|
HOME COLUMBIA IN THE NEWS OPINION TAKE ACTION RESOURCES ATLANTA AUSTIN EXAMPLES |
An editorial written for The State which was never published: I have been watching the progress of the infill development going on for the past couple of years in the older neighborhoods of Columbia. I just shook my head at the ridiculous lengths that these upstart developers will go to to squeeze an outsized house into a middle class neighborhood. In the past 10 years of so, our neighborhood has had several infill houses built. Some well suited, others not so. In one case a long-time resident had plans to build four free-standing townhouses on his land. He was thoughtful enough to inform the neighborhood of his plans and invite comment. His plans comprised brick homes around 2,500 square feet with front and back yards that fitted with the general look of the neighborhood. When it happened closer to home, it was the back yard of my long-departed neighbor across the street. He had spent the leisure hours of his life working in his large backyard garden, propagating and pruning his beloved camellias along meandering paths he built. Sometime after he died, a retired couple bought the house and land. They rented the house to a assortment of younger folks, and the the house and garden were neglected. Then I noticed surveying going on across the street. It seemed that the owners had decided that they would sell the garden to one of our new infill developers who figured to wedge in two or three houses. When the clear-cutting started and the signs went up, I contacted the builder and developer to express my concern that the houses should fit in with the existing homes (most of which have been here 50 years or more) in size and design. I was assured that the houses would be luxury homes that would enhance the neighborhood and increase my property value. They would not be brick, but concrete siding, because no one wants brick anymore. There would be a minimal yard because no one wants a yard to take care of anymore. Privacy? Don't worry; there will be privacy fences around the house. They say my property value will increase. Maybe. But probably only from the angle of how much the lot will fetch when it can be subdivided. I don't think it will do anything for the quality of life in the neighborhood. I imagine anyone affording these houses will both work and the children will be day-cared and have arranged activities away from the neighborhood. Their children will certainly not play in the yard since there is none. They will hire a company to cut the grass and blow the leaves of what yard they have. Rather that getting new neighbors, I will get privacy fences. I suppose this is the modern dream, but it sure isn't the neighborhood I grew up in. If Columbia has a housing shortage, I imagine that it is in the more affordable sector, not the nearly half million dollar range and up. Why would a developer want to exploit the zoning laws, carve up two lots, and cram not one, not two, but three $400,000 houses into a neighborhood where the average sale price was $173,000 in 2004? Why would a developer build 2,900-square-foot MacMansions where the average square footage of houses sold in 2004 was 2,046 square feet? The only answer I can come up with is greed. Or ignorance. Why would city planners and zoning officials approve this type of development? Perhaps for more property tax revenue. As much as I dislike the idea of government telling the individual what he can do with his property, I sincerely believe that we need to change our zoning regulations to prevent this type of inappropriate development. Perhaps neighborhoods should work together to establish covenants or advisory committees that could restrict or steer new development in the neighborhood. Developers who buy up properties from owners who see the inflated price as a windfall should face more hurdles from city planning ordinances before they come in, disrupt the texture of a neighborhood, reap their profits, and then move on to some other opportunity. I came back to Columbia to take care of my elderly father, who had this house built back in 1952. I have gotten involved in the recently formed neighborhood association. I was even contemplating staying here beyond the duration of my current responsibility, but with the unfolding events in the neighborhood, I am reconsidering. I strongly feel that this type of high-density, high-dollar development is wrong for our neighborhood. Columbia officials would be wise to reconsider the direction infill development is taking. Lewis Kirk |