Wednesday, 30 January 2008 00:55
Jackson Rules Zero HEU's in 2008
Also at Monday night’s meeting, the Jackson City Council ruled to allocate zero Housing Equivalent Units - or HEUs - for this year. In other words, no new housing allocations for subdivision applicants in 2008. There were a number of factors considered in this decision, resulting in public debate that questioned whether or not all the proper steps had been taken to make an accurate decision. City Planner Susan Peters, speaking on behalf of the Planning Commission, recommended not allocating any more HEUs, based on the desire to see the impacts of already-approved projects, since none have been built and occupied to date.
The Planning Commission
also believes a zero allocation won’t hurt the city’s housing supply, given the
current housing market. Water supply, school and child care capacities, roads
and available police and fire facilities were also considered. Subdivisions of
4 homes or less would not be affected by the decision, but it would disallow
further subdivisions of 5 or more. For example, Home Depot, which has a pending
application for 4 lots, would not be affected by this new ruling. However, it
was the current sewer capacity, which can only accommodate approximately 159
more dwellings, that was the most debated topic. During public comment,
residents questioned how the city had determined the existing sewer capacity.
One resident also stressed concern over continuing with these types of
decisions before the City’s Amended General Plan is approved. The City assured
the accuracy of the determined sewer capacity and Mayor
Pryor-Escamilla agreed that
further improvements were needed to the city plan.
