Authority Pulls Subsidized Housing Request
Posted: October 6, 2012
HARRISONBURG — The Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority has withdrawn a rezoning request for the city’s first subsidized housing project for disabled residents.
As a result, a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday’s City Council meeting has been canceled.
HRHA had sought to rezone a 2.95-acre property it owns at the corner of East Gay and Hill streets. The rezoning, had it been granted, would have allowed the authority to build 29 multifamily units.
Last month, city planning staff recommended denial of the project, as did the Harrisonburg Planning Commission. Officials say the project does not comply with the city’s comprehensive plan, which serves as a guide for what type of growth best fits areas around Harrisonburg.
Also, 54 residents in the Northeast neighborhood signed a petition opposing the plan, saying the area already has a considerable amount of subsidized housing.
The property is in the R-2 residential zoning classification, a less dense label that does not allow multifamily units. HRHA sought an R-3 medium density zoning, which allows such units through a special-use permit.
With the rezoning request, the authority had also pursued a special-use permit to construct the housing project. The $2.4 million development would have been the city’s first housing complex for “medically vulnerable” tenants, a broad category of people with physical and mental disabilities.
Low-income tax credits and federal grants would have funded construction. HRHA had no plans to request financial assistance from the city.
Executive Director Michael Wong said the agency will review its options for potential locations for the project, and one of those is the East Gay Street parcel. If that’s the case — HRHA could build on it now without going through the permit process — the authority will modify its proposal to call for less dense growth there, he said.
“Our hope is to balance the need of the community for housing and the needs of the neighborhood,” Wong said. “We had hoped that our [proposed] project had met that.”
In the proposal, each of the one-bedroom, cottage-style units would be leased to no more than two married people.
A 1,000-square-foot community center, where residents would receive a variety of services, such as employment aid, was to be included.
Contact Preston Knight at 574-6272 or pknight@dnronline.com
As a result, a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday’s City Council meeting has been canceled.
HRHA had sought to rezone a 2.95-acre property it owns at the corner of East Gay and Hill streets. The rezoning, had it been granted, would have allowed the authority to build 29 multifamily units.
Last month, city planning staff recommended denial of the project, as did the Harrisonburg Planning Commission. Officials say the project does not comply with the city’s comprehensive plan, which serves as a guide for what type of growth best fits areas around Harrisonburg.
Also, 54 residents in the Northeast neighborhood signed a petition opposing the plan, saying the area already has a considerable amount of subsidized housing.
The property is in the R-2 residential zoning classification, a less dense label that does not allow multifamily units. HRHA sought an R-3 medium density zoning, which allows such units through a special-use permit.
With the rezoning request, the authority had also pursued a special-use permit to construct the housing project. The $2.4 million development would have been the city’s first housing complex for “medically vulnerable” tenants, a broad category of people with physical and mental disabilities.
Low-income tax credits and federal grants would have funded construction. HRHA had no plans to request financial assistance from the city.
Executive Director Michael Wong said the agency will review its options for potential locations for the project, and one of those is the East Gay Street parcel. If that’s the case — HRHA could build on it now without going through the permit process — the authority will modify its proposal to call for less dense growth there, he said.
“Our hope is to balance the need of the community for housing and the needs of the neighborhood,” Wong said. “We had hoped that our [proposed] project had met that.”
In the proposal, each of the one-bedroom, cottage-style units would be leased to no more than two married people.
A 1,000-square-foot community center, where residents would receive a variety of services, such as employment aid, was to be included.
Contact Preston Knight at 574-6272 or pknight@dnronline.com