Not in my backyard

~ Neighbors upset over proposed development that will turn woods into low-income senior housing.

This aerial view shows the wooded area that developer Chad Hartle wants to develop into low-income housing for seniors.

Developer Chad Hartle wants to bulldoze a 14-acre woods in the heart of Cape Girardeau and erect 47 rental homes for low-income senior citizens. The plan angers neighbors who say it will open up surrounding streets to more traffic, lower property values and create storm water problems.

They've filed a 160-signature petition with the city council and the Missouri Housing Development Commission in an effort to scuttle the Victoria Estates project.

But Mayor Jay Knudtson says the land is properly zoned. Before neighborhood opposition surfaced, city hall endorsed the project in a letter signed by the mayor and sent to the state housing commission.

The city regularly endorses such low-income housing requests, Knudtson said.

City officials can't halt the project, the mayor said. The site is zoned R-1, which allows for construction of single-family homes regardless of whether they are for rent or purchase, Knudtson said.

The state housing commission could block the project by denying the developer's request for financial assistance. The commission will consider the Victoria Estates application when it meets Dec. 9 in Jefferson City.

Commissioners will consider neighborhood opposition in deciding whether to approve the request, said commission spokesman David Bryan.

With project requests across the state far exceeding available funding, opposition could be a key factor in the board's decision.

The commission approves projects once a year. The board will consider 122 proposals next week but likely will be able to fund only 30 to 40 projects, Bryan said.

The commission only has $20 million available for loans and $21.4 million in state and federal tax credits, Bryan said.

Hartle has applied to the housing commission for state and federal tax credits totaling over half a million dollars as well as a $763,000 loan to help finance the project. In return, the housing commission would approve the rent and control any rent increases.

The project isn't feasible without the commission funding, said Hartle, who bought the land in July from another developer.

One way or another, the Jackson developer expects to change the landscape. "I didn't buy it for the trees," he said.

But to neighbors, the forested ground has served as a buffer zone. Many of the residents live on streets that dead end at the woods. That keeps down traffic and noise, and contributes to safer neighborhoods, they say.

The proposed project would connect Clark, Stoddard, Ricardo and Lawanda streets, something they don't want. "We like the dead-end street," said Mary Jo Westrich, who lives at 1713 Lawanda Drive.

Some of her neighbors have school-age children who play in the street. Connecting her street to an extended Clark Avenue could lead to more traffic and put children at risk, she said.

She also worries that the proposed two-bedroom rental houses will lower the value of her property.

The low-lying woods serve as a natural drainage area, neighbors say. Constructing a subdivision on that site could push storm water onto neighboring land, neighbors worry.

Hartle said the project would have to meet city and state storm water regulations. The development will include a storm water retention basin that should corral any runoff, he said.

Connecting the two ends of Clark Avenue has been on the city's major street plan since 1991. The city's practice has been to eliminate dead-end streets, city planner Kent Bratton said.

A traffic accident at the entrance to a dead-end street could prevent public safety vehicles from getting to a house fire, Bratton said.

Hartle said Cape Girardeau needs more affordable housing for the elderly. He said the proposed development site would be ideal for senior citizens because it is close to the Cape Girardeau Senior Center and the local bingo parlor.

He plans to build houses with Victorian architectural accents. "With construction costs of $134,875 for each home, these homes are not cracker boxes," Hartle said.

Hartle would rent his homes for $365 a month. Without tax credits, he said, rent would be higher.

The MHDC decides how much a developer can raise rent from year to year. Rent increases typically are limited to 1 percent to 5 percent a year.

The MHDC usually approves tax credits for 15 years and loans for 20 to 30 years. Once the tax-credit period has ended, renters can buy the homes.

Hartle said his tenants would be able to purchase the homes at discounted prices.

Hartle said Victoria Estates would look like a typical residential subdivision.

The neighborhood opposition surprised Hartle. Neighbors didn't oppose the development when the plat was presented to the planning and zoning commission and the city council this summer.

But many of the neighbors said they only learned of the project several weeks ago.

"We were never told anything," said a frustrated Nelda Steffen, who lives at 1505 N. Clark Ave. "Nobody sent us a letter when it went to planning and zoning."

City planning officials said adjacent property owners aren't notified when developers seek approval of subdivision plats -- only when they seek rezoning of land or a special-use permit.

Steffen worries that extending Clark Avenue would turn the street into a busy thoroughfare like Perryville Road. It would make it dangerous for residents to back out of their driveways, she said.

More traffic brings other problems too, Steffen said. "When you open up a street like that," she said, "you are opening it up for crime to come in."

Knudtson said Hartle has a good track record as a developer. He has built successful senior citizen apartment buildings in Jackson.

But the mayor said he understands neighborhood concerns too.

"This one is a tough one," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123