Equitable Growth

Cary needs more middle-income and affordable housing.

The current median household income in Cary is around $140,000.

In August, the median sale price for a home was around $600,000.

This economic disparity is unsustainable if we want school teachers, first responders, and service workers-the mainstays of our community-to afford to live here.

Things that could be done immediately with a more progressive majority on Cary’s Town Council:

Reserve a bigger fraction of new developments for affordable units. 

We need to increase the percentage of affordable units in new apartment buildings that we request. Right now we encourage only 5% of new developments to be reserved for affordable housing. Current council members have proposed raising this as high as 20%, but that viewpoint is a minority on the council.

Use Cary-specific numbers to determine eligibility for assistance. 

Cary also has both a higher median household income and more expensive housing costs than much of Wake County but we use the same formulas for determining who is eligible for housing assistance. We could keep far more people in their homes if we raised the income limits for this kind of assistance so that they are more commensurate with Cary’s incomes and home prices. 

Build more town-sponsored housing. 

Cary is completing its first town sponsored affordable housing development, but we can and should be planning far more of them. Only 1% of our town budget is currently being used in these types of programs.

Policies for the future:

Build more housing of varying density. 

I am in favor of allowing ADUs (which are currently being discussed by the council) and missing middle forms of housing. Yet, in many Cary neighborhoods rezoning isn’t enough because HOAs have strong regulations on multi-family dwellings and ADUs. This means that efforts involving redevelopment and infill development will have to work closely with a multitude of voices to succeed.

Build connected neighborhoods. 

To create support for more mixed density, we must try to make it coherent and connected. Most Cary residents want mixed-use, high-density developments to be near shopping and transit. Most of our residents also want sidewalks and greenways that connect single family neighborhoods to these central developments.

Build to local need. 

We lose community support when residents see large changes being made without benefits for locals or infrastructure to support the change.

Guiding principles for housing:

Work here, live here. 

Cary currently has no plan for workforce housing that focuses on people who are essential workers in midrange jobs. While we are starting, far too slowly, to build a rubric for housing assistance for our residents who are considered low income, there is no plan for many of our citizens who are working hard at middle class jobs that our community desperately needs. This is a new focus in many municipalities struggling with affordability issues and I am very interested in programs that are tackling this issue.

Transit frees land reserved for parking. 

Affordable housing initiatives have to go hand in hand with other efforts and these issues can sometimes be intertwined in complicated ways. Parking requirements directly impact the price per square foot of new building, especially apartments and condominiums. Yet, District D in Cary has almost no transit options, so relaxing parking requirements can end up putting more stress on the people we want to be helping. 

Consider equity. 

There are established equity issues in the way environmental and beautification efforts are usually prioritized in towns. Robust building codes can protect those with the fewest resources from environmental impacts like pollution, heat islands, and flooding, but can also make housing more expensive. Amenities that help connect the community—like greenways, sidewalks, protected bike lanes, abundant trees, parks, and community centers—are prevalent in affluent areas. An unequal distribution of infrastructure isolates affordable housing developments and makes it harder to integrate multiple levels of price and density in a single community.

Homelessness is a housing problem. 

Housing issues directly impact crime in our communities. Our Cary Police Department is doing wonderful work on this by starting an area-wide task force, but crime is a symptom of the deeper problem. Addressing homelessness as a housing problem is the best long-term solution.