By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
CARRBORO — In 2008, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen said it was willing to waive affordable-housing requirements for a proposed project that would build 39 small, green homes on property now occupied by Pine Grove Mobile Home Park.
The property has a unique zoning designation as the result of a settlement in a 1970 lawsuit between the town and the former owner of the parcel.
Town officials have acknowledged that Veridia developer Trip Overholt could have simply replaced the 39 mobile homes with stick-built homes as long as those houses came in under the court ruling’s 1,350-square-foot threshold.
But Veridia’s plans, including a photovoltaic array and a network of underground cisterns, required a conditional-use permit from the town, and in December 2008 the board agreed with Overholt’s request that the development not be required to set aside 15 percent of the units for affordable housing, the usual town policy.
At the time, board members cited the relatively low cost, $289,000, as compared to typical prices for new homes in Carrboro, as well as the potential for adding to the town’s stock of green housing.
That deal appears to be up in the air now that revisions to Veridia’s plans for adding an access road, increasing the sizes of some houses to 1600 square feet and raising the projected price have triggered further review of the project by the town.
At its meeting Tuesday night at Town Hall, board members said they are not so willing to waive the affordable-housing rule given the change in plans.
“What is there now is some of the nicest affordable housing in the community,†board member Jacquie Gist said. She said she would not be comfortable removing that stock of housing and not replacing it with something. “Three hundred thousand and up is not affordable housing.â€
Board member Dan Coleman also expressed concern with the new proposal because it would likely raise the cost of the housing to a level not contemplated during the affordable-housing deal struck with the town in 2008.
Overholt said the changes are necessary because of new economic realties. He said he has concerns whether the project can be built given the difficulties in getting financing for the old plan and selling buyers on smaller homes.
“The economy has imploded since we started,†he said. He later added that the fixed costs of building in Carrboro also necessitated the higher prices.
“A doghouse would cost you $120,000 in Carrboro,†he said.
Board member Sammy Slade said one of the difficulties with greener construction and design are the greater up-front costs, which means fewer low-income buyers can afford them, even though they might save money down the road.
He said the project was another local example of the unfortunate clash between social-justice efforts to increase the stock of affordable housing and the push for greener construction.
In other action Tuesday night, the board extended for another three years its authority to issue bonds for construction of sidewalks and greenways. The seven-year authorization for the bonds, approved by voters in 2003, expires in November. The move allows the town more time to consider the order of projects and their financing.
A bond-financing proposal is expected to be presented to the board at its Oct. 5 meeting.