2008 Woodie Awards
City council considers land annex
Rebecca Kelley
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: Front Page
Oxford may see the building of affordable housing if city council approves a move by developers to annex 40 acres outside of the city.
"We have been talking about this affordable housing for about two years," said Jung-Han Chen, community development director.
The annexation will incorporate 40 acres of land on Kehr road into Oxford that would be turned into affordable housing.
According to Prue Dana, mayor of Oxford, half of the lot will be used for affordable housing and the other half will be normal market price.
"Council very much supports the creation of affordable housing," Dana said.
According to Dana, the approval of the annexation is just the beginning of the process to get affordable housing in Oxford. Dana said that now the developers have to get the proposal for the housing approved and apply for tax credits in order to move forward with plans to build the housing development.
"If it's successful, it will be very good for Oxford," Dana said.
Dana is hopeful that this process will begin in the next few months. According to Dana, this issue will be very important in the near future.
"It is an issue to watch," Dana said.
One fear discussed at the city council meeting was that by putting this affordable housing in one area would be counterproductive to diversifying Oxford. According to Chen, the housing will be spread out among the 40 acres.
"We are not looking at highly concentrated affordable housing," Chen said.
According to councilor Doug Ross, the annexation will affect everyone in Oxford, adding to the overall population of the city. However, for Ross, this move is not necessarily a good direction for the city.
"I'm not in favor of willy-nilly growth," Ross said.
Ross has a different opinion than other councilors on the annexation.
"I'm not big on the whole concept of affordable housing at all," Ross said.
Ross said that although he is not a big proponent of the initiative, he thinks it is being handled well by the developer, Bill Colwell.
"I'm sad to see it come," Ross said. "But Mr. Colewell seems to do a good job, and he should be given the same rights and opportunities as everyone else."
According to councilor Kate Currie, affordable housing would be a valuable asset for the Oxford community.
"I feel really strongly about the idea of interspersed affordable housing," Currie said. "I think we should take affordable housing wherever we can get it."
"We have been talking about this affordable housing for about two years," said Jung-Han Chen, community development director.
The annexation will incorporate 40 acres of land on Kehr road into Oxford that would be turned into affordable housing.
According to Prue Dana, mayor of Oxford, half of the lot will be used for affordable housing and the other half will be normal market price.
"Council very much supports the creation of affordable housing," Dana said.
According to Dana, the approval of the annexation is just the beginning of the process to get affordable housing in Oxford. Dana said that now the developers have to get the proposal for the housing approved and apply for tax credits in order to move forward with plans to build the housing development.
"If it's successful, it will be very good for Oxford," Dana said.
Dana is hopeful that this process will begin in the next few months. According to Dana, this issue will be very important in the near future.
"It is an issue to watch," Dana said.
One fear discussed at the city council meeting was that by putting this affordable housing in one area would be counterproductive to diversifying Oxford. According to Chen, the housing will be spread out among the 40 acres.
"We are not looking at highly concentrated affordable housing," Chen said.
According to councilor Doug Ross, the annexation will affect everyone in Oxford, adding to the overall population of the city. However, for Ross, this move is not necessarily a good direction for the city.
"I'm not in favor of willy-nilly growth," Ross said.
Ross has a different opinion than other councilors on the annexation.
"I'm not big on the whole concept of affordable housing at all," Ross said.
Ross said that although he is not a big proponent of the initiative, he thinks it is being handled well by the developer, Bill Colwell.
"I'm sad to see it come," Ross said. "But Mr. Colewell seems to do a good job, and he should be given the same rights and opportunities as everyone else."
According to councilor Kate Currie, affordable housing would be a valuable asset for the Oxford community.
"I feel really strongly about the idea of interspersed affordable housing," Currie said. "I think we should take affordable housing wherever we can get it."
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