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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 17, 2004 Co-housing effort stymied by Planning Commission By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings The concept of co-housing has been tossed around in Ashland for more than a decade, as a handful of groups have formed and discussed the idea, only to drift apart before concrete plans can be made. The journey to create affordable housing that gives residents a sense of community while promoting cooperation, interaction and environmentally sound practices came close to ending on Tuesday night when the Ashland Planning Commission rejected a rezoning proposal for the Fordyce Street Co-Housing Community by a 4-3 vote. "We're deeply disappointed and shocked that it happened," said Marilyn Midlin, the applicant on the proposal who has led the co-housing push in Ashland for about 10 years. The proposal asked to rezone a 1.3 acre undeveloped parcel along the west side Fordyce Street from R-1 (single family residential) to R-2 (low density multi-family), where the group would build a 12-unit multi-family cooperative housing facility with a common house and a 22-space parking lot. "I think co-housing is a beautiful way to live," said Cecile Shohet, a co-housing backer who's been involved with the group since August. "I think co-housing is a wonderful way for the people in this country, in this world to live." However, approximately 30 neighbors whose homes back up to the proposed site turned out on Tuesday evening to express their concerns with the rezoning. Increased traffic, housing density and a lack of involvement in the process topped the list of neighbors' concerns. "The bottom line for me personally was the lack of coordination with the existing neighborhood," Planning Commissioner John Fields said. "Really it's the neighborhood that has to absorb that zone change. The majority (of the commission) said it isn't fair to the neighbors." Although co-housing proponents had gone door-to-door to the houses surrounding the parcel and held a community meeting in the neighborhood, area residents still weren't comfortable with the housing project. "The neighborhood felt like it was creating an isolated community within the neighborhood," said Fields, who voted against the rezoning although he favors the idea of co-housing. "The neighborhood could have easily bought into it, but they just weren't convinced." The rezoning denial makes the future of the co-housing project unclear. The group of six households that had planned to move into the development will meet on Sunday to discuss its next step. Prior to the planning commission hearing, which the group had hoped would be more of a formality than a fight, a tentative groundbreaking for the project had been slated for the spring. The group was on the verge of buying the property, which the current owner was willing to offer at a price significantly below market rates. Finding other affordable properties where the neighborhood might be more accepting of a co-housing community, group members say, would be difficult. "We're not going to give up," Shohet said. "We're going to come up with other strategies." The planning commission didn't leave the co-housing group with recommendations to improve their rezoning request, although Fields later said a new proposal to put eight units on the property could get the go-ahead from the commission. "I think it's short-sighted on the part of the city planning commission," Shohet said. "Ultimately, they denied us. They flatly denied us." DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Isotoner Slippers Dsw Shoes Ceramic Piggy Banks Fanny Mae Eloans Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weight Loss Programs Citibank Student Loans Acs Loan Matchmaking & Dating Scripts Adventure Travel Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation helzberg diamonds Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams