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Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad December 24, 2005 GUEST FORUM Plans, not debates needed for housing By Aaron Benjamin Ashland In response to your editorial entitled “Ashland doesn’t need even more bureaucracy” (Dec. 15), it is important to note, it may very well be that the already existing multiple layers of bureaucracy inhibit speedy responses to the affordable housing problem. But, it is clear that the reason the housing commission requested authorization for direct oversight in planning actions that contain low-income components was not because it was looking for additional work, but rather because the planning commission was not adequately performing this function. Perhaps, with the appointment of a new planning director who has had a history of developing affordable housing projects, we will have a planning commission “trained in planning nuances” as you recommend, and bold enough to make specific recommendations to the City Council, which, in turn, must have the political will to make things happen. Fortunately, several agencies have been working together to develop a strategy to deal with the problem. They include the parks commission, the school board and the housing commission, with the moral support of the council. These efforts culminated in a Workforce Housing Conference held in Ashland on Dec. 2. A Dec. 8 Tidings article describing the meeting described the school board’s concern. The article indicated that expensive real estate, a lack of jobs and limited affordable housing options for young families in Ashland were the primary reasons for a significant loss in enrollment in public schools in Ashland. The council has expressed general support for affordable/workforce housing; it is now time for the council to take the bold steps to resolve the problem. These are some of the steps: 1. Recommend that the school board sell off surplus property so that it can be used for affordable/workforce housing; 2. Recommend that the parks commission sell off any undeveloped surplus property so that it can be used for affordable/workforce housing; 3. Sell the municipal golf course, with the land to be used for market rate and affordable/workforce housing and commercial facilities. This proposal seems practical since a new golf course will be built on the northern end of town; 4.Recommend that the Ashland Hospital consider using the air rights over its parking lots for affordable/workforce housing; 5. Request that the planning commission initiate rezoning procedures to permit residential use on at least a portion of the Croman site; 6. Require the planning commission to not only creatively explore new opportunities for affordable/workforce housing, but also to carefully review all applications, to assure that affordable/workforce housing components have been considered. --> Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.