Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend September 13, 2004 Ashland plans more affordable housing By STEVE ZIMMERMAN for the Mail Tribune ASHLAND — The city of Ashland has a "ambitious" solution to an affordable housing crisis that is made worse by the lack of affordable lots for construction. "The reason it is ambitious is that every month that goes by, housing costs continue to go up," Ashland Housing Coordinator Brandon Goldman said. "When you are looking at the price of housing in Ashland going up a percent a month, a $100,000 affordable unit next month will be $101,000, so time is of the essence at the moment." What the city hopes to do is use downtown airspace to build affordable rental housing above downtown parking lots. The first lot targeted as a test site is the Lithia Way parking lot across from Copeland Lumber. "The reason the concentration is on that lot is it is the smallest of the three lots we have (on Lithia, Pioneer and Second streets)," Goldman said. "It gives us the opportunity to build a demonstration project to test the viability of constructing housing above downtown parking lots." "It will likely be rental housing," he said. "It is helpful for those working in the service sector jobs. For example, a single person making 60 percent of (Ashland’s) median income is making approximately $22,000. So many of those working service jobs downtown would be looking for this housing." Advertisement Councilwoman Cate Hartzell voted against the proposal at the last City Council meeting because she was concerned about the possible loss of parking and wanted more study done on the issue. The Lithia lot can hold a maximum of 10 housing units, but it may have fewer depending on the units’ size. The Pioneer lot is the biggest and could hold as many as 17 units, while the Second Street lot would have 10 units at most. This type of housing is found in Portland and Eugene, and Bend is also considering this. "Typically this is found in bigger cities," Goldman said. "Cities the size of Ashland do not typically have the affordability issues we do. That is why we are looking at the more creative means to get some units on the ground. Construction could begin in about a year. "We will go back to the council at one of the next two meetings so it will turn around quickly," he said. "We can then outline their concerns and outline responses to those. Then a decision can be made on the RFP and decide to issue it or suggest modifications. Steve Zimmerman is a reporter for the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach him at 482-3456. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisement s