A landowner who owns 10 acres of land at the far north end of my neighborhood is collaborating with the city to annex the land into city limits and work with a developer to develop it.
Initially, the landowner intended to develop the land and construct approximately 130+ multifamily units. However, the city expressed concerns about the lack of industrial space and suggested that the developer consider that option instead. Consequently, the developer is now pursuing that suggestion and is exploring the possibility of adding medium industrial space.
I shared this information with the neighborhood, and we have two main concerns regarding the residential development.
- The heavy investment required for traffic and parking infrastructure would be substantial. Attempting to accommodate such a large number of new townhouses on a 10-acre lot would likely result in significant traffic congestion.
- The influx of new residents due to the unprofitable nature of single-family homes would fundamentally alter the culture and amenities of our neighborhood. The park and community center, which currently serve as important gathering places, would be overwhelmed by the new population. As with any development project, there are potential positive and negative consequences to consider.
After careful discussion, we decided to recommend the medium industrial development as a way to preserve the neighborhood. Additionally, we believe that the city may not provide the necessary traffic infrastructure to support the addition of 130+ units to our neighborhood.
What are your thoughts, Stackers? Should we opt for residential development or continue with the medium industrial option, which primarily involves semi-trucks and box trucks, and warehouse space?
I pressed NIMBY simply because the most successful places I've lived in where mixed zoned, residential+retail commerce/hospitality.
Industrial in a place that is close to residential is asking for problems, I think. Also I don't understand what kind of industry doesn't need road infra unless you're talking data center? In that case, what about the sound?
So I don't know. I'd want to make sure that the municipality is taking it seriously. That there are commitments. Without those, NIMBY.
This is an interesting situation. If the only/primary access to the new development is via your neighborhood it might be a different situation than if there is an alternate route to access this 10 acre development from a different point.
I'm curious what the benefits to your specific neighborhood from each of these alternatives. I'm sure the city is happy to gain tax revenue, but what does your neighborhood gain?
The road back there is extremely narrow plus the residents complain about the noise coming from the auto body shops that are on the other side of the 10 acre lot.
The landowner said he has a signed petition from the residents who live back there to develop the land to industrial. I asked a landowner’s lawyer to give us a copy of that petition.
We feel this land owner and the city want to get this done even at the expense of our neighborhood.
We understand housing is tight and we welcome new homes and neighbors but 130+ units!!!?? With zero road/traffic improvements would be terrible for us.
Where would these new residents work? High income or low income primarily?
I personally would have leaned towards residential. Yes it will put pressure on traffic and existing public spaces, but likely there will be further developments to mitigate that
The city has neglected my neighborhood for decades. Anything that was undesirable for the city was put around us. Thus more industrial going up.
Residential would make things really really crowded here.
Without doxxing my location the the price range of these units will be quite high. New townhomes normally start at like $600k to $800k so I would assume these would be middle to upper middle income levels with a few units having price controls slapped on them. (county law)
high income residents I think is generally a net benefit, will come with all sorts of downstream benefits like nicer restaurants and stores, better schools, etc
Although I may be thinking more in the context of high density urban areas with a mixed economy like in LA. Not sure if your context would match this
Ehh it depends the community I live in has been gentrified already. Yet the city struggles with basic parking enforcement and other maintenance items that people tend to ignore like putting covers on water pipe valves.
Isn't the city suggesting industrial because they would earn more tax dollars from businesses than they would from residences?