Housing GSO: HRA Greensboro Affordable Housing Plan

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY

NOTES | Community Engagement Meetings

October 16, 2019 Meeting with Marikay Abuzuaiter, Councilwoman At-Large

• AREA ONE: AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING o Really interested in NOAH preservation: “I think we need to find out are there people who would rent new AH, or do we need to look at revitalizing old AH?” ▪ Definitely agrees on need to help aging properties • AREA TWO: SUPPORTIVE HOUSING o Also sees this as tied to affordable rental housing o Many of the services should be provided in tandem with the County, but the City isn’t going to let its residents go unsupported • AREA THREE: AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP o We’re already doing a lot with DPA o Huge concern about this is the marketing of it: “a lot of people don’t know about these things” o Her concern is reaching the people who really need it —there’s still a massive amount of people who don’t know about it ▪ Along with the affordable homeownership, there has to be better PR o Definitely a fan of geographic bonuses in DPA (more tightly defined) • AREA FOUR: NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION o Once you start working on homeownership, a lot of the other portions will start falling into place o There’s been a lot of work for tornado and lead home remediation ▪ Lots of homes in South/East Greensboro are taking advantage of the lead abatement o Really big fan of a unified rehab program —she’s big on one-stop shopping from her time at the Family Justice Center o Thinking about involving Crime Stoppers/Code Enforcement/other city actors in monthly recurring meetings — really likes the check-in ideas about this • Ideas about neighborhoods o Glenwood with UNCG, Mill District: “that’s pretty large” o “A little surprised at Kings Forest”—doesn’t see a bunch of neglect — there are some areas that are starting to look deteriorated, along Phillips Ave o Ranking: Glenwood, Dudley Heights area (needing to broaden it here, it’s more than just Dudley Heights) • What does it take to see implementation of this plan? o “Engaging the community would be the biggest step” ▪ You want to make sure you’re explaining what’s going on, so people see how this is a different goal than gentrification o Sometimes with steering committees, they aren’t familiar on implementation — sometimes too many cooks spoil the stew —“I’ve seen it happen a bunch” o Successful example: Community Watch near Merritt Drive was about to disband, and the neighborhood association made flyers and had a potluck to bring people in ▪ The flyers on the door approach did what email/social media can’t accomplish o Thinking of lower-tech approaches to doing this work is really essential: how do you get the word out and get positive marketing approaches to older communities?

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