Governor Roy Cooper has signed a bill that includes rolling back a stipulation put on $35 million allocated to address housing needs in Dare County that would supersede town zoning regulations from blocking developments that used the funds.
But the money will not be used for those purposes anyway, after a pair of proposed developments fell through.
And the county will have to return the funds to the state, rather than use it another way to address the housing crunch.
Senate Bill 508, a measure that makes changes to the state’s 2023-24 fiscal year budget and technical corrections to other laws, was approved earlier this month by the General Assembly.
$35 million in state funding was allocated to Dare County in 2021 for the purpose of working with a qualified private partner to construct affordable housing units.
Dare County partnered with Coastal Affordable Housing in 2022 to construct between 350 and 400 affordable housing units in the county, and also was working with Woda Cooper on similar efforts.
Woda Cooper submitted proposals to build multi-family housing in Nags Head and on Roanoke Island, which were turned back by town leaders on various grounds, and has since pulled out of working with the county.
However, the partnership with Coastal Affordable Housing generated the most pushback locally, as did the caveats tied to the $35 million from the state.
The six towns filed a lawsuit attempting to block any efforts to overrule their authority, while county commissioners passed a resolution promising not to use the money for that purpose.
An update on the status of that lawsuit has not been provided, but it will likely be dropped with SB 508 now becoming law.
North Carolina Public Radio WUNC reported in October a draft amendment for the $35 million came from Rep. Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort).
Other legislators and county officials have repeatedly denied they requested the allocation and stipulations, while Kidwell remains silent on the matter.
The bill signed by the governor on May 15 amends sections of House Bill 259 that pre-exempted local Dare County and municipal zoning regulations for any projects utilizing the money.
The Dare County Housing Task Force voted unanimously in late April to ask the Dare County Board of Commissioners to put on hold any actions to return the $35 million allocated to Dare County while the task force works to develop a plan that is acceptable to Dare County and its six municipalities, as well as the state legislature and the Housing Task Force.
County Manager Bobby Outten told the Board of Commissioners at their May 7 meeting the provisions in SB 508 means the grant allocation has also been repealed and the county no longer has the authority to spend the money.
Outten said an attorney with Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger’s office advised him of the statutes that require the funds be returned to the state’s coffers by the end of this fiscal year.
He added that keeping the money, and for it to be repurposed, requires new legislation to be passed by the General Assembly, and the Dare Housing Task Force would need to work quickly to come up with a plan that would satisfy state lawmakers.
The Legislature is currently in its budget amendment “short” session that is not expected to last beyond the beginning of July.
The Dare County Task Force is scheduled to next meet on Tuesday, May 28 at 9 a.m., at the Dare County Administrative Building on Roanoke Island in the first-floor conference room.
