The North Carolina Department of Commerce invites citizens to offer their perspectives and input on fair housing issues in North Carolina as part of a public comment period associated with federal housing funds managed by the Department of Commerce and other state agencies.
The State of North Carolina is preparing what is known as an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI), a public planning process leading to a final report that analyzes how well North Carolina is expanding housing choice among members of certain protected classes. The report will identify any barriers to housing choice and include strategies to eliminate barriers and unfair discrimination.
The Department of Commerce is working in collaboration with the North Carolina Finance Agency and the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services. Commerce expects the AI will be complete by November 2020.
The Department has arranged several ways for the public to get involved, scheduling a series of virtual meetings for housing stakeholders, virtual meetings for the general public, and an online survey.
The online survey, which seeks input on fair housing issues and opportunities, is available now at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NC-AI. Survey participants can expect to spend 10 minutes or less to finish the questions. The survey will remain open until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 9, 2020.
Videoconference meetings for stakeholders in specific interest areas will be held as follows:
Fair housing organizations and advocacy groups
Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at 3:00 pm
Municipal agencies and regional planners
Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 1:00 pm
Continuum of Care organizations
Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 10:00 am
Interested stakeholders should register for these meetings at www.surveymonkey.com/r/TRT6NC8.
Three meetings for the general public will also be held via videoconference. These meetings are open to everyone and there is no need to register. Participants can provide their input during the Web meetings using this address:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89248361727?pwd=OWFqUW1lVExDTkE2VjFBYXd1eVhUdz09.
Participants can also choose to call by phone at (929) 205-6099 and use Meeting ID 892 4836 1727, and passcode 995633.
The general public meetings will be held on:
Tuesday, September 29, 2020 from noon – 1:30 pm
Thursday, October 1, 2020 from 6:00pm – 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 3, 2020 from 11:00am – 12:30 pm
In late October, a proposed written draft of the new AI report will be available, offering the public an opportunity to review the input gathered throughout the process as well as a chance to comment on the proposed draft before it is submitted to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development agency (HUD).
More information about this public outreach effort is available at nccommerce.com.
