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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: Ashland pursues carefully planned growth ... Woman could use clothes, pet supplies ... Mail Tribune 100, Dec. 15, 1915 ... Our View: Ashland pursues carefully planned growth ... Woman could use clothes, pet supplies ... Mail Tribune 100, Dec. 15, 1915 ... OUR VIEW Our View: Ashland pursues carefully planned growth MailTribune.com Writer Posted Dec. 15, 2015 @ 12:01 am Posted Dec. 15, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Ashland City Council members tonight will again take up development plans for a residential neighborhood that is outside the city limits at this point but likely to be annexed sometime in the future. Vocal opposition from some Ashland residents has focused on the density envisioned in the plans, but if Ashland ever hopes to offer truly affordable housing, that's unlikely to happen without greater density. The Normal Neighborhood Plan, named for Normal Avenue on the southeast edge of Ashland, encompasses 94 acres south of East Main Street and north of the railroad tracks between Walker Avenue and Clay Street. The land is outside the city limits but within Ashland's Urban Growth Boundary, meaning it is eligible for annexation should property owners request it. The area is bordered on three sides by city land. Under the terms of the Regional Problem Solving agreement among Jackson County and several of its cities designed to plan where and how growth will occur over the next 50 years, Ashland has committed to an average density of 6.6 units per acre. The Normal plan is designed to achieve that. The 50-year horizon is important. No one has proposed annexing any of the Normal neighborhood yet, and that may not happen for years to come. When it does, city leaders have decided it would be better to have a master plan in place to guide residential development and account for streets, walking paths, storm drains and open space. Without the plan, future development could occur under the county's existing rules, which allow one home per parcel, meaning a maximum of 33 single-family homes and four religious organizations, each with its own septic tank and well. With the plan, the neighborhood could accommodate up to 450 units. Ashland has consistently resisted expanding its boundaries to accommodate growth, and this plan fits with that philosophy because it concentrates housing in a relatively small area rather than allowing development to sprawl into agricultural land and other open space. But that philosophy comes with a density that has some Ashland residents raising objections. The council is expected to hear the second reading of the ordinances creating the plan in tonight's meeting and take a final vote. The decision comes at a time when housing in Ashland is farther out of the reach of low- and middle-income residents than ever. The vacancy rate for rental housing in Ashland was around 17 percent only two years ago. Now, the countywide vacancy rate is 1.5 percent, and rents are going up as a consequence. The Normal Neighborhood Plan isn't a quick fix for that problem, but it's a long-term commitment to making future development more likely to accommodate the many rather than the privileged few. 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