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Resident urges clearer city priorities and affordable-housing review as two bypass developments advance
Summary
A resident urged the council to clarify annual priorities and to ensure affordable-housing policies are applied to two bypass-area developments — Jennings and Georgetown Commons — that face upcoming legislative steps.
During the public-comment portion of the March 24 Georgetown City Council meeting, resident Dan Holman asked the council to articulate clear priorities for the coming budget year and to apply the city’s recently completed affordable-housing study to two large developments on the bypass: the Jennings development near Payne’s Depot Road and the Georgetown Commons project near Quality Drive.
Holman said the council’s annual budget is a planning document and urged the council to identify specific, measurable goals for the year so staff, boards and citizens can track progress. He said the affordable-housing issue has been discussed for years and that the city lacks a clear, required step in the development-review pipeline that assesses a project’s affordable-housing contributions.
Holman suggested the council consider delaying sign-off on legislative items related to the two developments until the city’s affordable-housing committee meets and rolls out its plan. That committee, he said, could propose “small quick things” developers might adopt as conditions or voluntary commitments that would advance the city’s housing goals.
Council response and context: Council members and staff acknowledged the timing of the budget cycle and the upcoming mayoral proposed budget in May. Staff previously told the council the city’s five-year comprehensive plan and the new wastewater treatment capacity are expected to accelerate development activity along the bypass, which is why Holman and others singled out those two projects.
Ending: Council did not take a formal vote on Holman’s request; staff and councilmembers acknowledged the affordable-housing committee’s upcoming meeting and the role the mayor’s budget will play in carrying funding priorities forward.
