City housing director to leave Dec. 12

By Rachana Dixit

Published: October 3, 2008

The head of the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority has resigned, making it the fourth time in 10 years that the authority will experience a change at the helm.

The authority confirmed Friday that Noah Schwartz, who started as executive director in July 2005, resigned this week. Jason Halbert, chairman of the housing authority’s Board of Commissioners, said Schwartz has accepted another job out of state but will stay in his current position until Dec. 12.

“We’re sorry to see him go,” Halbert said. He added that the board is crafting a transition plan to find a new executive director.

Before he accepted the post, Schwartz was the executive director for the anti-poverty Monticello Area Community Action Agency. He also served on the advisory board of the Public Housing Association of Residents. Schwartz was out of the office on Friday and could not be reached for comment.

The housing authority has had a tumultuous history with its management. Before Schwartz signed on, Paul Chedda served as executive director for less than a year before he was dismissed for clashing with the authority’s board.

Del Harvey came to the authority in 1999, and her predecessor, Earl B. Pullen, was dismissed in 1998 after holding the job for nine years.

Charlottesville’s housing authority manages the city’s 11 public housing sites — which contain 376 units — and administers housing assistance programs, including the federal Housing Choice vouchers for low-income renters.

Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris, who is also chairman of the housing authority’s redevelopment committee, said site upkeep and work on redevelopment plans will continue — two areas where resident suspicion has manifested because of the lack of consistent leadership.

“That work needs to continue regardless of who’s in the director’s seat,” Norris said. “We can’t lose sight of the bigger picture, which is public housing needs to be transformed.”

The housing authority is currently listed as “troubled” in physical conditions by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Additionally, it has been plagued by staff shortages — the deputy executive director position is also vacant — and a decrease in federal funding, which local money has had to make up for.

Norris said Schwartz has been instrumental in crafting plans to improve the authority and public housing.

“The housing authority is in a much better place than three years ago,” he said.