Board Rejects Affordable Housing Plan for Fox Chase

It was standing room only at the Oswego Village Board meeting on Tuesday night, as dozens of Fox Chase residents turned up to oppose a plan to build affordable rental housing at Mill Street Station.

But in the end, those residents didn’t need to say anything, as the six village trustees unanimously agreed not to support the project.

Iowa developer Jim Bergman and Naperville firm Ryan Companies have proposed to finish building out Mill Street Station, which was initially approved in 2005. The original developer, Steve Carr Builders, constructed 21 of the 84 planned townhome units before calling it quits – without finishing sidewalks and other public improvements.

Dan Walsh of Ryan Companies said they have a purchase agreement with , who now owns the property. On Tuesday, they sought a letter of support from the Village Board for a plan to finish Mill Street Station to the original specs, using the federal Affordable Workforce Tax Credit program to help pay for the project.

That program offers tax breaks for housing projects, provided they remain rental properties for 15 years, and tenants are required to make 60% or less of the area’s median income to qualify. In this area, that qualifying limit would be $55,000, according to Rod Zenner, Oswego’s community development director.

Bergman said his goal would be to provide housing for veterans and their families.

Residents of Fox Chase spoke out against the project, worried that lower-income housing would affect their property values and increase their crime rates. Residents said they felt blindsided by the plan, and worried that it would change the character of their neighborhood.

Stacy Krisch, who lives in Fox Chase Estates, said homeowners there have paid between $300,000 and $575,000 for their houses, and taken a financial hit in the recent recession. She also suggested that would have a hard time dealing with the new students those townhomes would bring, and that school district taxes would likely go up to compensate.

“I live in that development, I’m surrounded by weeds,” she said. “I would take my weeds over this housing development.”

Joe Martin was similarly disappointed in the idea.

“If we don’t do something to prevent this,” he said, “it will continue to snowball and affect us all.”

But Bergman said the Mill Street Station site is in “serious trouble,” and called any notion that a developer would build a better project there a “pipe dream.” He also stressed that the affordable housing tax credit is just a financing tool, and is not the equivalent of government-sponsored low-income housing.

“As much as everyone behind me thinks I’m totally wrong,” he said, “I think it would be the best thing to happen to that subdivision.”

Trustees, however, had their minds made up before Bergman started speaking. Village President Brian LeClercq noted that the board had seen similar proposals before, and rejected them.

Trustee Tony Giles said Fox Chase residents “bought into that neighborhood with certain expectations, and they’re entitled to them.” And Trustee Scott Volpe accused the developers of “trying to make a quick buck” while changing the character of the subdivision.

“They never assumed they’d be living next to high-density rentals,” he said of the Fox Chase residents. “Start a new subdivision, and I’m willing to listen to that, but if you’re going to change a neighborhood, I’m not interested.”

The six board members unanimously agreed not to write a letter in support of the project. Village Attorney Tim Hoppa noted that since Bergman and his associates plan to build to the originally approved specifications, the board cannot stop them from proceeding.

But without a letter from the village, Walsh said, it would be much more difficult to obtain affordable housing tax credits. Bergman said he has other funding options, but said that after Tuesday’s meeting, he is not certain whether he will move forward with the project.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I have to think about it.”