SALISBURY — The Salisbury City Council approved a rezoning request at its Dec. 5 meeting from Rowan Helping Ministries that pertains to permanent supportive housing that will benefit the unsheltered and low-income populations residing in Rowan County.

Council voted to amend the land development district map to rezone one parcel, or around .67 acres, at the intersection of East Council and North Shaver streets from corridor mixed-use and residential mixed-use with a conditional district overlay to residential mixed-use with a conditional district overlay. 

The project will consist of “a campus-style residential development comprised of five duplexes with 10 units total,” according to Senior Planner Victoria Bailiff. 

Bailiff further clarified that this undertaking shares characteristics with the Forward 2040 plan in that it gives low-income residents affordable housing, gives accessible housing near facilities and transit stops for residents with disabilities, and uses small multifamily housing to convert residential neighborhoods to commercial or mixed use areas.

Rowan Helping Ministries Executive Director Kyna Grubb specified that this will not be transitional housing, but will be focused on more long-term care for those who require it. 

“They are for permanent supportive housing. So it is for folks that are homeless and often serving those who are chronically homeless because they’ll need wraparound services. So it is not transitional in nature,” Grubb said.

There were further requests from the petitioner that included reducing parking from 12 spaces to four ADA spaces and that no parking lot connection to nearby lots be necessary. There are additional parking spaces in close proximity to the property that tenants can utilize as well. 

Grubbs said people can stay there until they are “completely stable” and that there is no timetable like transitional housing. Rowan Helping Ministries already operates three permanent supportive housing properties and have had people live there until they passed away.  

In 2018, 18 people in Rowan County qualified for permanent supportive housing. That year, only two people across five counties obtained the housing that they needed due to limited housing availability and none of them were from Rowan County.

“By doing a project-based permanent supportive housing campus, we are able to better address that list of people who qualify for permanent supportive housing, but also give first preference to Rowan County residents who are homeless,” Grubb said. 

Two of the units will have two bedrooms to better accommodate families and two units would be for veterans. Grubb said that after the plans are officially completed, they intend to send them out for bid by the end of the year. Construction is set to begin by spring of 2024.