Winston-Salem City Council to consider new affordable housing development program

The Winston-Salem City Council will vote Monday on a new affordable housing program that aims to encourage development throughout the area.

In May, the city council requested that staff temporarily suspend housing development recommendations. Officials wanted a more streamlined approach to support projects for developers.

Neighborhood Services Director Shantell McClam said at a recent information session that the goal is to increase affordable and high-quality housing.

"We do not want years from now, 10 years from now, that we have housing that was not built to standard, and is now giving us issues," McClam said. "And so the purpose is to make sure that we are properly vetting the proposals and the plans that come through to us, and ensure that we are obtaining developers that are going to build high-quality construction."

If approved, the program would have an application window and evaluation criteria. It would score a development's quality, project team and financial feasibility among other things.