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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having lived in Mechanicsville/Hanover for 25 years, I’m quite familiar with this area, and I’m not sure what all the fussing is about. The area of Lewistown and Ashcake Rds is basically an induatrial area and right by the municipal airpark. For thoses concerned about their home values being affected, your home is appraised for what it is worth. The only time your home will lose value based on your neighrbors is due to blight, not that their home is worse less. For blight to affect your property, you would have to be within a visible distance of the blighted property. Since there are no neighborhoods in this area, what’s the issue????
Hey, mbknott, I wasn’t referring to your comment - my entry about racist comments was in anticipation of the affirmative action types and liberals that will eventually leave their comments here. I think we’re in agreement regarding this issue!
Just checked Realtor.com and there were 4 homes for sale in Hanover for 150K or less. Powhatan had 9. I also know for a fact that Hanover does in fact have affordable housing in the form of apartments. There is a complex I lived in myself as a young professional that had limits to income so that it was affordable. What people forget is that not everyone is suited to home ownership. There are a lot of responsibilities and expenses that go along with this privledge. There is nothing wrong with renting an apartment or a home! There are affordable options all around the city and in all of the counties. Sure, you may not get a brand new construction home, but where is it written in our constitution that you are entitled to one? Americans have really gotten spoiled and think they deserve everything they want right NOW. Huge houses, fancy flat screen TV’s, brand new cars, atv’s, designer clothes are all considered basics. Everyone has a cell phone, everyone has an ipod. No money? well just put it on credit, get an equity loan on your over-valued homes! I live in a 1000 sq foot home with “gasp” one bathroom. We drive vehicles that are at the newest 7 years old. We go out to eat maybe 2 times a month. Am I poor? Nope! I have a good job and have a household income that is double the median Hanover income. What am I doing with all that “extra” money? Investing in land and saving for retirement. I just have found that living simply and within my means is a lot less stressful. Sure the kids get a little frustrated when they can’t get everything their friends have RIGHT NOW, but they get over it. They are learning to prioritize their needs and to tell the difference between a true NEED and a WANT. I have personally volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. I understand that people want to own a home that will become an investment in their future. I also understand the county’s responsibility to existing residents to ensure that decisions they make do not negatively impact the values of existing homes.
pflady - Be offended all you want but “sweat equity” doesn’t always translate into real equity. It is the real money that current Hanover home owners are concerned about losing. I appreciate the fact that there are many hardworking people who don’t make a lot of money. That does not mean that their problems should become the problems of those who are forced to live around them. The poor certainly have a right to live and raise their children in a safe environment, but the middle class should not have their property devalued by a smaller, lower quality, though “architecturally interesting” home placed near theirs.
This isn’t a communist country, despite the best efforts from the left. You don’t get to have the same thing as your neighbor just for being “Nicer.“
Is it the building of two homes that’s being debated or Habitat’ “offer to CREATE a mixed-income neighborhood” with “architechurally interesting” homes that’s being debated ? Two homes and “creation of a ....neighborhood” are 2 different things. I worked, saved (making almost the state median income) and bought my house in Hanover for $199K BEFORE the housing prices started plummeting. There is nothing wrong with wealthier people living in wealthier neighborhoods where there is plenty of room to build their big houses. Where else are the going to go ?
Excuse me - since when are the poor not hardworking or nice? Sometimes they are even NICER (or at least more honest) than the wealthy (think Bernie Madoff), and are often even harder working. I live in Richmond city and am insulted by the comment “Hanover is a nice area, and we don’t want to turn into Henrico and/or Richmond City.“ I personally do not WANT to live in the suburbs because they appear to be populated by boring, small-minded people. Back to the original topic - it is difficult to find inexpensive land within city limits, unless it is in a dangerous neighborhood. The poor have a right to raise their children in a decent, safe environment. Habitat for Humanity screens the families who get the houses and they have to put “sweat equity” into their new homes - that is, they have to put a certain number of hours of labor into their homes. I think the posters are confusing “rich” people with “nice” people - they definitely are not the same.
I agree w/ you “ac”. I was not implying that people in Hanover are racist..It seems like every time MPW writes an article about Hanover he basically says that. That is very interesting that he lives in Hanover himself!Why don’t they build these homes next to his since he wants them there so badly!Liberals are so annoying!
What a surprise! Another racially divisive article by Mike Williams.
There is nothing racist or elitist about wanting to protect one’s property value. People move to Hanover because it is different from the other counties. (i.e. more open land, nicer homes, nicer people) Since when does everyone “deserve” to live where ever they want?
You deserve to live where you can afford to live. Homeowners who purchased their homes the old fashioned way, by working hard and making enough money to afford them, should not have the housing equivalent of affirmative action forced upon them simply to please all the whiners out there like Williams.
Leave it to Williams to make an issue of pure economics into a racial one.
Isn’t it ironic that MPW lives in Hanover, and he’s basically accusing the county of being racist?
I bought a house in Hanover for under $300,000 before the real estate bubble burst, so not ever house is ultra-expensive.
I understand why folks don’t want these Habitat houses to be built nearby. When you search for a home, you search for a quality neighborhood, spend a lot of money, and expect the houses in the area to gain value, and you also assume the owners in your neighborhood are going to upkeep their house. With the Habitat houses, not only would you have people living nearby that don’t know how to take care of a house, but the value and low quality of these houses would bring down the market value of other houses in the area. Hanover is a nice area, and we don’t want to turn into Henrico and/or Richmond City.
Plenty of people on here will say Hanover is racist, etc. However, there are plenty of blacks living in my neighborhood - so don’t even start with the nonsense comments!
Why don’t you just come out and call the people of Hanover County racist? Isn’t that what you are really trying to say? I don’t think anything is wrong w/ providing affordable housing but you should not build homes that are worth significantly less money around homes that are worth a lot more. That’s not fair to those people who have probably been living there for years.Get over it!
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