Gastonia is a suburb of the city of Charlotte, NC, with a diverse population of about 85,000 residents. Mosaic worked with the City on their Consolidated Plan and Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) in 2019-2020, and again in 2023-2025. In the fall of 2023, our team began working with the City on their AI, which provided goals and strategies that eventually shaped the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan. As the City had recently completed its Affordable Housing Study, our team integrated strategies that aligned with recommendations that had already garnered support through that planning process, while recommending additional strategies to address specific fair housing concerns.  Following completion of the fair housing study in 2024, Mosaic began working with the City on the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan.

As part of the community engagement for the plans, Mosaic hosted two in-person and two virtual community workshops to understand fair housing issues and housing and community development needs and opportunities. Our team sought engagement with specific neighborhoods and populations in six focus groups facilitated in partnership with community organizations and agencies in Gastonia. Mosaic’s team interviewed 19 stakeholders working in areas relevant to the Consolidated Plan and fair housing study, and the community-wide fair housing and community needs surveys collected a total of 112 responses. The project website provided information about the plans, community meetings, and public hearings, and allowed residents to complete the community survey and comment on the draft plans.

Responding to results of these broad community engagement efforts, the City has funded a range of CDBG and HOME projects, including rehabilitation and development of affordable housing, homelessness services, and fair housing education.