One of the topics that we’ve heard a lot about recently is affordable housing. The towns and the county have discussed it a great deal and the media has given it a lot of coverage.
If you ask people exactly what is affordable housing and how it works you’re likely to get a lot of different answers. It would sure be great if we could bring some clarity to this topic. Especially, given the time and importance it has. I’ve always felt that the label of affordable housing isn’t very useful. Talk to any realtor and they will tell you that every since house in our community is affordable to someone. So, why do we talk about affordable housing as if its code phrase?
In the Town of Chapel Hill documents, they say affordable housing refers to that housing that is affordable by a section of society whose income is below the median household income. Housing is considered affordable if a household pays no more than 30 percent of its income for housing costs. Very low income residents qualify if they earn less than 80 percent of our area median income.
Area median income in Chapel Hill for a family of four is $67,400.
So, we’re talking about hard working people who simply don’t earn enough to live in our community without help. Many are the backbone of our public and private workforce. They’re the people who make this the place we love.
So, why don’t we talk about housing for all of our workforce? Do you have a better alternative to the affordable housing label? If so, how about sharing it.
— Fred Black
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