The Lincoln County Commissioners voted at the June 20 meeting to allocate $1.5 million of county American Rescue Plan Act funds to the creation of the Lincoln County Affordable Housing Investment Process with the intent of providing financial support for the development of affordable housing units in Lincoln County.

This process and corresponding ARPA allocations is the first strategy to be implemented from the Lincoln County Housing Needs Assessment, published in May 2023. The countywide housing study is a comprehensive assessment of the state of housing in Lincoln County and offers recommendations and strategies for addressing current housing needs and creating affordable housing in the county’s communities.

The assessment found that 900 affordable units will be needed in the next decade to house working families and older adults of modest means in the county. The Lincoln County Affordable Housing Investment Process is a mechanism for the county to provide financial support in getting a significant number of these needed units constructed and will help the county strengthen working relationships with nonprofit housing groups, community action agencies, nonprofit and for-profit developers, community development financial institutions, and municipalities to increase affordable housing in the region.

To learn more about the Lincoln County Affordable Housing Investment Process and the Countywide Housing Needs Assessment, visit the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission’s website at lcrpc.org.