A recent meeting with the executive director of Mississippi Home Corp. gave opponents of proposed low-income housing developments in North Meridian a better understanding of the situation, they said.

Members of the Poplar Springs Neighborhood Association met with Dianne Bolen, executive director of MHC, who explained the Qualified Allocation Plan and the status of some $42.5 million in federal tax credits that will be awarded to housing developers.

“We went there trying to understand, not to be an adversary,” said Edwin Downer, who was among those attending the meeting in Jackson. “We told her (Bolen) that we truly believed the programs were of great benefit.”

Downer and other opponents say they’re not opposed to affordable housing; rather, they object to the proposed locations of the developments. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, tax credits were awarded only to developments in low-income neighborhoods and other “qualified census tracts.” Post-Katrina federal legislation removed the location requirement.

At a public meeting in March, residents of several Meridian subdivisions expressed concern about proposed developments in their neighborhoods.

In addition to concerns that the housing would lower property values, residents are also concerned about an increase in traffic in their neighborhoods.

Bolen noted in the recent meeting with Meridian residents that MHC has realized education is needed for all parties involved. MHC is preparing a pamphlet for mayors and boards of supervisors for distribution at the Municipal League and Association of Supervisors conferences this summer.

To help consumers, MHC plans to adopt stricter guidelines that developers must follow in informing the public of proposed developments.

“MHC is aware that some public-notice signs were probably photographed and taken down, that many meetings did not contain information of substance, and that many developers did not communicate by letter to the public,” Downer said. “Bolen said this would be greatly improved in the next cycles.”

The neighborhood association displayed a map of Meridian that showed the location of each proposed development. The map also showed the locations of community resources used by lower-income families.

“During a follow-up phone conversation, Bolen said she had instructed her staff to look carefully at the site assessment form,” Downer said.

“The present form does not list specifically distances from school and enrichment services provided by both the schools and community, churches, neighborhood groceries — areas of great importance to the typical low- to moderate-income families.”

Downer said overall the neighborhood association’s discussion with Bolen was very positive.

“It was a very productive meeting — for both parties,” he said. “Ms. Bolen was able to answer our questions, and we were able to give her more insight on what’s going on in our community. It’s just unfortunate that in the first round things came unglued.”