Workforce housing may be coming to your area of Hilton Head soon. What to know
Hilton Head Island may soon see an official workforce housing program as planners seek to tweak regulations that prevent workforce housing from being built anywhere on the Island.
In an email to Hilton Head residents, Town Manager Steve Riley announced that the town had mailed letters to 4,300 affected homeowners letting them know that the town wanted to change the rules so workforce housing could be built in some zoning districts. The town also said it planned to create a formal workforce housing program.
Workforce housing means homes set aside — and affordable — for those who work on the island, including teachers, firefighters and hospitality workers, many of whom travel hours each day to their job.
Under the proposed program, the districts eligible for workforce housing would be: those with low to moderate, moderate, and moderate to high densities; community commercial districts; light commercial districts; medical districts; mixed-use planned development districts; mixed-use waterfront districts; and the districts surrounding Main Street, Mitchelville, Sea Pines Circle and Stoney.
Yet some locations within those zoning districts may not be immediately eligible for workforce housing. Jayme Lopko, senior planner for the Town of Hilton Head Island, said planned unit developments, such as gated communities, would have to update their master plans with the town council to allow workforce housing.
Additionally, she said, single-family subdivisions and individual units in multifamily buildings would not be eligible.
The steps come nine months after town planners identified three areas on Hilton Head they thought would be best for workforce housing due to their proximity to places of employment and major roads — the Squire Pope area in the northwest side of the island, the Palmetto Bay area at the south side of the Cross Island Parkway, and the Main Street opportunity zone in the north-central part of the island.
All three areas are within zoning districts designated by the town as potential workforce housing areas.
Jennifer Ray, the town’s deputy director of community development, said many people have misconceptions about workforce housing and Hilton Head’s proposed program.
For starters, she said, anyone can build housing and say it is for workers. The Town of Hilton Head, instead, is creating a program that will oversee the development of workforce housing on the island.
“To be part of the program, you have to have a certain income level, employment restrictions, there [must be] covenants assigned to the property,” she said. “It’s not enough to just say, ‘we’re building workforce housing.’”
The town will regulate affordability period — the length of time during which a home can be considered affordable — household eligibility, deed restrictions, sale prices and rental rates, and provide a “density bonus” — which allows developers to build more units on a property than usual — to properties based on their amount of workforce housing.
Second, Ray said, some people think negatively of workforce housing, believing it will lower their property values. That’s not true, she said. Plus, it has been shown to have positive effects for the families who call it home, she said.
“Families are more likely to achieve economic self-sufficiency,” she said. “In reality, there are a lot of positives to it.”
Alex Brown, a candidate for Hilton Head town council in Ward 1 and a native islander, said he was glad to see the actions the town was taking to promote workforce housing, but wanted to make sure that the Gullah communities on Hilton Head Island would not be excluded from benefits for offering workforce housing.
“My biggest concern is that when we first started having the workforce housing conversations, it was really geared towards developers,” he said in an interview. “Their projects were not meeting our needs.”
On Tuesday, a planning commission subcommittee will discuss the proposed changes to the town ordinances. On Aug. 19, the planning commission will host a public hearing to consider the changes, and will pass along its recommendations to the town council. The public can watch the meetings on the Town’s website or Facebook meeting page.
To submit comments before the meetings, use the Open Town Hall service on the town’s website or call or email Jayme Lopko, 843-341-4695, jaymel@hiltonheadislandsc.gov.
