Today's story about Charlotte's affordable housing shortage quotes developer John Crosland saying: "It's high time we try to do something about the people who are really struggling to find an affordable place."
Crosland has published his findings about the housing situation in a white paper circulating among city leaders.
His proposed solution: reduce the cost of development, which would cut housing prices. That would require easing land-use regulations, among other steps, he argues.
Other ideas include free or low-cost government land for affordable housing and larger housing bonds.
"I have seen the system that we have in place and understand that thousands are trapped ...Instead of leaving these families to fail, we must extend them a hand," the study says. "I do not want to see Charlotte become a place where the rich get richer while the poor get poorer."
Click here to read the conclusion of Crosland's white paper.
Among the study's findings: Charlotte lost 1,125 units for the poorest families from 2001 to 2007. At least 3,201 affordable units were demolished, while only 2,076 new affordable units were built to take their place.
Monday, May 4, 2009
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25 comments:
If anyone knows what needs to be done in this town, it's Crosland!!!
Gosh, if a developer helps solve the problem, who will Jennifer Roberts have as a scapegoat?
For as much "free" land the government may hand out, maybe these builders can build homes for free, and then the utility companies can provide their services for free, and then these properties can be tax free, and we can get some free cars from Chrysler, and some free food from Harris Teeter...
And if not for free then all should reduce their profit margins equally...while lowering prices....uh yeah..
funny thing is once you degrade your tax base....(the smaller percentage of folks who pay the higher percentage of taxes), the well will dry up and the all you have left to subsidize the masses is China, and the like...who probably will start calling in their markers sooner than not.....
Remove incentive from the people, and well you know what happens.....Break the cycle of entitlement and things will change.
I've been on both sides of the coin in my life, and would rather be at the bottom of the barrel knowing I had some place to go, up, than near the bottom of the barrel having things handed to me just because I breath oxygen.
No one ever handed me anything, or gave me a break ...trust me it is not that hard to decide to make use of your own boot straps....but I do not want to penalized for those that will not.
The current economy is certainly awkward, and many people may fail, including myself..but it won’t be permanent, unless we make it so with hand outs.
Crosland is only known for cutting corners and cheating the government and taxpayers. I saw what they did to Morrisville, and they are doing it here too in similar fashion.
Someone's got too much free time on their hands.
Give me a break...Charlotte couldn't have any less regulation than it already has. This is just another way to pass on the cost of crummy development to the taxpayers. We don't even have impact fee requirements like most other communities do....no wonder the roads are terrible and congestion is getting worse.
Vincent, you said 'nobody ever gave you a break.' Maybe not that you know of, but did you know that if you are white, and atractive (not overly obese and have all your clean white teeth), you got a break? There is an entire culture out there who, through no fault of yours necessarily, are STILL trying to hold back many of our minorities for a lot reasons?
I am white and most of my friends are now and have been black as far back as 1960, (long story) and I have seen it with my own eyes for a very long time. We are still a good two generations away, if not three, from really leveling the playing field.
You write like you have a decent education. Did you know that many, way too many, kids today still have almost no chance to make it out of the "h3llhole" they were born into? Even if you are white, and born by a mother who was NOT doing crack while pregnant with you, and you at least got to go to public school with some sleep the night before, you are miles ahead of still "thousands", not hundreds, but many thousands of kids in the good ol' USA.
At least think about what I have said for more than 30 seconds before you reply. Do people abuse our systems? ALL people abuse, not just poor minorities, think MCI-Worldcom, Bernie Madoff, John Edwards (his wife), Jim Black, need I go on?? ALL rich white people who still didn't get "enough" apparently. Jesus said the poor "WILL ALWAYS" be with us. Why...? 'Cause this life here ain't Heaven...yet. Blacks were put down for 400 years here, so it's simply not going be 'fixed' in 40.
Charlotte has some of the most lax development regulations in the state. Even our traffic lights are strung up like we're still a tiny country town (I know some would have it that way.)Stop blaming the lack of affordable housing on Charlotte's "onerous" (rolleyes) building regulations.
I have a dream... to make my development cost lower.
anon 3:53
take another look at the president and try again?
I see all able bodied, able minded people as individuals presented with the gift of equality of opportunity not lumped into what ever kind of group you are talking about.
But seriously what on earth does race, or being a minority have to do with anything, unless you make it that way? Is that Freudian slippage ?
I'm talking about the getto. Where shots are fired every day. Where dope addicts have kids and don't even know who the father is, let alone know how to find him. Why do they have unprotected sex at 14,15,16? Many reasons. Too many to address here. Safe to say that you caught some breaks and if you say you didn't you are only fooling yourself. Had you not said nobody gave you a break, I would have not said a word, but you said it, and you know it is a lie. You got one break by being here in the U.S. One third of the worlds popluation will never live past 20. Where can some of those kids catch a "break?" Talk to a couple of Missionaries as I have many through my work, and you will see what I mean. Many rotate in and out of here (Charlotte), so you can find one to talk to if you look (local churches), and they will always be happy to tell you what they see in other parts of the world.
I had to laugh at the comments of Mr. Crosland....affordable housing in Charlotte...makes me LOL
I live in a Crosland apartment and am paying through the nose.
good luck with that digression anonymous person
Here's a challenge to you Vincent, go over this fall and volunteer to work at Samarian's Purse's - 'Operation Christmas Child' over on Nations Ford Road for just one day. Just one four hour shift, that's not too much for you, and I promise you will leave there knowing that you have gotten more than one break in your life. And...It will change your life, I promise!
Let me tell you how Crosland does affordable housing in Charlotte. I bought a house in a Crosland developed neighborhood (Brookmere)in the summer of 2001 for $163,000, yeah back when things were good. Everything started out fine and my wife and I enjoyed our new home until all of a sudden our builder (Ryan Homes) wasn't selling enough houses and Crosland kicked them out and brought in a new and cheaper builder (Cypress Homes & Beazer) to finish out the development. These homes were at least $40K less than what we and others had paid for our homes and because they were cheaper most of these new houses were occupied by renters and Section 8 scum. Oh, City Council what did you think happened to all those pieces of trash you delivered from places like Double Oaks and the Belmont/Seigle neighborhoods so that we white people can feel good about ourselves and not feel like we are keeping people in the ghetto. Problem is most belong in the ghetto because they can't ever get out of the mindset or the behavior that they have learned there.
Affordable housing in Charlotte is useless because all it does is take someones home that they pay a mortgage of 1,200 per month and move someone in next door who can pay 20 per month. And by the way don't give them a single family house to live in because if they can't afford housing then they can't afford a lawn mower, seed, or other items that it takes to make your Crosland/Ryan Homes Crap house look decent. Both of these companies should be run out of business for the practices they have pulled off in this city, but what do you expect since the Mayor, City and County government care more about the developers than anything else. Hey Crosland we don't want anymore of your cut all the trees down cookie cutter crap anymore so take your honorary degree from UNCC and shove it!
Oh well at least I got out in 2005 for a great price of 128,500. Yep 35K loss plus all that I put into it and I haven't missed any of it just so that I don't have to live next to Pinky and Smokey.
We were very careful to pick a neighborhood two years ago.
I'm so glad we didn't buy anywhere near some of these crappy builders that were around at the time.
During the boom times, it seemed that too many of what I considered "trashy" people were buying houses.
Now we realize what was happening.
THEY WERE TRASH...
I'm so glad we decided to buy into the lower end of a $300K+ development in SC.
We may lose money if we sell soon, but at least our neighborhood has held up well during the downturn.
If this Crosland guy is part of that Beazer problem and the whole scam of putting any kind of scum into a house, I don't see why he would be trusted now.
Anonymous, Why would you need to sell soon? Can't you afford your 300k+ home? This downturn has affected everyone. A lot of GOOD people that bought 100k houses are in jeopardy of losing their homes now. They were just like you, they were comfortable with their jobs, and trusted their bankers.
The fact that you can't afford a 300k+ house doesn't make you "trashy".
Maybe some of your neighbors who bought on the upper end of your "300k+ development" think you are "trashy" and "scum"... thought about that? Based on your comments here, that wouldn't surprise me at all.
who in their right mind would take Crosland at his word. He doesnt care squat about the moderate to low income families.
He is smelling government moola, and he needs it because his arse is caught in the collapse.
We should let supply and demand work. If all some people can afford is an 8' x 8' room with a shared kitchen and toilet in the hall, somebody will build it. They'd have heat in the winter and a pot to piss in.
Wonder what the (probable) apfo, and impact fee ramifications might possibly be on a development of 8x8's?....and where ?....hmnmn
Mary, my Mary looking over my shoulder here clicked your link.
First time in 14 years she has ever been rendered speechless!
All around the country you can see examples of what a lack of development regulations gets you. It gets you far-flung, unconnected suburbs that have much higher costs to cities than they ever provide in tax revenues. Relaxing development standards is a great deal for Crosland because he builds and leaves. It's not such a great deal for the people and the cities stuck with the money-pit areas that require ongoing city services (water, sewer, fire protection, roads, etc) but produce little tax revenues.
I am TRULY surprised! A developer attempting to cut costs through REDUCED REGULATION!!!! I mean that worked so WELL on Wall Street and the banking sector, lets do it some more. Developers are ONLY interestedin one thing-LINING THEIR POCKETS!
8'x8' developments - not a bad idea. But even better, how about mobile homes (GASP)? Too bad Charlotte's zoning regulations only allow this in very few locations.
But even then the developer has to deal with the many laws dealing with stormwater, provide roads, sewer, water. All of which is getting more and more expensive everyday because of red tape and new regulations. ..Not to mention the cost of raw land in Charlotte. Maybe that's what Crosland is talking about. Crosland is in this to make money - true, but affordable housing for many is a thing of the past in Charlotte and it's not the developer's fault.
But who cares, Charlotte doesn't need any new housing developments anyway..
Wow, just when I had started to think Charlotte was affordable and heavenly.For all the comments before mine I have to tell you, its all a matter of perspective, "One man's floor is another man's ceiling". Its disturbing to see that the poor still have to take the "credit" for miscreants, nick-name toting idiots and ignorants. Truth be told, you can find these characteristics in all socio-economic groups, they just hide easier where money is in abundance. My final word is this: You can tell the soul of a people in its treatment of the underpriveledged. What kind of soul do you have?
Wow that was some rain today that resulted in some seriouis flooding...so should we reduce the stormwater run-off regulations as Mr. Crosland has suggested? Unfortunately building a city is more complicated than just wishing problems away...if new development doesn't pay for the roads, stormwater retentioin, schools and parks that they require than that cost just gets passed on to the existing taxpayers. Reducing regulations just passes the cost on to taxpayers because then the City has to step in and fix the problems after the fact which is more costly for everyone. In my opinion, Mr. Crosland's "affordable housing" arguement is really a trojan horse. I am not buying what he is selling.
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