Williams: No need for Hanover’s home issues
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Rolling up the welcome mat?
Columnist Mike Williams asks whether opposition to affordable housing in Hanover County is really about the haves wanting to keep out the have-nots.Perhaps a "Keep Hanover Affluent" sign should be planted at the county line, featuring an encircled bungalow with a diagonal slash across its facade.
How else can we explain the county's apparent aversion to affordable housing?
Hanover Habitat for Humanity has teamed with Home town Realty, which has agreed to build seven homes ranging from $225,000 to $260,000, near Ashcake and Lewistown roads. Hanover Habitat would build two additional homes selling for about $130,000, said its executive director, Tim Bowring. The developers, for the third time, are bringing their proposal to the county Planning Commission.
Hanover has a median household income of $74,273, higher than Richmond's, Henrico County's and Chesterfield County's. The state's median household income is $58,378, according to 2007 census figures.
In Hanover, the average cost of a new home is $419,000. Affordable housing, as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, requires no more than 30 percent of the buyer's gross income.
County planners realize they have a problem.
"It is clear that the number of new and existing homes that are sold in Hanover which can be afforded by an individual or family making the county's median income or less has dropped considerably in recent years," the county's comprehensive plan states.
For Hanover to debate the construction of two affordable homes is beyond silly and self-defeating. It's shameful.
"When people first find out that Habitat is building homes in their neighborhood, it is not unusual for them to have that 'not in my backyard' reaction," said Overton McGehee, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Virginia.
"But that objection usually goes away when they realize that Habitat partner families are homeowners. Habitat families pay a mortgage and have the pride of ownership that other homeowner families have."
In the Hanover case, McGehee said, the Habitat affiliate has offered to create a mixed-income neighborhood and to make the homes architecturally interesting.
"Those approaches have appealed to many communities that wanted to have affordable housing well-knit into their community," he said.
Those communities include Albemarle County, which expects developers to set aside 15 percent of a project for affordable housing, Bowring said. "It's quite different there than it is here."
Actually, the stretch of Ashcake between Interstate 95 and Lewistown Road is already a mixed-income community.
Brown Grove, a blend of modest to humble homes and trailers, was settled by freed slaves during Reconstruction. Nearby Cheroy Woods is a collection of expensive homes on expansive lots.
The Hanover Planning Commission is slated to discuss the proposal again Jan. 15.
"What people need to know is we're not going to give up on this," Bowring said. "We're not going away. People deserve to live in safe, decent housing."
Yes, even in Hanover.
Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or
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Reader Reactions
Once again, MPW has missed the point. The objections aren’t to having habitat for humanity residents in Hanover County. The issue is that these new houses will require that sidewalks be constructed and public utilities to be expanded, at a cost to existing Hanover residents. There are plenty of affordable options in Hanover County that do not require new construction. Several properties could be purchased at a very low price, and refurbished into great housing for low-income families. There is a group called Interfaith that purchases dilapidated properties and repairs them for low-income families. Maybe Habitat could look into this type of approach instead of throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars in capital improvements, on a locality with limited resources anyway.
One’s choice where to live should be their decision based on their needs and their preferences—not on social engineering by people outside of their area.
Although Mr. Williams lives in Hanover, he writes about the need for social engineering in City of Richmond—why does he not live there? Now he wants to re-engineer the socioeconomic makeup of Hanover through charity programs such as Habitat.
Citizens work hard, raise families and take-on the burden of mortgages to live in areas of their choice. They do not need writers telling them what they should do.
James’ post was logically flawed. Without building new homes, there is no need for more roads and their maintenace, sewage systems (if septic tanks are not used) and waste treatment plants, schools and other government-supplied services. If these projects are not undertaken, then there is less need for tax money to finance these services. Although some counties make developers pay a “tariff” to help defer such expenses, these funds do not in any way cover the actual government-supported services.
I understand that new property adds to the tax rolls, but bringing new residents into the county also increase the burden on the county for services like schools etc… I am not really suggesting no one ever buy a new home, but since there are “existing” affordable housing options in Hanover (and in every area surrounding the city of Richmond), why not help people get into those homes? I am really more advocating people living within their means, even if that means they don’t own a home. Note that I am not advocating they be homeless.. just don’t buy things they can’t afford. Rent if you need to.. buy a 2 bedroom home for your family instead of expecting to get a 3-4 bedroom version on your first go around! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I live in a house that is around 1,000 sq feet with only one bathroom. We can well afford to be in a much larger home since we make over 2x the median income of Hanover county. This allows us to live more simply and have more money to save and invest. I live pretty frugally and it makes me a lot happier than if I was surrounded by a lot of stuff. What happened to sacrificing for what you want? We are way to much into instant self gratification and those chickens have really come home to roost. Fiscal irresponsibility has put this country in a world of hurt and it will take a lot of work to dig our way out. Of course, I am most frustrated in that while I made good decisions, people who didn’t will end up rewarded at my expense.
After reading Mr. Williams’ article again, I feel I must apologize to him for suggesting he intimated this is a racial issue. Nowhere in that article did he make reference to race being a factor.
However, in my opinion the article was slanted towards Habitat and did not convey the issues/concerns of the community, the 9 affordable (Habitat) homes already in the area, nor the history of this particular proposal. Many important facts were left out. As a result, Hanover citizens seemed to be negatively portrayed. A balanced and thoroughly researched article on this issue would be beneficial.
qhgirl… you build new homes because they add to the property tax rolls, which gives local government money it needs to provide roads, schools, etc. that they are supposed to provide. When someone buys an existing home they don’t add to the property tax rolls. The home is what is taxed, not the people. Real estate accounts for about 25 percent of total tax revenue for the most populous Richmond area counties. If home building stopped the county tax base wouldn’t increase, which means taxes have to go up. Not only that, but if home building stopped economic development would stop, which would further hurt the county and you. People will buy existing homes, but without new homes you will pay much higher taxes and the quality of services you get now from your local government, however high or low that is, will decrease.
Why is Race part of everything Paul writes!
If I wanted high taxes, crime and congestion I would have moved to Henrico, Richmond, or Chesterfield. Hanover is a great place to raise a family .. Great schools. We have a tax base that supports Hanover life style. By adding affordable homes will their taxes pay for all of the public services??? I doubt it.
What is wrong with the way Hanover is NOW.. We don’t want to be like Henrico, Richmond and Chesterfield …. Wall to wall homes and shopping centers.
Some folks like to live in the City others in the country ..
Just a question, why do we need to build new construction? There are tons of homes on the market all over the richmond area that are reasonably priced. There are also rentals out there (both apartments and homes) available in reasonable amounts. What is wrong with a family moving into a 2 br one bath home for under 150K. They are out there! Ok.. maybe they aren’t as fancy as a new construction home.. but COME ON.. you buy or rent what you can AFFORD, not what you WANT. As a child, I shared my room with a sibling (a brother at that!), I didn’t die from the experience. People need to dial back their expectations of the home they think they “deserve.“ Like it or not, if you have more money to spend, you are likely going to have a nicer house in a better area with better schools etc… If you have less money to spend, you are probably going to have to compromise on your home options. You may need to rent an apartment, or buy an older home that needs some work. We talk all the time about being “green.“ Why not rehab older homes instead of making new ones (that aren’t selling at all right now)?
AC it’s refreshing to know that ghgirl knows your views ,somewhat .Now i believe ghgirl stated she lived in an apartment and believe me nothing is wrong with thatshe also the vehicle being seven years old is fine ,Habitat may be a chance for home ownership for her also.People do fall on hard times and situations prevent many from ownership not always drugs,ed ,BUT maybe divorce etc.Still not knowing a persons potential you don’t know what they will do with a new home .I stand by my first post duh ,you’re an idiot .
My last post being what it is, it might interest people to know that home builders are trying like crazy to get the county government to create zoning specifically for affordable housing. The county instituted a workforce housing program this past summer that home builders helped craft, where the average home built will be about $193,000. That’s still too high, but under workforce housing guidelines that’s as inexpensive as can be done. Hanover needs to be able to build bungalow-style homes on small lots that will sell for $160,000 and up. Heck, every county around here needs to change their regulations to let that happen. Builders will build smaller, lower-cost homes if the local governments will set their regulations so they can build them.
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