– long-tailed housing
– potential buildable land.
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Council leans towards exploring ‘land banking’ — acquiring potential project sites
By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news
The Ashland City Council was briefed on potential sites for housing development in Ashland and the possibility of utilizing ‘land banking’ — the acquisition of vacant, abandoned or underutilized properties to address community needs, particularly affordable housing in the future — during its study session on Monday evening, all in an effort to tackle the local housing shortage.
The city’s buildable lands inventory (BLI), which assesses available city properties for potential development to accommodate population growth, has been updated for the first time since 2019. The update highlighted both successes and challenges for the city. Several spaces listed in the previous inventory have now been developed, with many resulting in more housing units than initially projected, according to Ashland’s Community Development Director, Brandon Goldman.
For instance, a development in the North Mountain Neighborhood, located on Coffee Lane and Randy Street, was expected to produce 26 units but ended up delivering 37. Similarly, the Beach Creek annexation, initially identified as 42 lots in the 2019 BLI, is now being transformed into 53 lots.
However, the availability of lands for multi-family housing developments within the city limits remains limited, as noted by Goldman.
The updated BLI has identified the potential for constructing 1,407 dwellings within the city limits, with an additional 1,303 possible within the urban growth boundary. Combining both figures would enable Ashland to meet the projected housing demand over the next two decades, as outlined in the BLI staff report. The inventory encompasses developed and undeveloped land, properties operating below their development potential, and areas with physical limitations to development such as flood plains.
The city could explore blending commercial and residential development in zones that permit such activities.
“Visualizing two or three floors above Albertsons could provide substantial housing. In the current market, there’s a growing trend towards such developments,” Goldman explained.
Under Oregon state law, affordable housing projects are exempt from standard regulations that prohibit residential development in commercial zones. However, the city of Ashland’s code can only mandate developers to include affordable units in cases involving annexations, Goldman added.
Land banking could serve as a long-term strategy to create more high-density affordable housing options. If the city decides to pursue this approach, both council members and staff would need to assess potential land parcels for acquisition, including properties owned by the city itself. The city has previously successfully created affordable housing through land banking.
For example, the city acquired 10 acres in collaboration with the Jackson County Housing Authority. When the housing authority was ready to commence a project in Ashland, the city retained a portion of the land for open space in the form of wetlands, selling the remaining acreage to the housing authority at the original purchase price from eight years prior. This arrangement helped the housing authority avoid escalating market costs, enabled the city to recoup the land cost, and led to the development of the Snowberry housing project on the property.
When considering land banking, the city must evaluate potential partnerships with organisations, particularly in terms of land acquisition. This presents a minor dilemma: without a clear idea of available land and timing, potential partners cannot develop plans or designs; yet without identified partners, the city would be responsible for purchased land without a clear purpose.
“There are considerable risks involved, as we would now own the land and are not housing developers, in addition to the responsibilities of stewardship and property maintenance over time,” Goldman cautioned.
One advantage the city enjoys is its exemption from property taxes as a government entity, he noted.
Councilor Eric Hansen suggested the possibility of using investment funds to pursue opportunities for land acquisition.
Interim City Manager Sabrina Cotta highlighted that acquiring land might span multiple budget cycles, given the ongoing capital improvement projects. Each budget cycle, the council prioritises funds after essential services are covered. The previous focus was on wildfire mitigation; as the next budget cycle approaches, the council could shift its attention to housing development and land banking.
Another approach the city could consider is emulating the model adopted by Ashland Parks & Recreation. The department identified desirable land for potential parks and open spaces, expressed interest in properties, and set aside funds for purchase as opportunities arose or landowners approached them with offers.
Councilor Gina DuQuenne proposed exploring multi-use developments, such as those incorporating essential facilities like childcare centres on the ground floor and housing units above. She stressed the importance of concentrating on existing properties rather than acquiring new land.
Mayor Tonya Graham emphasised the need to create an inventory akin to APRC’s to identify potential properties for purchase. She urged the city to consider the support for housing and infrastructure from the state while acknowledging the constraints on Ashland’s already busy staff.
“There’s a window of opportunity, but we need to find the right balance to leverage the current resources that won’t be available indefinitely,” Graham remarked, alluding to the state’s current backing for housing initiatives.
Contact Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at morganr@ashland.news.
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– Cultivating housing in Ashland
– Potential buildable land in Ashland.
