GASTONIA, N.C. — The City of Gastonia is having a third-party study done that analyzes barriers to housing and gives in-depth recommendations on how to remove them.
The goal is to implement city policies that create more affordable options and address disparities in housing. However, the same study was done five years ago and according to the research, the city hasn't addressed some of the identified disparities from 2019.
Gastonia City Council’s Housing Committee received an update Monday on the federally required housing study that’s done every five years. It found five main issues that are making it harder for people to find fair housing in Gastonia.
The first is obvious: There is a limited supply of affordable housing for low and moderate-income families. City data says rent prices have nearly doubled since 2015.
The analysis also found there is a lack of accessible housing for people with disabilities. The same problem was found in 2019 and the study says the city hasn’t implemented anything yet to try to address it.
"Making sure that our most vulnerable citizens and people who have the least voice are not left behind and don’t fall through the cracks, and I think the study definitely showed that some of that does happen," Housing Committee Chairman Robert Kellogg said.
Kellogg told WCNC Charlotte the city is working to update its zoning codes so it can be more inclusive with development.
"As we implement more ways to build and more ways to include different zoning opportunities, that would also help individuals who are disabled," Kellogg said.
Other impediments to fair housing identified in the 2024 draft analysis are a lack of homelessness services and a lack of resources in low-income neighborhoods that have high concentrations of minority populations.
Gastonia leaders adopted an affordable housing plan in the Fall of 2023. Goals in the 10-year plan include creating a housing trust fund and building a housing resource center so people can better access housing services.
"There's definitely room to improve but I think we’re on the right track," Kellogg said.
Researchers want feedback from Gastonia citizens on the fair housing analysis and recommendations before they present the study to the city council next month.
A virtual public hearing is happening at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 14. The sign-up details can be found here. There will also be an in-person hearing at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 18 at the Adult Rec Center.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.