Haywood County Commissioners got some great news Oct. 16 that will help the community ameliorate the effects of a red-hot real estate market on local housing affordability and availability.

Sylva has approved a zoning map amendment request in order to allow for the possible construction of an affordable housing development on Savannah Drive.

Continuing to make bold steps in addressing Haywood County’s affordable housing crisis, the Town of Waynesville Board of Aldermen voted March 26 to increase the amount of incentives it will provide for an 84-unit development off Howell Mill Road.

In a divided vote Thursday, March 2, the Cherokee Tribal Council appropriated $275,000 to buy out the lease of a Painttown Road business, paving the way for a future mixed-use development.

Two years after a nonprofit affordable housing developer was granted incentives by the Town of Waynesville, the project is finally moving again but the developer has now returned to the table, asking for more incentives amidst rising construction costs.

Macon County is undergoing a tax reappraisal this year, and while the numbers are jarring, they won’t be a surprise to anyone who has borne witness to the rising prices of the crowded housing market in Western North Carolina since the start of the pandemic.

A Waynesville resident who wants to buy a parcel from the town may or may not get their way after alderman approved the sale, but discussion surrounding the deal revealed continuing concerns over the availability of housing in the area.

Dinner conversation last night with a young couple who live in New Zealand but are here for the holidays — he’s a native Kiwi, she’s from Haywood County — came around to how it seems this area is getting so many newcomers from all over the country. As 2022 draws to a close, you gotta wonder just how many more people will be moving to this region over the next few years, and subsequently, how it will change this place we call home. 

Haywood County was recently awarded another substantial grant to help address the affordable housing crisis, but the way the county plans to use the grant means its impact will be felt far into the future.

A $542,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, matched by more than $200,000 from the Dogwood Health Trust, will help fund six regional projects intended to alleviate some of the pressure in the affordable housing market.