By SHARON KILPATRICK

By SHARON KILPATRICK

Rappahannock New s Staff W riter

The Rappahannock County Planning Commission decided to pursue the issue of affordable housing and learned that the county may be able to get grant money to help upgrade substandard housing.

County Administrator John McCarthy told the planners at last Wednesday s .meeting that the first step would be to apply for a planning grant to do a study of such things as the quantity nt substandard housing in the county and the number oi residents who could be classified as moderate or low income. Following a meeting Thursday with Land and Community Associates, a consulting firm in C harlottesville. to explore the process for applying for a planning grant. Mr. McCarthy said they would be able to prepare a grant request for Rappahannock County, and estimated that the county might get about $15,000 for the study.

If the county wished to proceed after the planning process was completed, it might be possible to get up to $25,000 per project to upgrade either owner-occupied or rental houses, he said. This could involve “direct grants to property owners in their own houses, who can't afford io upgrade," he said. For rental property it could provide the "property owner with money to rehabilitate, but would limit the amount he can raise the rent."

He explained that such things as upgrading the electrical service to meet current building codes, and installing plumbing and septic systems would be the sort of projects financed.

"This is a unique program, in that it does not build new houses. Mr. McCarthy said. "To my mind, it is an excellent program because it doesn't create a new market. It would address local needs. We all agree there are an appreciable number of substandard housing units in this county."

Mr. McCarthy said in Charlottesville and Albemarle County where the program is in place, a lot of the work is being done with volunteer labor.

Hampton District representative Mike Massie said, “In the past years a lot of old housing was torn down because it was too expensive to fix it up. It was torn down and new houses were built that rent for $HOO a month and more.”

In noting that the first step was for a grant for planning, Wakefield District representative Werner Krebser said, “We can’t lose." He made the motion, which passed, to have Mr. McCarthy apply for the planning grant.

Mr. McCarthy said there was also an advisory committee with the extension service that is looking into the question of affordable housing. Some members of that committee are Mike Massie, Doug Baumgardner, Pearl? Clark. Alex Sharp and Roberta Anderson, he said.

Jackson District representative David Fannon suggested that the school board should be represented on that committee. "They need affordable housing to attract good quality teachers," he said.

Mr. Massie, who suggested that the planners study the issue of affordable housing, also introduced the idea of the planners’ conducting a study of the current status of agriculture in Rappahannock and future prospects for county agriculture. He said he had three people to recommend to serve on a committee who "had expressed a willingness to do the leg work." He recommended Richard

See HOUSING, p. 14