MANTEO, N.C. — News 3 is following through on the issue of housing on the Outer Banks. Last week, Dare County Commissioners voted to return $35 million in funding for affordable housing projects in response to community opposition to the developer.
Tuesday, the county’s housing task force got back to work to find solutions.
“It’s very difficult for everybody, whether you own a restaurant, a hotel or whatever,” said Briggs McEwan, a member of the task force.
Outer Banks
Housing frustrations in Dare Co. boil over at contentious commissioners meeting
McEwan owns two businesses, including a restaurant, on Hatteras Island. He told News 3 that finding housing for employees can be tough and that has an impact on hiring.
“With the cost of everything doubling, tripling, quadrupling, young families can’t move there, people that are moving there,” he said. “A lot of people that are moving there have steady income, whether that’s working remotely, which is pretty popular, so there’s no young people to hire.”
He’s hoping the task force, made up of county and town officials, business leaders and other community members can find some consensus.
“Each town will have to come up with a different solution,” Manteo Mayor Sherry Wickstrom said. “We all have different land-forms, we all have different ordinances. It will be a multi-pronged approach, I believe. And that I think will be more successful.”
Watch previous coverage: Housing frustrations in Dare County boil over at contentious commissioners meeting
There were some tense moments in Tuesday’s meeting in the aftermath of the funding vote last week. Some members suggested holding on to the funding, in case new legislation can be passed to loosen the restrictions. But as of now, county leaders said that’s not an option.
“We can only spend it … under the rules that are set forth in the statute that gave us the money,” said Bobby Outen, Dare County Manager. “So we have to meet all those criteria in order to spend it, and right now we can’t meet those criteria.
The task force voted to ask state legislators to change the law in the upcoming General Assembly short session, but that could be a tough task.
Outer Banks
Special meeting of Dare County Commissioners to address housing issues
In the meantime, McEwan is confident the task force can come up with ideas.
“I’m hoping that we can get housing and possibly smaller apartment complexes,” McEwan said. "Because right now, it’s about a thousand dollars a bedroom to rent a house."
As for the task force itself, Outen said he wants it to be more community-led from the bottom up rather than the top down to bring in more ideas. Members will discuss the proposed new make-up at their next meeting on May 21.
