Habitat Not Welcomed By Neighbors: Ministry Has Plans to Build 18 Houses in Graham

By Isaac Groves, Times-News, Burlington, N.C.

Mar. 11–GRAHAM — Habitat for Humanity is building 18 houses at the end of tiny Enfield Drive, where they won’t be all that welcome.

“I have nothing against Habitat for Humanity,” said Joe Rich, a homeowner in the established part of Enfield. “I admire some of the work they do, but it’s like anything else — not in my backyard.” Rich was one of about 10 people from the neighborhood to ask the Graham City Council to stop Habitat from building in their neighborhood.

Many of them said Habitat’s roughly $110,000, 1,100-square-foot houses would harm the value of their homes.

Most of them said their houses are worth $135,000 to $145,000 and are about 1,300 or 1,400 square feet. “If we try to sell our homes,” said Joe Fisher, “when buyers come through are they going to think our homes are Habitat homes?” Others said they keep their yards neat and their neighborhood attractive. They seemed to doubt the Habitat residents would do the same.

“Our lawns are immaculate, and I have put so much money into my house,” said Wendy Alexander. “I feel like that’s not being considered and we’re evil for even suggesting this.” Rich brought in pictures of two houses in a Burlington Habitat neighborhood that seemed to not be maintained and had been built without gutters.

They also said 18 more houses on five acres would radically change the quiet little neighborhood.

The council could do little for them, said Mayor Jerry Peterman. The council actually approved the neighborhood back in 1990. The appearance before the council was almost a formality.

The original developer built the first two phases of the development in the 1990s, but didn’t finish the third because it could not get an easement for a sewer line.

The former owner donated the land to Habitat in 2004, which did get an easement.

Habitat for Humanity is a Christian housing ministry supported mostly by churches and donations.

People in need of low-cost housing put in hundreds of hours of labor building other people’s houses and get to buy a simple house at cost with a 20-year mortgage.

Habitat’s engineer, Todd Lambert, said the organization is willing to not connect to Enfield Drive and just use one entrance on nearby Gilbreath Street.

This seemed to ease some of the neighbors’ worries about traffic from the new houses coming through and being a danger to children used to playing on a dead-end street.

It did not, however, keep Enfield residents from worrying about the association with low-cost housing. Some of them said they could build privacy fences to keep that line sharp.

—–

Copyright (c) 2007, Times-News, Burlington, N.C.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.