By Chatham Journal staff
Pittsboro, NC – Chatham County commissioners will devote two days to a question that reaches from a renter’s monthly budget to the county’s ability to house its workforce: Which affordable housing efforts should the county pursue next, and how should it pay for them?
At a public retreat scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 28-29, the board will review the county’s 2023 housing plan, examine gaps in services for people facing housing instability and hear proposals for expanding the supply of affordable homes. Presentations on the agenda range from community land trusts and housing tax credits to down payment assistance and possible changes in emergency housing services. The retreat is designed for learning and discussion; the posted agenda does not identify a housing development or funding package for approval.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. each day at the Chatham County Agriculture and Conference Center, 1192 U.S. 64 West Business in Pittsboro. Public comment sessions appear on both days’ agenda. County officials have described the retreat as an opportunity for residents, housing organizations and local partners to join the discussion as commissioners consider future investments.
“Affordable Housing affects every aspect of our community-from our workforce and economy to the quality of life for current and future residents,” board Chair Amanda Robertson said in the county’s announcement of the retreat.
The most consequential outcome may be a clearer set of priorities rather than an immediate vote. By the end of Tuesday, commissioners will have heard about both sides of the county’s housing work: assistance that helps residents remain housed and investments intended to create homes that people with lower or moderate incomes can afford.
A housing problem measured in households
Chatham’s 2023 Affordable Housing Plan provides the backdrop for the retreat. Using data available at the time, the plan estimated that about 7,351 county households, roughly one-quarter of the total, spent more than 30% of their gross income on housing. It also estimated a need for 2,422 affordable rental units for low-income households. Those are figures from the 2023 report, not a fresh count for 2026; Monday’s scheduled review gives commissioners an opportunity to ask how the picture has changed.
The plan found that renters faced particularly acute pressure. It estimated that approximately 47% of renter households had difficulty affording their homes and that more than 80% of extremely low-income households were burdened by housing costs. The report defined a household as cost burdened when it spent more than 30% of gross monthly income on housing.
Those measures describe more than the difficulty of buying a newly built house. They encompass tenants trying to keep up with rent, older homeowners who need repairs to remain safely in place and families whose wages leave little room for a sudden expense. They also point to a choice commissioners face whenever they allocate limited funds: whether a particular dollar will do the most good by preserving an existing home, preventing displacement or helping create another affordable unit.
The 2023 plan said housing construction had not kept pace with demand and identified water and wastewater capacity as constraints on some new projects. It also described how rising home prices had narrowed the choices available to lower-income residents. Its comparison of prices from early 2020 to fall 2023 illustrates how quickly conditions were changing when the plan was written, but those historical prices should not be treated as today’s market figures.
Affordability can differ sharply by location and household. A home with a manageable price may still be costly to live in if the buyer must travel a long distance to work, school, medical care or groceries. The county’s 2023 plan cited an estimate that a typical Chatham household spent a combined 54% of income on housing and transportation. That finding makes the location of any future affordable housing investment part of the discussion, alongside its price.
The plan also cautioned that income categories used in housing programs may not reflect Chatham alone. The county is included in the broader Durham-Chapel Hill area for certain federal income limits. As a result, a proposal described as serving households at a particular percentage of area median income needs a second explanation: what income does that mean for a Chatham household of a given size, and what rent or purchase price would it produce?
Monday: What the county knows and what it can do
The first day’s agenda starts with the reasons local governments intervene in housing. Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, director of housing policy at the North Carolina Housing Coalition, is scheduled to discuss the affordability challenges Chatham residents face and what is known about their causes. She previously worked as a Chatham County policy analyst.
Her presentation is followed by one on the powers available to local governments. Tyler Mulligan, a professor of public law and government at the University of North Carolina School of Government, is scheduled to address legal authority, approaches and opportunities for local housing action. His session matters because an idea that works elsewhere still has to fit North Carolina law, the county’s responsibilities and the terms of any partnership Chatham might enter.
Commissioners will then turn to their own plan. Housing Officer Jamie Andrews is scheduled to review the goals of the 2023 Affordable Housing Strategic Plan and the progress made so far. The plan was developed with Minnesota Housing Partnership and county partners after data collection and a planning retreat. It set out work on development barriers, collaboration, public understanding, services for residents with urgent needs, sustainable funding and staffing.
That review offers a practical test of the retreat’s value. A new proposal may be promising, but commissioners can first ask whether it advances an existing goal, fills a gap the plan identified or requires the county to change direction. They can also ask which earlier tasks have been completed, which have stalled and whether the plan’s measures of success are producing information the public can use.
The 2023 document anticipated that its activities would be carried out over several years and monitored for continued relevance. Its Monday review is therefore more than a look backward. It can help determine whether the county has enough evidence about completed homes, preserved homes and households served to compare its next options fairly.
From preventing a crisis to finding a stable home
The retreat next shifts from development policy to housing services. Housing Director Jason Smith is scheduled to review the services currently available in Chatham, including work done outside county government, and compare them with a more complete range of interventions. The purpose is to identify gaps.
A family behind on rent may need short-term help to avoid losing its home. Someone who has already lost housing may need assistance finding another place to live. A homeowner living with unsafe conditions may need repairs rather than a new unit. Each situation calls for a different response, and a program built for one problem will not necessarily solve another.
The county already points residents toward short-term rental assistance and other help with housing-related costs. Its affordable housing resources also include information for tenants and homeowners, while its Housing Trust Fund supports preservation and new development through community organizations. Monday’s discussion is expected to assess how those efforts connect and where residents still encounter gaps.
Yvonne Paden, Chatham’s emergency housing coordinator, is scheduled to discuss the future of county housing services. Her agenda entry explicitly raises two possible directions: a “shallow subsidy” in fiscal 2028 and a buildup of “rapid rehousing” in fiscal 2029 or 2030. The entry presents them as topics to discuss, with no budget amount or adopted program attached.
In general, a shallow subsidy provides a smaller, potentially ongoing contribution toward a household’s housing cost, while rapid rehousing focuses on helping someone who has lost housing move into a stable place. For commissioners, the useful questions will be local ones: Which residents would qualify? How many households could the county serve? What would each approach cost over time? What other organizations would help deliver it? Those details are not settled by their appearance on the agenda.
The Chatham County Housing Authority will also have a place in Monday’s discussion. Director Lee Staton is scheduled to describe the authority’s activities and opportunities for greater collaboration with the county. The presentation could help commissioners see where the two organizations’ work meets and where a partnership might expand the reach of existing resources. The posted entry calls for a presentation, not an agreement for approval.
Tuesday: Turning recommendations into housing options
The second day moves toward potential investments in housing supply. Tiffany Stuflick, chair of the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, is scheduled to present recommendations on policy and investment. The committee’s presentation and a policy resolution are listed as attachments to the agenda item.
The advisory committee’s role gives that session weight. Chatham says the committee makes recommendations to commissioners on affordable housing policies and procedures and participates in work connected to the county’s Housing Trust Fund. Its recommendations can inform board decisions, but a recommendation is distinct from the board adopting a policy or committing money.
Commissioners are also scheduled to hear reflections and recommendations from Our State, Our Homes, a University of North Carolina initiative in which Chatham has participated. The county describes the program as an effort to identify local needs and develop housing policies with attention to equity and opportunity. Its local team has included representatives from county government, Pittsboro, Siler City, development and nonprofit organizations. The retreat agenda does not specify which of the initiative’s recommendations commissioners might pursue.
Together, those two sessions bring local advice into a program that also features specialists from elsewhere in North Carolina. They raise a basic question for any eventual county strategy: Who should benefit first? A program can target deeply affordable rentals, moderate-income homeownership, urgent housing instability or several needs at once. Its eligibility rules, location and financing will determine whom it actually reaches.
The county’s Housing Trust Fund supplies an existing starting point for that debate. Chatham says it has dedicated about $2.6 million through the fund to affordable housing preservation and development since 2018, including support for new housing and home repairs. For the 2026-27 application cycle, the county lists $325,000 available in grants to qualified organizations seeking to develop or preserve affordable housing. Applications are being handled through a separate process, with final proposals due Oct. 21.
The retreat could lead commissioners to consider whether existing funding and partnerships are enough for their goals. No new Housing Trust Fund appropriation or change to its application cycle is established by the retreat agenda.
Four approaches to increasing supply and access
Tuesday’s presentations then examine several routes by which Chatham could help residents find or afford homes.
Kimberly Sanchez, executive director of Community Home Trust, is scheduled to discuss community land trust partnerships. This is one of several presentations on possible investments in affordable housing supply. A presentation and white paper on land trust expansion are listed with the item.
A land trust approach generally involves an organization retaining an interest in land so that homes can be offered at a lower initial price and kept affordable for later buyers under agreed rules. For Chatham, the policy questions would include where land might come from, which organization would hold and manage it, who would qualify to buy, and how a homeowner could build equity while keeping the home within reach for the next household. The agenda proposes a discussion of partnerships; it does not say the county has selected a site or agreed to establish a trust.
Kerry Bashaw, executive director of Brick Capital Community Development Corporation, is scheduled to present on financing new housing through scattered-site development. The attached presentation is titled “Scattered Site Redevelopment and Homeownership Support.” Rather than centering the discussion on one large development, the approach invites examination of opportunities across separate properties.
Its potential appeal would depend on the details: the price and suitability of available land, construction costs, infrastructure, who would build and maintain the homes, and the final cost to residents. Commissioners can also ask how many homes such an effort could produce and how long it would take. The agenda supplies the subject of the presentation, but no proposed Chatham site list or financing commitment.
A third session concerns new housing through tax-credit development. Sarah Odio, associate director of the Development Finance Initiative, is scheduled to discuss preparations for that form of financing. Tax credits are often part of the complex funding needed to create income-restricted rental housing. For the county, the important questions will be what a prospective project would require locally, how competitive the financing would be, and what affordability commitments would result.
Chatham has experience with income-restricted apartments supported by the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, according to an earlier county agenda item concerning Siler School Square and the Retreat at Pittsboro. Tuesday’s presentation is an opportunity to consider future development; it should not be read as an announcement that a new tax-credit project has been awarded financing.
Finally, Maria Anderson, director of DHIC’s Homeownership Center, is scheduled to discuss down payment support models. Help with the upfront cost of buying a home can address one barrier for a household that can manage regular payments but has not accumulated enough savings. It does not, by itself, make every home affordable. Eligibility, the amount of assistance, the resulting monthly payment and any repayment or resale conditions would all matter in a Chatham program. The posted agenda does not propose a specific amount of county assistance.
These approaches are not interchangeable. A land trust could preserve affordability across successive owners. Scattered-site development could create homes on multiple parcels. Tax-credit financing could support income-restricted rental construction. Down payment assistance could help eligible buyers enter ownership. Commissioners will have to judge each against the need it addresses, the number of households it could reach and the county resources it would require.
What residents can watch for
The retreat’s agenda contains public comment sessions on both days. Each is limited to no more than 30 minutes; speakers are limited to three minutes and are asked to sign up in advance. Written comments are also welcome.
For residents and business owners following the meeting, one question runs through the presentations: How will the county measure the results? The 2023 plan set out a need for more affordable homes and stronger coordination. A useful next step would identify the households a proposed program would serve, the homes it would create or preserve, its full cost and the time required to deliver it. That is a measure for assessing future proposals, not a decision already recorded on this agenda.
The retreat closes with public comment, reflections led by County Manager Bryan Thompson and a discussion of next steps. Those entries leave room for commissioners to identify priorities or request more work from staff.
Chatham has already documented a substantial shortage of affordable rentals, invested in preservation and development, and assembled partners with different ideas about what to do next. The two-day meeting will test which of those ideas commissioners want to develop into specific proposals-and whether they can connect each proposal to a clear need, a workable source of funding and a result residents can see.
Residents seeking to follow the discussion can consult the published retreat agenda and attachments and the county meeting notice for attendance and viewing information.