Chapel Hill voters approved a $10 million bond for affordable housing on Tuesday night.
The bond ran into little opposition after the Chapel Hill Town Council voted to place it on this fall’s ballot.
Affordable housing advocates said leading up to the election that the funds would provide 400 new affordable units and repairs for more than 300 current units.
Susan Levy is the executive director of Orange County Habitat for Humanity and is a member of the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition. She said in an interview before Tuesday’s elections that the funds were desperately needed for projects across Chapel Hill.
“We’re not going to completely solve the affordable housing problem in Orange County or in Chapel Hill with $10 million,” Levy said in October. “It would be great if we could. But we’re going to significantly have an impact on it and without those funds we’re just really backpedaling.”
Levy added that the town relies on those who are often in need of affordable housing.
“Not having affordable housing does have a negative impact on our local businesses, on our neighborhoods, on our healthcare system, on our schools,” she said. “So, it’s not just a problem for people who don’t have affordable housing; it’s really a broader issue that impacts all of us.”
The approval of the bond on Tuesday night will allow the town to solicit projects from affordable housing organizations. The Town Council will ultimately decide on allocating any funding from the bond.
During the 2016 election, Orange County had a $5 million affordable housing bond be approved by voters. Portions of that funding have already been designated for projects across the county.
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