors. 41 Ansel Pritchard agreed about preserving naturally occurring affordable housing and 42 emphasized support for critical repairs on non-Habitat homes for seniors who are looking to age 43 in place. He said that Habitat liked the idea of a conservation subdivision. He said access to 44 capital for infrastructure and utilities would help as they build large developments.