Mount Pleasant mulls affordable housing

More than half of municipal workers surveyed live outside town limits

MOUNT PLEASANT — About 60 percent of municipal workers surveyed said they live outside of town, and housing cost was the most-cited reason, according to a new report.

Survey responses from 138 out of 650 employees were used to tabulate the results. Although a limited snapshot, the results provide a glimpse of how the town's $400,000 average price for a home affects its workers.

Employee Michael Robertson said the houses he looked at in town in 2005 were twice as much as similar houses in North Charleston and Goose Creek. For that reason, Robertson, a town planner, bought a home in North Charleston.

Mary Jane Blatchford, also a town planner, bought a home on James Island because she likes being near Folly Beach. It recently appraised for $330,000. "What do you get for $330,000 here? Not as much," she said.

Planning Department receptionist Montina Peoples earns $9.39 an hour. She would like to live in town but can't afford it. "Too expensive. I called around and there was nothing," Peoples said. She spends $43 a week on gas for her commute from a North Charleston apartment.

"I don't know if you can really come to a conclusion from it," said Town Administrator Mac Burdette, noting the low response to the survey. A majority of the respondents were full-time employees between the ages of 25 and 44. Most of them, 83 percent, owned their homes. Summerville-Ladson, North Charleston-Hanahan and James Island-Folly Beach were the most popular places to live among staff with out-of-town residences.

"I'm not as concerned about affording housing in Mount Pleasant as some others. I'm concerned about affordable housing in our region. The bigger issue here is making sure we deal with this regionally and not so much locally," Burdette said. "It's kind of one of those things that I'm not sure you can do a lot about. You can find affordable housing in Mount Pleasant, but it's not going to be single-family."

"It would be very difficult to have a policy that says if you work in Mount Pleasant you need to live in Mount Pleasant," Mayor Harry Hallman said.

The town is considering efforts to help increase some low-income housing, though, because some police officers, firefighters and paramedics who work there are forced to live elsewhere.

The Lowcountry Housing Trust last week asked the Town Council Finance Committee for a $100,000 contribution. Committee Chairman Billy Swails said he was open to participating as partner in the trust but suggested that the fiscal year beginning July 1 would be a better time to budget the $100,000. Town growth is lean at less than 1.5 percent, he noted. Town Council is scheduled to consider the $100,000 request Tuesday.

The town is the second-largest employer in Mount Pleasant, but it has a significant percentage of workers who live elsewhere because of the town's high housing costs, said Tammie Hoy, the trust executive director. She said some police officers live in Summerville. Two officers confirmed privately in interviews that they live in Summerville. Both said housing costs were a factor. They did not want to be identified.

"A lot of my firefighters do live out of town. Maybe housing is one of the reasons," Fire Chief Herb Williams said. He said the department puts no restrictions on where firefighters live as long as they do a good job.

Annually, North Charleston, the city of Charleston and Charleston County contribute between $50,000 to $200,000 to Lowcountry Housing Trust, Hoy said.

The worker survey, completed in September, was done on behalf of the 2-year-old town Workforce Housing Advisory Committee. Pat Goss, committee chairwoman, said a significant number of town employees, including emergency responders, live in North Charleston, which could be a problem during a disaster.

"So, if we had an earthquake and the bridge fell down, guess what?" Goss said. The problem affects teachers, too, she said. "They can't afford to pay $400,000 for a home," she said.

In 2007, Lowcountry Housing Trust awarded $325,000 to four agencies to help low-income residents move into their own homes. The money came from Charleston County, Charleston and North Charleston governments. East Cooper Habitat for Humanity received $55,000 for 11 houses in the Phillips community on Highway 41.

In May 2007, Mount Pleasant annexed two acres in the community, which allowed the 11 homes to be built because county regulations allowed only five homes.

Reach Prentiss Findlay at pfindlay@postandcourier.com or 937-5711.