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Blowing Rock council directs staff to study workforce-housing incentives after overview of options
Summary
Town staff outlined workforce-housing definitions, local income and housing-price benchmarks and policy tools; council asked planning staff and the planning board to study overlay-district incentives and return with concrete recommendations.
Blowing Rock — At its April 8 meeting, the Blowing Rock Town Council heard an extended staff briefing on workforce housing and directed planning staff and the planning board to study incentive-based overlay districts and other tools to encourage housing affordable to middle-income workers.
Staff member Shane Fox told the council that workforce housing targets households earning roughly 60%–120% of area median income (AMI), and that Watauga County’s most recent AMI figure used in the presentation was $51,000. Fox said the goal is to make housing affordable for employees such as teachers, first responders, health-care and hospitality workers so they can live in the community where they work.
Kevin (planning staff) reviewed policy options used in other North Carolina towns: voluntary overlay districts that…
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