MHProNews has learned from newsobserver that the Orange County Commissioners in North Carolina have approved a five-year plan that will be submitted to the federal government to provide affordable housing and repairs for residents in the Chapel Hill, NC area. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires recipients of HOME Funding and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to file an updated plan every five years.

Chapel Hill received $403,000 this year and is set to receive nearly $312,000 next year, but the amounts have been steadily falling each year. The current greatest need is for senior housing assistance. Of the 20,234 rental units in the county only one percent meet the affordable guidelines for seniors, although 12 percent of the county is 62 and older.

However, the funding cannot be used for those who live in manufactured homes, says Rev. Robert Campbell because they are “still under the guidelines of construction, zoning and policies on how a home should be constructed. They have to find other ways to repair their AC units, their walls, (and) roofs.”

Commissioner Mark Dorosin, who serves on the HOME Program Review Committee, states the quality of MH has been improved considerably since they were initially disallowed from receiving funding. He says there should be a local initiative to raise money to rehab manufactured homes that need work. ##

(Photo credit: peninsuladailynews/Jeremy Schwartz–Dan Davis and Tom Duce repairing a manufactured home)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.