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Residents and developer warn proposed CRO/UDO rules could make affordable housing harder to build
Summary
At a public panel on the UDO, affordable‑housing advocates and local owners said proposed resilience rules and impervious‑surface limits could raise costs or reduce sites for workforce housing; the town said housing measures will be addressed in a later module and invited developers into that process.
Affordable‑housing developers and residents told Beaufort’s UDO panel that draft resilience rules could unintentionally worsen housing affordability unless the town designs specific incentives and transition rules.
Keith Walker, executive director of the East Carolina Community Development Corporation, told the panel that the draft ordinances will have a “direct line impact on affordable housing” and asked that housing developers and real‑estate professionals be included in the module‑two conversation on affordability and incentives. "We are competing against a hot market," Walker said, noting the high costs of soft funding and the thin margins for projects that serve households at 30–60% of area median income.
Residents echoed the concern. Joyce McHune, who owns commercial property downtown and several duplexes, warned that making rebuilds more expensive in historic or small‑lot neighborhoods could reduce rental housing stock and push workers out of town. Doug Brady and others urged the town to inventory parcels that would be affected and to notify owners directly so they understand potential consequences.
Town staff and consultants acknowledged the tradeoffs and said housing policy will be addressed in module two (density bonuses, accessory dwelling units, parking reductions and other incentives were cited as options). Kelly Knuzzner and other consultants said they planned to present examples and scenario visualizations to help owners understand how the rules would apply in practice. Staff also urged one‑on‑one consultations to test parcel‑level impacts and refine grandfathering rules.
What’s next: staff signaled the resilience module (module one) will be prioritized in the near term but said they plan to move into housing and zoning topics soon; they invited developers and property owners to participate in module two to co‑design incentives that preserve affordability while advancing resilience goals.
