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Housing Equity in the City of Sanford

Housing Equity in the City of Sanford

“Probably the biggest inequity that we experience here in Sanford, and it’s not uncommon in other communities as well, is the ability to access standard livable housing at a price that people can afford,” says Deacon Bob Bridwell, former Planning Director of the City of Sanford. Bob Bridwell is a member of the housing sub-committee of the Sanford Equity Task Force, alongside Vernadette Williams, Trina Garrison, Jimmy Randolph, and Margaret Murchison. These five Sanford leaders are focused on creating recommendations to increase homeownership in historically underserved and challenged communities, expand affordable housing opportunities, and enhance the safety of neighborhoods and housing.

The Task Force members bring important expertise to the process. Margaret Murchison, journalist, community leader, and president of Brick Capital Community Development Corporation, has worked to expand affordable housing for working families for decades. Vernadette Williams, Real Estate Broker at Main Street Realty Group in Sanford, has spent her career helping families to purchase homes. Trina Garrison, Executive Assistant/Office Manager at Lee-Moore Capital Company, works with commercial and residential real estate markets to create and develop mixed-use projects and communities. Jimmy Randolph, CEO of the Sanford Area Growth Alliance, served as a board member and volunteer with the United Way and the Lee County Partnership for Children. UNC BIC team member Pierce Holloway, a second-year master’s student in the City and Regional Planning Department, has supported the convenings of the housing sub-committee and shared expertise related to GIS mapping and city planning.housing equit image

Over the past eight months, the housing sub-committee has been working hard to research housing inequities, discuss collected data, and create a list of recommendations for the Sanford Equity Task Force action plan. In addition to research, the housing sub-committee enhanced their knowledge by inviting housing experts Marshall Downey (City of Sanford Planning and Development Director), Karen Kennedy (Community Development Manager), Kerry Bashaw (Brick Capital Community Development Corporation Executive Director), and Bob Hughes (S3 Housing Connect) to present to the Task Force. Marshall Downey provided information about key findings from the Triangle J COG Housing Study associated with development strategies to be implemented in the East Sanford neighborhoods. Karen Kennedy presented an overview of the S3 Homelessness Task Force, which provided a deeper understanding of current resources available to the homeless population as well as recommendations to better serve our community. This informed collaboration is essential in preventing duplicating efforts between task forces while also building better relationships between organizations, city employees, and community members.

A focus on housing complements areas of concerns addressed in other sub-committees. “All committees are looking at the much bigger picture, of the interrelationship of criminal justice, housing, and education and income and how all of those things fit together because that’s the kind of community people live in, not in a single slice of it,” said Bob Bridwell. The Task Force expects to submit recommendations to the City Council in the fall of 2021.

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