Neighbors happy that Humanity is vetoed

Deirdre Newman

College Park residents who adamantly opposed a low-income housing

project in their neighborhood won a partial victory on Monday.

The Planning Commission denied a Habitat for Humanity, eight-house

project that would develop a site behind Harbor Center, because the

majority of commissioners thought it didn’t fit in with the

neighborhood. But commissioners approved changing the land-use

designation for the site to allow residential use, leaving the door

open for another housing project in the future.

The commission’s decisions will go to the City Council for review

on Oct. 18.

Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit Christian housing ministry that

builds and sells affordable houses and loans money for the mortgages

to low-income families, proposed eight homes with two-car garages and

individual driveways for the 1.5-acre site, which is made up of two

properties -- one on Harbor Boulevard and one on W. Wilson Street.

Neighbors resisted the project because they said it was too dense,

would exacerbate an already overcrowded parking situation and reduce

property values.

“We wanted to work with [Habitat] -- even five or six houses would

have [provided] enough room for parking,” resident Tamar Goldmann

said. “This is what [Habitat] wants. [It’s] not willing to work with

us. Why the heck can’t [it] put six houses in instead of eight?”

Only eight homes would provide an adequate financial return on the

donation, said Scott Bell, president of ICI Development, which owns

the properties and would donate them for the Habitat for Humanity

project.

. “We’re trying to be good neighbors, good citizens and

philanthropic.” Bell said. “If we get less than eight homes, the

value of the property isn’t as great, and we’re giving the land to

them for nothing.”

Habitat for Humanity will be anxious to see how the council feels

about the project, said Mark Korando, vice president of site

development of Habitat for Humanity Orange County and a former city

planning commissioner.

“At least it establishes this space for housing,” Korando said.

“If it means not us, that’s OK with us.”

The commission voted 3 to 2 to change the land use to residential,

with Eric Bever and Dennis DeMaio dissenting. It then voted 3-2 to

deny Habitat’s project, with Katrina Foley and Bruce Garlich

dissenting.

Commissioner Bill Perkins, who was the only commissioner to

support a residential use, but not Habitat’s project, said he would

prefer four units on the site that could be sold for market-rate

value.

“If the project is not Habitat for Humanity and fits the

neighborhood, I may not be opposed,” Perkins said.

Most of the site where the homes would be built has served as a

buffer between the shopping center and the neighboring College Park

residential community.

The site is walled in on three sides, which includes two 14-foot

portions -- one behind Home Depot and another on the east side, at

the end of Wake Forest Drive, between the site and some homes.

The east wall was required by a 1999 settlement agreement between

the city, ICI Development and neighbors to lessen the noise effects

from Home Depot. But noise issues continue to plague the

neighborhood, residents said, even though an acoustical engineer

found that the noise from the mega store wasn’t significant. The fact

that the east wall would have to be opened to allow access to the

site was a major sticking point with neighbors, even though the same

engineer found that opening a portion of it would not cause

significant noise.

Planning staff members also opposed building any houses on the

site partially because they were afraid the Habitat homeowners

wouldn’t be able to live with the sounds emanating from Harbor

Center.

All the noise concerns are understandable, but shouldn’t derail

Habitat’s effort to build its affordable housing project, Chairman

Bruce Garlich said.

“Staff [members’] recommendation to deny comes down to a

subjective issue of whether this is a good place for these people to

live,” Garlich said. “For me, I don’t want to make that judgment. I

think they should make that judgment for themselves.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers government. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].