Pender County Chair clarifies affordable housing remarks amid growth concerns

PENDER COUNTY (WWAY) — With growing concerns about unregulated development, un-obtained growth, and impacts to traffic, Pender County Commission Chair, Randy Burton, wants to clarify some of his recent comments. 

During the November third commissioners meeting, Burton mentioned bringing affordable housing to Pender County.  

This sent many Pender County residents into a spiral, concerned about why affordable housing was overshadowing other pressing issues in the area.  

Burton says he is not ignoring those other issues but wants to target younger generations.  

The median sale price for the Pender County housing market averaged around $430,000, well out of the price range for that younger generation. 

“The younger Americans. The younger couples, the younger families that are establishing roots here in Pender County to grow and raise their children. I think we need to partner with landowners, and developers, and people, and steer them toward having local communities that are friendly to folks that are coming out of college, coming out of high school, just starting their career, to have an affordable home that they can get in to, that a mortgage won’t kill them,” said Burton.  

With Pender and other nearby counties in the Cape Fear experiencing rapid growth, Burton says it’s important for leaders in these municipalities to manage that growth to ensure housing and other needs of people are met.