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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JANUARY 25 - 31, 2023 UCW 9 Frustrations among Cumberland County commissioners over the cost of affordable housing came to a head Jan. 17 when they were given a pre- sentation recommending the spend- ing of federal dollars for homeless services. e Cumberland County Board of Commissioners met in a packed Room 118 of the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse. Dee Taylor, the county's Community Development director, briefed com- missioners on a proposed Community Development HOME - ARP allocation plan and asked the board to conduct a public hearing to allow for public comment on the allocation plan. However, no one showed up to speak at the public hearing. e U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program grant allocated $1,435,021 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds to Cumberland County. e money is to be used for activities that benefit qualifying indi- viduals and families who are home- less, at risk of homelessness, or in other vulnerable populations. Before the county's DSS can spend any of the HOME-ARP money, it had to prepare a plan that details how the money will be allocated for eligible services, which include building af- fordable housing, rental assistance, support services such as counseling and legal advice, and paying for a non-congregate shelter. e DSS had to consult with housing and service providers whose clients qualify for the services. Responses given by service provid- ers and residents are being considered as to how to best use the HOME-ARP funds to meet the needs of the qualify- ing populations, according to Taylor. Taylor said DSS drew up a survey to get suggestions on how the funds should be used and identified priori- ties. e survey received 23 responses. DSS also held one-on-one virtual meetings with 10 service providers. e majority of the respondents, 44%, opted for construction of afford- able housing, 20% recommended rental assistance, and 36% recom- mended the acquisition or develop- ment of non-congregate shelters. Non-congregate shelter is the term used for emergency shelters that provide accommodations such as motel rooms, and limits the spread of COVID-19 among the homeless. Community Development com- pleted a draft of the plan and made it available to the public for comment and review between Jan. 13 and Jan. 27. A public hearing on Jan. 17 had to be held during the comment period. After the public has had a chance to review the draft, the final copy of the plan will be submitted to the Board of Commissioners at the Feb. 6 regular meeting, where the board is expected to approve the plan to be submitted to HUD. Commissioner Jimmy Keefe again brought up the subject of how much money the county spends on new construction of affordable housing. He suggested taking a new approach to providing homes for the homeless. "e old way of doing things is not working," he told Taylor. "We're spending a lot of money but not getting much of an impact to help the homeless. It doesn't look like we're making progress," he told Taylor. Commissioners Veronica Jones and Michael Boose agreed. Both suggested buying existing housing or apartments and foregoing new and more expen- sive construction. Vice Chairman Glenn Adams suggested the creation of a committee that could help deter- mine whether the county builds new or buys existing property. "I'd be happy to sit down and dis- cuss this further," Taylor replied. Rezoning cases e board also voted unanimously to grant a rezoning from A1 Agricul- tural District to RR Rural Residential/ CZ Conditional Zoning District or to a more restrictive zoning district for approximately 106.75 acres located east of Hummingbird Place and west of Maxwell Road. e applicant is George Rose who is making the request on behalf of Astrakel Interna- tional LTD, the property owner. e developers are planning to build 168 stick-built homes on the site. e first phase of the develop- ment includes 54 lots, and the second phase will be the remaining 114 lots. Initially, the builders wanted to have 232 lots measuring 15,000 square feet but opted for the lesser amount of 168. Rose and his attorney, Scott Flow- ers, spoke in favor of the rezoning; however, three area residents spoke against the proposed subdivision because of the lack of drainage sur- rounding the property. Robin Bridges, who lives on Sted- man Road, said the soil on the prop- erty is not conducive for a large devel- opment and would result in flooding. She presented a petition with 283 signatures against the development. "It's a poor site and poor plan," she told commissioners. e Cumberland County Planning Board voted 6-3 to deny the rezoning request at the Nov. 15 meeting. How- ever, the Planning and Inspections staff recommended approval of the re- zoning because the request is consis- tent with the Eastover Area Land Use Plan, which calls for "Rural Density Residential" at this location. e plan- ning staff also finds that the request is reasonable and in the public interest as the requested district is compatible to and in harmony with the surround- ing land use activities and zoning. e planning board disagreed with the staff 's findings, according to the minutes of the meeting. e board also voted to rezone from A1 Agricultural District to R40A Resi- dential District or to a more restrictive zoning district for about 4.01acres located at 2140 Rich Walker Road and an abutting parcel. Bertha Elliott is the owner making the application. In this case, the Planning Board rec- ommended approval of the rezoning request from A1 Agricultural District to R40A Residential District at the Dec. 20 meeting. e Planning and Inspections staff also recommended approval of the rezoning request. e Planning staff determined the request to be consistent with the Eastover Area Land Use Plan, which calls for "Rural Density Residential" at this location. Staff also finds that the re- quest is reasonable and in the public interest. And the board approved the rezon- ing from CD Conservancy District to A1 Agricultural District or to a more restrictive zoning district for about 2 acres located on a portion of the abutting parcel east of 7632 Sim Ca- nady Road. Bradley Allee and Lynne Gralewski are the owners making the request. e Planning Board recommended approval of the rezoning request at its Dec. 20 meeting. e Planning staff also recommended approval because the request is consistent with the South-Central Land Use Plan, which calls for "farmland" at this location. Staff also finds that the request is rea- sonable and in the public interest. e board also opted not to consid- er a funding agreement with Hillside - FMHA LLC for the rehabilitation of Hillside Manor Apartments. e county released a "request for pro- posal" in early spring of 2021 seeking applications from eligible agencies to provide public services (human ser- vices), public facilities / infrastructure, and affordable housing developments, according to Taylor. A departmental selection com- mittee reviewed all proposals and Hillside – FMHA was one of the agen- cies selected to receive funding for substantial rehabilitation of 32 units at Hillside Manor, located at 1920 Rose- hill Road. Community Development wants to enter into a contract with the agency for a funding amount not to exceed $441,020, according to Taylor's memo. Development Block Grant funds are available for this project, ac- cording to Taylor. e staff recommended that the board approve the funding agreement with Hillside-FMHA in the amount not to exceed $441,020 for the reha- bilitation of 32 units at Hillside Manor Apartments. However, some board members balked at the funding arrangement with Adams suggesting some of the money could be coming from the city of Fayetteville. "ey get a whole lot more money than we do," he said. Adams motioned to approve the funding agreement but could not get a second. Keefe countered with a mo- tion to deny the funding request. e motion passed unanimously. NEWS County Commissioners consider best use of HUD grant to help homeless; vote on rezoning requests by JASON BRADY, CityView Today JASON BRADY, CityView Today. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200.