May 8, 2026

Re: Virginian Workforce Housing Project: Support for Option 1B

Dear Town Councilors and County Commissioners,

Thank you for your continued work to advance housing solutions for our community. Voting to support the Virginian neighborhood today is the next meaningful step toward enabling locals to live locally and reaching our Comprehensive Plan goals.

Our community has already invested substantial time, effort, and public resources into this project. Voters have indicated their support for deed-restricted housing through the SPET measure that enabled acquisition of the Virginian property. Now it is time to move this project forward in a timely and responsible manner so the public sees a return on their investment of SPET dollars.

Public expenditures for homes should be approached with transparency, accountability, and scrutiny. Elected officials who support deed-restricted homes need to remain focused on the immense public need and the practical realities of delivering housing in an increasingly difficult financial environment. In agreement with your dedicated staff, ShelterJH supports Option 1B as the clearest and most practical path forward to deliver homes locals can afford. It is the most viable and balanced option regarding community investment per unit and affordability levels, as it aligns with the costs of past celebrated projects and brings hundreds of homes to completion.

While we acknowledge that Option 1A provides deeper affordability, there will be opportunities to invest in affordability in the future and we fully intend to support those options. Right now, we need our elected leaders to say yes to 100% deed-restricted homes at the Virginian and demonstrate that local government can effectively manage complex public challenges and follow through on contributing to homes locals need now.

While there have been challenges throughout the process, public-private partnerships often involve difficult negotiations and evolving financial realities. We are disappointed in Pennrose’s lack of clarity. At the same time, Pennrose is a nationally-recognized affordable housing developer with decades of experience delivering projects of this scale and complexity. What matters most is that the public interest remains protected through strong legal agreements and public oversight. We are confident that our public officials including Housing Department staff, legal experts, the Town Manager, and County Administrator are taking every measure to draft a deal that safeguards the public interest. Their recommendation reflects extensive vetting to identify a viable path forward while balancing financial realities and long-term community benefit.

Restarting the process at this stage would likely result in years of additional delay, significant added cost, and continued uncertainty for so many community members who need these homes built as soon as possible. Broader conversations about improving or overhauling local development processes and structures may lead to improved outcomes in the future; however, we do not believe this is the appropriate moment to fundamentally change course. Hundreds of homes hang in the balance, and we cannot jeopardize this opportunity to complete yet another study or undefined visionary exercise. If we derail this process now, our entire community will suffer.

Option 1B represents a reasonable and balanced approach. The additional $5 million investment keeps the cost per unit in line with past expenditures on deed-restricted homes, maintains project momentum, and offers the opportunity to pursue additional affordability moving forward. At a time when housing needs remain urgent, failing to advance a viable project without a clearly-defined alternative would represent a significant missed opportunity for the community and risk undermining public confidence in our collective ability to deliver homes after years of public investment.

Thank you for your time, leadership, and continued commitment to housing local workers and families.

Best,

Clare Stumpf

On behalf of ShelterJH board members and membership