{"id":3476,"date":"2026-07-19T21:36:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T21:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3476"},"modified":"2026-07-19T21:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T21:36:07","slug":"stein-celebrates-ongoing-helene-recovery-hopes-for-increased-housing-supply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3476","title":{"rendered":"Stein celebrates ongoing Helene recovery, hopes for increased housing supply"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Good morning. I\u2019m Ronni Butts,<\/b> a summer politics intern, here with today\u2019s Under the Dome<\/b> newsletter that focuses on Gov. Josh Stein<\/b>.<\/p>\n

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Stein has been traveling across Western North Carolina this past week celebrating the region\u2019s ongoing recovery from Helene, highlighting restored housing and water systems.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Stein welcomed a woman into a new home in Asheville that was built through the state\u2019s Renew NC\u2019s Single-Family Housing Program. Nearly 90 homes have been built through the program, with more than 450 more in the works.<\/p>\n

The region is also slated to see improvements to its wastewater and drinking water projects through $44 million awarded by the State Water Infrastructure Authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur water intake … was completely washed away,\u201d Russell Fox<\/b>, mayor of Burnsville, said at a news conference on Friday. \u201cThe town of Burnsville\u2019s biggest worry right now is water intake.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Environmental Quality has now awarded $1 billion to the region, the governor announced on Friday. DEQ Secretary D. Reid Wilson<\/b> said that $906 million is for wastewater, drinking water and septic system repairs. The systems will also be reinforced to make them more resilient to future natural disasters.<\/p>\n

Other funds will go towards various other projects like grids for emergency power, removing stream debris and expanding recycling centers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese efforts will help us to limit damage due to natural disasters and get life back to normal more quickly in the future,\u201d Stein said.<\/p>\n

The region is set to get more than $700 million in recovery funds from the state budget that the General Assembly passed and Stein signed this month.<\/p>\n

Stein has continued to advocate for increased Helene funding in Congress, including on a trip last month to Capitol Hill to request $10 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe supplemental package for the Iran war is in front of Congress right now, and it must include Helene funding,\u201d Stein said on Friday. \u201cWe need the government not to forget Western North Carolina, and I will do everything in my power to make sure they do not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stein signed a bill<\/a> this month that would eliminate mandatory minimum off-street parking space requirements when developers construct a building, with exceptions for the state\u2019s coastal region. This includes residential buildings, where Stein said parking mandates add to the state\u2019s already rising housing costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking ahead to 2029, our state is projected to be more than 750,000 homes short of our housing needs,\u201d Stein said at a bill signing event. \u201cWe need to remove unnecessary and expensive barriers like burdensome parking lot requirements that lead to higher housing costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Stein said that the parking requirements are \u201coften excessive\u201d and can increase rent by $200 to $300.<\/p>\n

He called this bill a \u201csolid start\u201d towards increasing the state\u2019s housing supply and affordability, but said that he\u2019s talked with lawmakers on ways to make more improvements.<\/p>\n

Among his housing goals during his term: building homes in commercial zones and in the form of accessory dwelling units.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going to interfere with industry, it\u2019s not going to interfere with the commercial uses. In fact, (it) gets people closer to where they work, and it allows for a lot more units to be built more quickly,\u201d Stein told The News & Observer after the bill signing.<\/p>\n

Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, are homes that are on the same lot as another primary home. These can be units like guest houses, basements and garages.<\/p>\n

Another bill, which contains various changes to regulatory policies across the state, includes a provision that would require local governments to allow the development of ADUs for single-family detached homes in areas zoned for residential use.<\/p>\n

Sen. Steve Jarvis, a Republican representing Davidson and Davie counties, said some local governments have expressed concerns about allowing ADUs in commercial zones. Others on the coast have warned that many coastal properties may not have enough space for the additional dwellings and residents would likely face a parking shortage.<\/p>\n

Jarvis said that these concerns will likely be addressed in a new version of Senate Bill 445.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to build more homes and strengthen our housing workforce, so that people can both find and afford homes in the communities where they work and want to live,\u201d Stein said.<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading. Reach me at ronni.butts@newsobserver.com or our entire politics team at dome@newsobserver.com.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 19, 2026 at 5:00 AM<\/span> with the headline “Stein celebrates ongoing Helene recovery, hopes for increased housing supply.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more NASCAR is expected to up its on-track practice time. Drivers have mixed reviews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stein highlights housing recovery and plans for restoring water and wastewater systems in WNC, including $1B DEQ awards, and $44M state infrastructure grants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nStein celebrates ongoing Helene recovery, hopes for increased housing supply - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3476\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stein celebrates ongoing Helene recovery, hopes for increased housing supply - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stein highlights housing recovery and plans for restoring water and wastewater systems in WNC, including $1B DEQ awards, and $44M state infrastructure grants.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3476\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-19T21:36:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"Stein celebrates ongoing Helene recovery, hopes for increased housing supply\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-19T21:36:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476\"},\"wordCount\":808,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9a41a05742186505c7ef9b3c728dfa15.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476\",\"name\":\"Stein celebrates ongoing Helene recovery, hopes for increased housing supply - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9a41a05742186505c7ef9b3c728dfa15.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-19T21:36:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3476#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9a41a05742186505c7ef9b3c728dfa15.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9a41a05742186505c7ef9b3c728dfa15.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Gov. 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