Charlotte voters will decide this fall whether the city can borrow $425 million for affordable housing, transportation and neighborhood infrastructure as the city faces continued growth and a widening need for lower-cost homes. The proposed borrowing includes $125 million for affordable housing, $280 million for transportation and $20 million for neighborhood improvements. The city estimates that interest will add $241 million to the cost over time. Officials say the repayments and interest are accounted for in the budget and that the bonds will not require a property-tax increase. “As our city grows, these bonds will help us meet that responsibility by caring for the roads, neighborhoods and homes in our community — without raising property taxes,” Mayor Rob Harrington said in a statement. The housing bond would replenish Charlotte’s Housing Trust Fund, which provides financing to developers building affordable homes and supports other housing efforts. The city says the fund has helped preserve 10,869 affordable units and 888 shelter beds since 2002. Bond money can also support home repairs, assistance for buyers and land purchases, including sites near jobs and transit. One recent project supported by the fund is Trella, a mixed-income development in Uptown. Of its 353 apartments, 106 are rented at income-based rates for households earning 30% to 80% of the area median income. For a one-person household, that range is about $23,000 to $63,000. The city plans to put more of the proposed housing funds toward anti-displacement work, citing the potential effects of planned rail lines on nearby communities. But the scale and effectiveness of the city’s housing investments remain a point of debate. Charlotte Observer contributing columnist Andrew Dunn has argued that the city has not adequately demonstrated that borrowed money is being used effectively, particularly in addressing the affordable-housing gap. Most of the $280 million transportation package would go to major street projects, including new roads, intersection redesigns and changes to car-focused streets to add sidewalks or bike lanes. The city has identified Eastway and Shamrock, Ashley/Freedom/Tuckaseegee, Bryant Farms Road, Robinson Church Road, Brown-Grier Road, DeArmon Road and Shamrock Drive as areas under consideration for future work. The transportation plan also sets aside $50 million for sidewalks, $24 million for resurfacing, $22 million for the city’s Vision Zero traffic-safety initiative and $10 million for the bike network. Smaller allocations would cover bridge repairs, traffic-management equipment, signals and signs, and improvements to privately built roads that lack a clear public maintenance responsibility. The city expects to repay most of the transportation bonds with revenue from the 1-cent sales-tax increase voters approved last year. The remaining $20 million would fund infrastructure such as streets, sidewalks, greenways and bike lanes in both growing areas and established neighborhoods. Earlier neighborhood bond spending helped pay for work in the West Trade-Rozzelles Ferry area, including $5.5 million for the Five Points intersection and plaza near Johnson C. Smith University. The bond requests continue a program that began in the early 2000s with $10 million housing packages. The affordable-housing proposal has since grown to $50 million and then $100 million in 2024; this year’s $125 million request would be the largest yet.