Planning and Zoning Board Report of 3-19-01

WICKHAM PLACE SUBDIVISION

Project Number: 00-SB-010

Project Description: The subdivision would be located west of Reedy Creek Road, approximately 370’ north of the intersection of Reedy Creek Road and Branniff Drive, and approximately 510’ south of the intersection of Willoughby Lane and Reedy Creek Road. The plans propose dividing one existing lot containing 2.88 acres into 10 single-family lots, except lot 10, which would contain 22,000 square feet and an existing dwelling facing Reedy Creek Road. The average lot size would be 8,676 square feet. The minimum lot size proposed would be 7,433 square feet and the minimum lot size allowed is 6,000 square feet. The plan also includes the installation of roadway improvements, including sidewalk to Reedy Creek Road. The property is zoned Residential Mixed District (RM) and is inside Cary’s town limits.

Planning and Zoning Board Recommendation: to be completed following the Planning and Zoning Board meeting.

ACTION:

P&Z Recommendation:

P&Z Comment:

 

Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the plan. The recommendation includes:

  • Reducing required 60’ semi-opaque buffers to 30’ opaque buffers.
  • The developer shall submit a Certificate of Adequate Public Facilities for Schools prior to staff processing the approved master set of plans.
  • Approval of the plan is subject to Town Council approval for funding and easement acquisition for the off-site sanitary sewer main.

Staff Comment: All property owners in the general vicinity of the proposed subdivision were notified of the plans for development. Only one property owner who lives west of the development in the Willoughby Place Subdivision responded with comments. The property owner expressed concerns regarding the impact the new subdivision would have on adjoining property values and regarding the proposed reduction of 60’ buffers to 30’.

Studies have been conducted that have determined affordable housing does not lower property values. At the end of this report is an article entitled "Why Affordable Housing Does Not Lower Property Values." The article was downloaded from the Habitat For Humanity International’s web site and addresses property values in areas where affordable housing has been constructed.

With regard to the concern associated with the proposed buffer reduction, the property owner prefers the visual separation provided by the wider buffer’s additional landscape area. The proposed lot in the Wickham Place Subdivision that adjoins the property owner’s lot in the Willoughby Place Subdivision will contain approximately 12,600 square feet. The adjoining property owner’s lot contains approximately 11,325 square feet. Typically, no buffer would be required between subdivisions containing lots of a similar size. However, four of the proposed ten lots contain less than 8,000 square feet. Therefore, buffers would be required adjacent to the adjoining developments.

 

Review Summary:

General Zoning Requirements

Staff Contact: Planner

Phone:

Email: bbenfiel@ci.cary.nc.us

Zoning & Land Use Plan Compliance

Description: The plans propose to reduce the width of perimeter buffers from 60’ to 30‘. Also, as of this writing, staff has not received a Certificate of Adequate Public Facilities for Schools. If staff has not received the Certificate prior to the meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board, staff will recommend that the Certificate be submitted to staff prior to staff processing the approved master set of plans. (No development can occur until the master plan set has been signed and stamped approved by the staff.)

Landscape

Description: Excluding a proposal to reduce perimeter buffers from 60’ to 30‘ in width, the plan complies with all zoning requirements. The typical required buffer type would be a semi-opaque "B" type buffer. The plans propose, however, to increase the density of the buffer area to an opaque standard ("A" type buffer).

Staff Conclusion: Given the need to encourage affordable housing, the irregular shape of the property, and the proposal to increase the opacity of the remaining buffer area to an opaque buffer standard, staff supports the buffer reductions as proposed.

Building Elevations

Description: The plans propose one-story dwellings that would range in size from approximately 980 square feet to 1,240 square feet. The type of construction would be traditional residential, consisting of wood frame construction on built-up brick foundations. The exterior finish would be vinyl siding in a range of traditional residential colors, such as glacier white, antique parchment, platinum gray, cape cod gray, windsor blue, and colonial ivory. All trim would be in white. Gable asphalt roofs would be utilized.

Staff Conclusion: The proposed dwellings would enhance the visual appeal of the area and would be compatible with existing duplexes and single-family dwellings surrounding the Wickham Place Subdivision.
 

Traffic

Staff Contact:

Dick Moore Phone:462-3937

Email: dmoore@ci.cary.nc.us

 

Description: The proposed nine new dwellings will only generate 9 peak hour trips.

Staff Conclusion: No traffic impact and access study is required.
 

Roadway Design

Staff Contact:

Tammy Mitchell Phone:462-3933

Email: lmitchel@ci.cary.nc.us

 

Description: The developer is proposing to widen Reedy Creek Road to ˝ a 41’ back-to-back street section (3 lane roadway) within ˝ a 65’ right-of-way in accordance with standard Town requirements.

Proposed Wickham Drive is classified as a residential cul-de-sac and is proposed to be approximately 550 feet in length and publicly maintained. Wickham Drive meets design standards as specified in the Town of Cary Engineering Standard Specifications and Details Manual.

Utilities

Staff Contact:

Tammy Mitchell Phone:462-3933

Email: lmitchel@ci.cary.nc.us

 

Description:

Water: There is an existing public water line within Reedy Creek Road right-of-way. The plans propose an 8" public water line extension within Wickham Drive right-of-way to serve the proposed subdivision.

Sewer: The plans indicate that on-site sanitary sewer mains will be installed by the developer and that off-site sanitary sewer mains will be installed "by others". The developers design consultant has indicated that the off-site portion of the sewer main is to be installed by the Town of Cary. The Planning Department is in the process of requesting funding and easement acquisition approval from Town Council for the off-site sanitary sewer main.

Staff Conclusion:

Staff recommends approval of the plan subject to Town Council approval for funding and easement acquisition for the off-site sanitary sewer main.

Storm Water

Staff Contact:

Tom Horstman Phone:469-4347

Email: thorstma@ci.cary.nc.us

Description: Wickham Place Subdivision is not located in a protected watershed and would have no requirement to provide watershed protection devices.

 

Staff Conclusion: Wickham Place Subdivision meets all Town of Cary stormwater requirements.

 

Habitat Funding Request: FYI

Staff Contact:

Shawn McNamara Phone: 469-4086

Email: smcnamar@ci.cary.nc.us

Description: Habitat for Humanity of Wake County is requesting the Town of Cary to provide financial assistance for the Wickham Place Subdivision. The preliminary budget for this project is below:

Uses of Funds

Sources of Funds

Per House

Project Total

Per House

Project Total

Land Purchase (Net)

$ 12,500

$ 112,500

Town of Cary

$ 20,600

$ 185,400

Permits and Fees

$ 9,000

$ 81,000

Habitat Sponsors

$ 38,278

$ 344,500

Engineering

$ 2,000

$ 18,000

Wake County

$ 22,222

$ 200,000

Survey and Subdivision

$ 1,100

$ 9,900

Total

$ 81,100

$ 729,900

Architect

$ 100

$ 900

Insurance

$ 400

$ 3,600

Loan Closing

$ 500

$ 4,500

Clearing, Grading, Curb Cut

$ 3,350

$ 30,150

Water Line Extension (500LF)

$ 1,400

$ 12,600

Sewer Line Extension (400LF)

$ 1,250

$ 11,250

Street, Curb, and Gutter (600LF)

$ 2,500

$ 22,500

Construction Management

$ 3,000

$ 27,000

Administrative Overhead

$ 6,000

$ 54,000

House Construction

$38,000

$342,000

Total

$81,100

$729,900

(TOC costs in bold above)

Total Infrastructure and Fees

 

$20,600

 

$185,400

As shown above, Habitat is requesting that the Town of Cary provide funds for development fees and infrastructure and site costs. Habitat sponsors will provide funding for materials and Wake County will provide funds for the remaining items, primarily land acquisition. The line items for which Habitat is requesting Town funding is consistent with the goals of the Town’s Affordable Housing Plan and with the prescribed uses of the Town’s Affordable Housing Fund.

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit housing development agency that promotes homeownership among working families at 60% of area median income who are required to provide 400 hours of "sweat equity." Through partnerships and by using volunteers Habitat is able to provide a more affordable house than other developers. The Wickham Road houses will be 980 - 1240 square feet and will be sold to pre-qualified buyers for $67,500. Habitat uses a deed restriction/right of first refusal to guarantee that the family either continues to occupy the dwelling or provides the unit to another moderate-income family.

Staff feels that Town participation in the Wickham Place Subdivision would be an excellent use of the Town’s affordable housing resources.

Staff Conclusion: Wickham Place Subdivision meets Town of Cary affordable housing goals in the provision of homeownership opportunities with resale restrictions to guarantee against windfall profits and assure moderate-income occupancy.

 

Why Affordable Housing Does Not Lower Property Values

Downloaded from the Habitat for Humanity International web site

Common Attitudes vs. the Facts: It is a common belief that affordable housing, including residential care facilities and supportive housing, will lower neighboring property values. However, numerous studies conducted over a period of many years and in various locations find that this widely held preconception is incorrect. Why? Because property values are primarily determined by the condition of the particular property for sale and other broader, more complex forces such as overall area development and prosperity. The location of affordable housing has no significant impact on these other conditions which determine property values.

A Wide Variety of Types of Housing and Residential Areas Were Studied:

The studies cover a wide scope both of kinds of housing and of residential areas. Elaborate studies have been conducted regarding affordable rental housing, owner-occupied housing, and housing for the physically and developmentally disabled, mentally ill, the elderly and homeless women and children. The actual housing structures vary from single family houses to high-rise apartment buildings, from manufactured housing to multiple family units in garden clusters. Areas examined range from prosperous suburbs to rural routes to densely populated urban areas in locations all over the United States. Despite this variety of factors, all of the studies except one reach the same conclusion -- facilities of this kind simply do not affect neighboring property values.

Studies Were Conducted By A Variety of Public and Private Sector Experts: Some studies come from the academic community, others are conducted by independent researchers, still more are government reports. The available studies have been conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office, Coopers and Lybrand, U.C.B.'s Institute for Urban and Regional Development, California's Department of Housing and Community Development, and Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Studies Used Many Different Methods to Detect Effects: The studies assess the potential effect of housing facilities on neighboring property values in many ways. Some compare the sale prices of neighboring housing to prices in a similar control area. Some compare sale prices before, during and after the construction of a facility to determine changes and then compare this data to statistics on the prevailing trends in that community. Others utilize a sophisticated statistical technique called "regression analysis" to determine the effect of proximity to affordable housing.

Almost No Effects on Nearby Property Values Were Found: Except for one, all of the studies, utilizing many methodologies, determined that property values are not affected by these housing facilities. The only study examined which suggested that facilities might have a negative effect on neighboring property values could not conclusively determine whether the affordable housing in question was responsible for lower property values, or whether it was caused by other neighborhood concerns.

Conclusion: It is a common assumption that property values will go down in areas where affordable housing is located. Contrary to popular beliefs, studies indicate conclusively that affordable housing has little or no effect on neighboring property values. No one really knows what determines property values -- they are a complex phenomenon, and seem to be most closely related to the condition of the particular property for sale and broad trends in neighborhood prosperity, urban and suburban expansion, road and highway construction and nearby large-scale commercial and industrial developments.

The assumption that property values will decline with the location of affordable housing is based on the idea that one facility can affect a whole neighborhood, and that such

facilities will be conspicuous, unattractive, poorly maintained and poorly managed. The studies cited on the following sample bibliography as well as others show that these assumptions are incorrect.

 

A Sample of the Research of Property Value Effects

1. Habitat for Humanity South Ranch 2 Community Impact Study (Coopers & Lybrand, 1994)

Study of potential impact of a proposed 196 owner-built and occupied home development on a previously unoccupied area of Phoenix concluded that the development would benefit the overall community by bringing in community-committed, stable, working families, drawing commercial development to a new area and spatially linking existing developed areas of Phoenix.

2. Relations between Affordable Housing Development and Property Values (Institute for Urban and Regional Development, University of California, Berkeley, Working Paper 599, 1993)

Determined that proximity to affordable housing is not a significant factor in determining sales prices, and in one instance it may have had a positive impact on sales prices.

3. Measuring the Effects of Affordable Housing on Residential Property Values (San Francisco State University, unpublished master's thesis, Smith, B., 1992)

Analysis found that among thirteen "proximity zones" the highest increases in value and the lowest turnover were in areas closest to an affordable housing facility.

4. The Effect of Group Homes for the Mentally Ill on Residential Property Values (Hospital and Community Psychiatry, Boydell, Katherine M., M.H.Sc., John N. Trainor, MSW, Anna M. Pierri, 1989)

Determined that property values in a suburban area with a group home increased more than a similar area without such a facility.

5. Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Questions and Answers

(Johnson and Olson Associates of Austin, 1988.)

This summary finds no evidence of property values declining because of the location of a group home for the mentally retarded, and finds that there was less residential turnover near the group home than in other similar areas.

6. The Effects of Subsidized and Affordable Housing on Property Values: A Survey of Research (Department of Housing and Community Development, State of California, 1988.)

Out of 15 published papers on subsidized housing, group homes for the disabled, and manufactured housing, 14 concluded that this housing had no significant negative effects on the values of neighboring properties. Some reported positive property value effects.

7. The Impact of Group Homes on Residential Property Values (The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George's County Planning Department, 1988)

Study found that most areas around group homes appreciated more than other similar areas in the country. Determined that there is no correlation positive or negative between location of group homes and neighboring property values.

8. Impact Study for Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (Spear Street Advisors, Inc., San Francisco, Calif., 1988)

Determined that proximity to affordable housing was not a statistically significant factor affecting property values.

9. Impacts on the Surrounding Neighborhood of Group Homes for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (Illinois Planning Council on Developmental Disabilites, Daniel Lauber, Springfield, Ill., 1986)

Research ascertained that the location of group homes had no effect on property values, mean sales price, or residential turnover rates.

10. Impact of Affordable Housing on Property Values (Lynn Sedway & Associates, 1983)
Study determined that appreciation rates near affordable housing were at least as high as the area average.

11. Long Term Neighborhood Property Impacts of Group Homes for Mentally Retarded People (Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, 1982)
Of 32 group homes all over New York State, none had a short or long term impact on neighboring property values.

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