Notice how this new "2020 Vision Plan" drafted by the Charlotte Center City Partners doesn't include Southwest Charlotte, East Charlotte, Northeast Charlotte, West Charlotte and Northwest Charlotte.
Those areas listed above are Charlotte's Forgotten, badly Neglected Corridors, where a large percentage of Charlotte's Middle Class and Low Income citizens reside.
Harvey Gantt (Charlotte's first Black Mayor) has long expressed and shown an disdain towards Middle and Lower Income citizens. Especially Minority citizens on those Socio-economic levels.
("Let's face it, the reality is the poorest of the poor are not the most outstanding political constituency to appeal to,” said architect Harvey Gantt, who was mayor 1983-1987. “So there have to be people who care about that problem at some political risk." Harvey Gantt...May 2009 (Charlotte Observer)
I've also heard that Warren Turner is in on this little scheme too.
How do I know this to be true?
City Councilman Warren Turner doesn't DO ANYTHING for Southwest Charlotte (Nations Ford Road, Arrowood Road). No Political Representation, No Economic Development, No Nothing!
Those streets are also included in his District but he intentionally doesn't do anything to represent the people who reside in those areas. Not even Homeowners!
Its a shame neither Gantt nor Turner remembers where God has bought them from.
Now do most of you who read my blog understand why I rarely support Charlotte's Black Leaders??
Please don't get me wrong on this one.
I'm all for supporting Black Leaders, however Charlotte's Black Leaders seem to be from a different breed of Leaders.
The only time Charlotte's Black Leaders even allow themselves to mingle with Middle and Low Income Black citizens is when they are running for Re-Election to Public Office. That's It!
Most of them are Extremely Corrupt, Unusually Self-Centered and Notorious for stepping on other Black citizens. Especially Middle and Low Income Black citizens.
It must be something in the water.
I'll continue to support Black Leaders, just not Charlotte's Black Leaders.
In essence what people like Harvey Gantt and Warren Turner are doing is basically punishing "certain" Charlotte Constituents, especially Minority Citizens just because they aren't Wealthy or don't possess a bunch of College Degrees.
Many of those citizens are hardworking individuals.
Yet such Constituents are the ones whom Charlotte Gov't Leaders frequently vote to jack up their Property Taxes, increase Water Bill rates, provide Poor Public Safety and poor Performing Public Schools.
The article below further proves Charlotte Leaders are intentionally planning to continue ignoring Charlotte's forgotten Corridors.
However I along with other concerned citizens are contacting the Federal Gov't on this issue.
Why?
Charlotte Leaders have a long history of submitting proposals to the Federal Gov't under the guise of obtaining Funds for the purpose of Revitalizing Charlotte's Economically Distressed communities.
Then after receiving those funds, they spend the money Uptown or in Charlotte's Wealthy South Charlotte communities. (Not Southwest; South Charlotte)
Intentionally ignoring these areas: Southwest Charlotte (including Nations Ford & Arrowood Roads), East Charlotte, Northeast Charlotte, West Charlotte and Northwest Charlotte for the 2010 Census Count (also part of their corrupt plan) and Neighborhood Revitalization is a Civil Rights Violation.
Perhaps Charlotte's Black Leaders think that its impossible to prove Discrimination if the perpetrator is a Minority too. Wrong!
If Charlotte Leaders choose to continue ignoring Southwest Charlotte, East Charlotte, Northeast Charlotte, West Charlotte and Northwest Charlotte, fine but they won't use Federal Dollars to carry out their little devious, divisive plan.
How will Center City look in 2020?
Several hundred Charlotteans gathered Wednesday evening at a community workshop to propose their visions for what central Charlotte should look like in the year 2020.
The questions they raised included whether Charlotte can attract more retailers to the city's center, build up public transit and connect uptown to surrounding neighborhoods, and still maintain its quality of life and low cost of living.
The Center City 2020 Vision Plan is an attempt to lay out development in uptown and 16 nearby neighborhoods, including Dilworth, Optimist Park and Wesley Heights.
Charlotte Center City Partners, the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are putting up a total of $750,000 to finance the project.
A California firm, MIG Inc., has been hired to help with the design. MIG has worked on downtown plans for cities including Los Angeles, Dallas and Denver.
Charlotte Observer Publisher Ann Caulkins and former Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt chair the steering committee.
At Wednesday's forum in the Charlotte Convention Center, attendees put sticky notes on "vision stations" completing statements such as, "Dear Charlotte, My most memorable experience in Center City was...."
A trio of caricature artists also drew people in front of their favorite Charlotte spots before attendees took turns sharing their visions.
Most agreed the city needs to draw more street-level retail and mixed-use projects to uptown, as well as create more public transportation options, such as a streetcar and more light rail.
Some people also said Charlotte needs more pedestrians.
"I live here because I can walk to work, but there are so few people walking," said Kristin Hodge, who moved to Charlotte from Arlington, Va., four months ago to work for Bank of America. "That's a social connection I'm missing here."
Little discussed was the economic climate, which has created lingering questions about Charlotte's future as a banking center and about commercial and residential projects that have been delayed or scrapped.
Some people also expressed amazement at how much the city has already grown.
Said Linda Drum, who moved to Charlotte from Toronto 15 years ago: "When I first moved here, you could shoot a cannon down Trade Street and not hit anyone."
City's effort falls short for Poorest
Seven years ago, Charlotte launched what would become its largest housing program, asking voters to pay the first $20 million of a now unprecedented $67 million in bonds for affordable housing.
It was a new strategy. The city would expand its stock of housing for low- and moderate-income families by offering developers grants and loans to include affordable homes and apartments in their projects.
Up sprang Tyvola Crossing, Mayfield Terrace and other mixed-income developments. In the seven years since the first bonds passed, the city says, its Housing Trust Fund has financed the construction or rehabilitation of 3,639 homes.
But 45 percent of those units are not aimed at the poorest families despite a severe shortage of housing. Instead, the money went to moderate-income housing, where a surplus now exists.
Despite some successes, most of the new homes are out of reach for the city's neediest: families making less than $20,000 a year. They often spend too much of their income on housing. Some end up homeless.
That's inexcusable for Charlotte, said developer John Crosland.
“We have funded a lot of good things, major things: the basketball arena, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the football stadium, the museums,” said Crosland, who was founding chair of Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte. “They're wonderful things. But it's high time we try to do something about the people who are really struggling to find an affordable place.”
From the start of the bonds in 2002, the council agreed to give preference to projects serving the very poor. Over half the units aided by the Housing Trust Fund were designed to serve that population, the city says, including new and rehabbed housing. But of the new housing, only one in three units are affordable to the very poor.
“We have not come up with any sound policy around affordable housing,” said City Council member Michael Barnes. “There are people who are in a position where they cannot pay anything for housing. The models that we have created do not meet that need.”
Charlotte has a surplus of housing in the higher price ranges where much of the Trust Fund money has gone, a city-commissioned study showed. But the city is short about 15,000 units that rent for $499 a month or less, the study showed. In three years that's expected to approach 17,000.
Beyond money, many leaders agree, Charlotte needs a citywide commitment to house the poor.
“Let's face it, the reality is the poorest of the poor are not the most outstanding political constituency to appeal to,” said architect Harvey Gantt, who was mayor 1983-1987. “So there have to be people who care about that problem at some political risk.”
Both mayoral candidates have vowed action.
“I asked to be on the (City Council's) housing committee because I could not make sense of what we were doing,” said Republican candidate John Lassiter. “We had a series of policies that are reacting to whatever council's perspective is at the time…. Somebody has got to get their arms around the big picture. Look at where the gaps are.”
Anthony Foxx, the Democratic candidate, said Charlotte can do better. “Given the scope of the need, are we putting as much of a dent in the need as we need to? Absolutely not.”
Housing Trust Fund
Bonds for affordable housing had been used by every other major city in North Carolina for years. But, until 2002, not in Charlotte.
Bert Green, director of the city's Habitat for Humanity, organized a group to lobby for a referendum. The bonds, he hoped, would help low- and moderate-income families, including the homeless – and also policemen, teachers and others with jobs who nevertheless can't afford Charlotte's high housing costs. In 2000, a city-appointed committee reported 31 percent of all Mecklenburg households struggled to find or pay for housing.
Some feared a lack of affordable housing would slow Charlotte's population and economic growth if low-wage workers moved to outlying communities where housing costs were lower.
Voters passed the first $20million request and subsequent bonds in 2004, 2006 and 2008.
Developers get money in exchange for a promise to set aside homes for low- to moderate-income families. Developers usually get most of their funding from other government or private sources, and the city gives them “gap financing.” Developers get extra “points” in the application process for meeting certain criteria, including serving the very poor and being close to transit.
City administrators make recommendations on projects. The City Council reviews the projects and votes on whether to provide funding.
Stanley Watkins helps oversee affordable housing programs. His office processes applications for trust fund money and works with the trust fund board.
Watkins recently announced his retirement, which came weeks after the city combined his department with another area and named a new director. He had faced scrutiny over how well he monitored a separate city housing program.
So where has the $67 million gone?
$53.9 million has been committed. Of that, $34 million in projects has been completed.
More than $10 million went to rehabilitate existing housing and $24 million toward new housing.
Of 1,233 new units, 403 are affordable to a family of four making under $19,320 a year. The city uses that benchmark because it is 30 percent of the area's median family income – a commonly used measure of poverty.
Much of the new housing is affordable to families making more than that, up to $51,520 a year.
Karen Montaperto of Charlotte Emergency Housing said in her 12 years as executive director, only one of the agency's clients has been able to move into a home subsidized by the trust fund.
“The rents,” she said, “are too high for our people.”
City officials acknowledge difficulty in providing housing for the very poor, but say they are not to blame for the situation. Overall, they say, they have made good use of money from the trust fund.
In a prepared statement, the city said: “The need for affordable housing overwhelms the available funding resources to build and rehabilitate resources. City funding has helped, but it is not sufficient to solve the problem nor is the problem the City's alone to solve.”
Council member James Mitchell said few developers are willing to build homes for the very poor.
“This is driven by economics,” Mitchell said. “A lot of developers don't have a passion for community good will. They would rather build a $2 million place than one for $55,000.”
Council member Nancy Carter said: “It's tragic, and I don't know what to do about it.” With cuts in federal money for housing and few developers willing to build homes for the poorest families, she said, the city is in a predicament.
Difficult goals
The council set goals that wouldn't be easy to accomplish.
On the one hand, members wanted to give priority to projects serving the very poor. On the other, they wanted to leverage the public's money by ensuring that for every $1 in bond money, developers invested $5 in other government or private money.
If too many tenants are at the low end, officials say, the projects are not financially viable for developers. To include more units for the very poor, they said, the city would need to give developers bigger subsidies.
“The goal is to provide safe, decent housing to as many people as we can,” said Tylee Kessler, co-chair of the Housing Trust Fund board. “It takes a lot more resources, time and money to fund housing for the people who really need it now… the people who make the least.”
In northwest Charlotte, the city paid $2.8 million toward a $16million apartment complex of 192 units. Called Rivermere, the complex resembles a typical, well-manicured suburban setting. It is a mixed income community, offering some apartments at market rate and others at reduced rent because of the city's contribution to the construction cost.
The city considers 100 of the apartments affordable for lower-income residents. Of those, 20 are set aside for families who make $19,320 or less. The other 80 are intended for families who earn up to $38,640 a year. The remaining 92 units have no rent restrictions.
Mixed-income complexes have replaced the old system of concentrating the poor in large, public housing complexes in Charlotte. Cities across the United States have adopted the same strategy as better for communities, both financially and socially.
“Our philosophy is that we are not going to concentrate the poor. It doesn't work,” said David Howard, vice president of special projects and community affairs for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership, the nonprofit developer behind the complex.
Search for Solutions
Advocates for the homeless say the new mixed-income projects failed to provide enough housing for the very poor.
“We think the money could have been better spent,” said Chris Wolf, director of A Way Home, a group that combats homelessness. “The city has not found a way to get the amount of affordable housing we need for the dollars that were spent.”
Possible solutions, officials and advocates say, include rental subsidies for the poor, zoning changes and building affordable projects on public land around new schools, which would allow low-wage workers and families to live close by.
Over the years, some council members questioned whether bond money should be redirected, but the council continued to spend money in the same pattern.
Mayor Pro Tem Burgess said the council told the Housing Trust Fund board last year to find a way to deliver more help through bonds to the most needy. The board, which advises the city on how to create affordable housing, changed the scoring process for applications so builders whose projects serve the very poor will be viewed more favorably.
City administrators are now reviewing applications for $10million in bond money voters approved in November, and the council is expected to award projects in June. Of the total, $3 million will go to target specific groups, such as the elderly and the homeless.
Losing Ground
A study by developer Crosland found that Charlotte lost 1,125 units for the poorest families from 2001 to 2007. He found at least 3,201 affordable units were demolished, while only 2,076 new affordable units were built to take their place.
One example of how that can happen is a city-subsidized project north of the Interstate 277 loop outside uptown. Taxpayers are providing around $25million in grants and loans to help the Housing Partnership demolish the Double Oaks apartment complex and build 940 new condominiums, townhomes, apartments and single-family houses. Some $5million will come from the Housing Trust Fund.
Double Oaks apartments, which dated from 1949, was a sprawling neighborhood of one-story structures with 576 apartments. Crime was rampant and the units rundown, but the rents were within reach of day laborers, housekeepers and other low-wage workers who paid landlords between $300 and $450 a month.
The Housing Partnership helped former tenants find new homes and is providing 31/2 years of rental assistance.
Once the new development is built it will include 300 affordable units, but only 75 will be in the old, lower price range. Rents for the rest of the low-income units will range from $550 to $700.
City officials said they support the Double Oaks redevelopment because it will raise the quality of life in the Statesville Road area, bolster the tax base and attract new business to an area sorely lacking in private investment.
The Salvation Army homeless shelter for women and children sits down the street from Double Oaks. Workers used to refer clients to the apartments because low rents made it one of the few places they could afford.
Deronda Metz, the agency's social services director, said women who had suffered abuse, lost their jobs or faced other problems could get a new start there.
“We just lost some of the last affordable housing,” Metz said. “I see the situation getting worse.”
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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Biz Journals, Charmeck.org, Charlotte Center City Partners, Recovery.gov, Hud.gov, CBO.gov, NCSpin, Clemson.edu, SoulofAmerica, Google Maps
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