Planned Habitat neighborhood gets parkland dedication
Posted on Friday, January 18, 2008
It doesn’t have a name nor an estimated start date; the land isn’t even purchased yet. But a proposed Habitat for Humanity neighborhood took another step toward becoming reality this week.
The Fayetteville City Council on Tuesday waived the city’s parkland dedication requirements and designated land adjacent to the affordable housing site as parkland.
“ We actually haven’t purchased the land yet because all of these boundaries had to be established, how much was going to be parkland, ” said Patsy Brewer, executive director for Habitat for Humanity.
Brewer said there once was a timeline but that planning took longer than expected.
“ Good planning takes a while, and good implementation will, too, ” she said on Wednesday. “ We were hoping to have a big kickoff by now, but we’ll just wait and see. ”
The nearly nine acres on which the houses will be built were purchased by the city as a drainage way, said Aaron Gabriel, assistant director, University of Arkansas Community Design Center, which has worked on the project since 2005.
He said the land is on a highly impacted, impaired watershed. The site is between the highland of Mount Sequoyah and the lowland of a stream in south Fayetteville.
“ So it’s very important how we develop on that land and what happens to that water as it is on the land and as it moves off of it, ” he told the council.
Gabriel estimated that the housing project, which he calls Porchscapes, will have about 50 houses, most, if not all, with porches, patios or terraces.
The houses will face the park, and greenspaces around the homes will connect to it. Gabriel stressed that design issues still need to be resolved and the proj- ect could change.
Ecological planning is key to the neighborhood, which has been a course of study for university students. It is intended to be an example of a LEED-ND project, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — Neighborhood Development. It is also a demonstration project for Low Impact Development for the Environmental Protection Agency.
Brewer said the project will integrate the environmental planning, such as the use of bioswales, with Habitat for Humanity standards about size and cost.
“ It’s wonderful to have nice designs, but it has to be livable, ” she said. “ That’s where we come in to make sure the livability is there. ”
Grants have provided for the planning and design. Fundraising will be necessary for the land purchase and construction.
“ Donors, in-kind, whatever it takes, ” Brewer said.
Gabriel said design issues are still being resolved, but Porchscapes is definitely making progress.
“ When we get ready to go, we want to go, ” Brewer said. “ We don’t want to have any changes, especially with this type of project. When you’re dealing with a water issue and you’ve made plans to address that, you can’t make changes. Every time you move some dirt, it’s going to have an impact on the whole project. It’s crucial to know what you’re doing before you start. We just want to make sure we take the time to really think everything through. ”
Agreement was previously reached for Habitat to buy the land from the city at about $ 19, 000 per acre for a total of $ 152, 000. Habitat officials will request to be rezoned as a planned zoning district.
After the neighborhood is built, Habitat for Humanity will sell the homes to clients who meet certain criteria, including helping to build the house.
As with other Habitat projects, volunteers will do most of the construction work.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
