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January 19, 2006
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January 19, 2006 |
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EDITORIAL Grow, with an eye on diversity Over the last year, Yellow Springs has certainly had its share of residential development. Two new neighborhoods that include more than 60 homes were approved in 2005, and individual homes sprung up around town as well. Plans for a third new neighborhood, on property on Dayton Street now owned by Clara Mae Stancliff, are being considered by the Village Planning Commission. Two of these projects, Thistle Creek and the Stancliff neighborhood, include innovative ideas that take advantage of Village zoning regulations. They are good examples of diverse neighborhoods of homes of different sizes and costs. Both are using the Village’s Planned Unit Development process, a zoning law set up with flexible standards so the Village can negotiate with developers and encourage creative building designs and use of land. The Stancliff neighborhood, which is being planned by Mike Alexander and Suzanne Clauser, will consist of 10 homes, averaging 1,400 square feet, on small lots. Ms. Clauser said the houses’ small square footage and lot size should keep prices down for people of moderate incomes. When it’s completed, Thistle Creek will include 22 houses and 31 townhouses on 9.25 acres off King Street. The project is being developed by Phillips-Brown Homes, which is operated by Cathy Phillips and Jonathan Brown. They are planning to build homes that Mr. Brown has described as “large and small” and “available to everybody.” Though Phillips-Brown is not building an affordable housing development, they are working with Home, Inc., which will construct a number of homes in Thistle Creek as part of its affordable housing efforts. Such developments have a better chance of increasing not only Yellow Springs’ diverse housing stock but also its diverse population. The type of housing Phillips-Brown and Ms. Clauser and Mr. Alexander want to build would be attractive to young families and people who work in town in need of reasonably priced housing in Yellow Springs, and older villagers who want to move out of their big homes into something smaller. However, Yellow Springs should not have to wait for altruistic, community-minded developers to come around with plans for smaller, clustered homes built at reasonable prices, instead of McMansions selling at inflated prices that only the affluent can afford. Using Thistle Creek and the Stancliff neighborhoods as examples, the Village government could be proactive and encourage the construction of more affordable and moderately priced housing. For instance, the Village has tools, including the control of public utilities and a number of identified financial incentives, that it could use to affect what growth in Yellow Springs could look like. Through the Planned Unit Development process, the Village could work with builders to create diverse developments with homes selling at a wide range of prices. The Village could even require that all new neighborhoods be created under the PUD method, giving each new development a better chance of offering a variety of housing choices that more people can afford. Village Council should also create legislation requiring developers to include moderately priced housing in their projects, ensuring that new neighborhoods in Yellow Springs include a diverse housing stock. It’s no accident that new neighborhoods are sprouting up in Yellow Springs. Previous Councils and others slowly changed the tenor of public discourse and policy to get us to this point. The current Council can show it also has vision by ensuring, through policy decisions, regulations and public statements, that growth in Yellow Springs is geared toward a diverse population.
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