HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 11-08-2018 1 - Presentation on Racial Equity Assessment of Manufactured Housing
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: November 8, 2018
Action Agenda
Item No. 1
SUBJECT: Presentation on Racial Equity Assessment of Manufactured Housing
DEPARTMENT: Board of Commissioners
ATTACHMENT(S):
Executive Summary - Orange County
Mobile Home Parks: Proposals from a
Racial Equity Lens
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board, 919-
245-2130
PURPOSE: To receive a presentation from a student team from Dr. Allison De Marco's
economic justice course in the UNC School of Social Work on a racial equity assessment of
manufactured housing (mobile homes), which have been an option for affordable housing in
Orange County.
BACKGROUND: A student team from Dr. Allison De Marco's economic justice course in the
UNC School of Social Work worked with Commissioner Mia Burroughs, the Board’s
representative to the Leadership Team of the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness
(OCPEH), on a racial equity assessment of manufactured housing (mobile homes), which have
been an option for affordable housing in Orange County.
Using a racial equity toolkit, the team interviewed key stakeholders and developed two
proposals:
1) The Towns and Counties could partner to purchase the land of mobile home communities
at risk for displacement.
2) Relocation of residents of Chapel Hill and Carrboro mobile home parks to other pre-
designated, town-owned parcels of land.
Both of proposals include measures for ensuring accountability, including conducting follow-up
surveys with the Orange County Health Department and the Family Success Alliance
throughout the implementation process as well as after the process
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with receiving the presentation.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goal is applicable to
this item:
• GOAL: ENSURE ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The creation and preservation of infrastructure, policies, programs and funding necessary
for residents to provide shelter, food, clothing and medical care for themselves and their
dependents.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends for the Board receive the presentation
and, if needed, provide direction to staff.
1
Orange County Mobile Home Parks: Proposals from a Racial
Equity Lens
Shodeah Kelly, Julia Corbett, Ariella Hirsch, and Lucas Risinger
Executive Summary
Orange County, in cooperation with the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, seeks a proposal for
how to use funds allocated to assist residents of mobile home parks at risk of being displaced by
development. We outline two proposals for the use of these funds and analyze both using a racial equity
lens. The Orange County Health Department and Family Success Alliance conducted a survey of eight
mobile home parks in the area and we largely rely on these data in our proposals; in the survey results, it
is clear that the residents of the mobile home parks strongly preferred remaining in their homes and
communities.
To address these strong preferences, our first proposal indicates that the Towns and Counties
should partner to purchase the land of mobile home communities at risk for displacement. This proposal
increases racial equity by ensuring that the majority Hispanic population of these parks will be able to
remain in their homes and on current land, thereby maintaining access to services, transportation, and
schools, which surveyed individuals cited as important reasons for remaining in their current locations.
This proposal would substantially benefit the residents of mobile home parks facing displacement.
However, this proposal would also place a significant financial burden on the Towns and Counties tasked
with purchasing the land.
Our second proposal recommends the relocation of residents of Chapel Hill and Carrboro mobile
home parks to other pre-designated, town-owned parcels of land. This proposal is less preferred under a
racial equity lens given that it would force the relocation of marginalized and vulnerable populations.
Although this proposal places a burden on the residents, it takes into account their preferences. The
pre-designated parcels of land would ensure that residents remain within Chapel Hill and Carrboro,
ensuring that their children remain in the city school district. Further, remaining within the towns would
help alleviate concerns over access to transit and other services. This proposal would also place a
significant burden on the Towns and County in that it would be costly to build the infrastructure for new
mobile home parks and to move residents and their trailers.
Both of our proposals include measures for ensuring accountability including conducting
follow-up surveys with the Orange County Health Department and the Family Success Alliance
throughout the implementation process as well as after the process.
2