Rental survey topic of joint meeting Tuesday

A joint meeting between the Ashland Planning Commission and the Ashland Housing Commission will examine the local rental housing economy and the effects of a skyrocketing for-purchase housing market on those who wish to rent or can't afford to buy. The two commissions will meet on Tuesday, 7 p.m. at the council chambers, 1175 East Main Street.

Steve Ferrarini, of Ferrarini Assoc., will present the results of a telephone survey his company produced for the city. The survey interviewed 500 Ashland residents about their housing situation.

Brandon Goldman, Ashland's Housing Specialist, said the results have not yet been finalized, but he said it found that 55-percent of Ashlanders live in homes they own, as opposed to 45-percent who rent their home.

Questions ranged from reasons for living in the community, to length of time in the community, to the price of rent.

"We have a very good handle on the for-purchase market through the multiple listing service data that realtors use," Goldman said. "Now we'll be able to see how the rental economy has been affected."

Based on past, current and expected trends in the rental market, the two commissions will better project the housing economy's impact onrenters and how land-use laws could help shape the future.

"It will be heavy on the data side," Goldman said. "But it will be useful to us to do comprehensive planning for the rental housing market in the future. In terms of making informed decisions, we need to know how any changes might modify the rental market."

The two commissions have both been working on an ordinance that would restrict the amount of rental stock housing that could be transformed into for-purchase housing. Some planning commissioners assert that renters have been ignored through local land-use policies and unchecked market forces, according to the Ashland's comprehensive plan.

Goldman said Ferrarini "will go over the results of the survey" as well as explain what in "his experience we might expect to see in terms of rental costs."

In a separate agenda item that also relates to the affordability of housing in Ashland, Goldman will also explain some proposed changes to the local annexation ordinance.

"The housing commission has been working on some modifications to the annexation ordinance to remedy some problems they see in providing affordable housing," Goldman said.

The current annexation ordinance stipulates that 15 to 35-percent of new housing on annexed land is required to be affordable. But Goldman said developers have little flexibility as to what kinds of affordable or workforce housing they can provide.

"There is a value in having a mix of housing types in a development," Goldman said.

Other changes include the timetable for completing the affordable housing portions of subdivisions on annexed land, deeding the affordable housing to a third party and distribution of the affordable housing.

The planning commission will also take public comments and perhaps vote on their roles and responsibilities. Commissioner Dave Dotterrer has been formulating a list of duties and powers the commission would like to codify as their primary reasons for meeting. After polling the commission as to what they think their powers and duties should include, the commission is set to vote on them tonight before sending the list to the Ashland City Council for its approval.

Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x. 226 or bplain@dailytidings.com. To post an on-line comment, visit www.dailytidings.com.