Petition Opposes Affordable Rental Housing in Fox Chase

Opponents of a plan to bring affordable rental housing to Mill Street Station have started an online petition, hoping to gain enough signatures to send a message to the developers.

The proposal would see 63 new townhome units built in Mill Street Station, at the northeast corner of Orchard and Mill roads, finishing out original developer Steve Carr’s 2005 plan for the neighborhood.

But new developers Jim Bergman of Iowa and Ryan Companies of Naperville plan to use the federal Affordable Workforce Tax Credit program to pay for the project, which would mean tenants in the new townhomes would be required to make 60% or less of the area’s median income.

According to Rod Zenner, Oswego’s community development director, that qualifying limit would be $55,000 for a family of four.

Homeowners in the Fox Chase subdivision, in which the unfinished Mill Street Station neighborhood resides, have spoken out against the plan, and earlier this month, the Oswego Village Board for the project.

However, since the new proposal matches the original plan for townhomes, the project can proceed without village approval. Obtaining federal tax credits becomes more difficult without a letter, Bergman said.

Dan Walsh of Ryan Companies said the developers have a purchase agreement with , who now owns the property. Bergman said his goal would be to provide housing for veterans and their families, and to bring much-needed public improvements to an area that is currently lying fallow.

Bergman said the Mill Street Station site is in “serious trouble,” and called any notion that a developer would bring a higher-end project in 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-funded low-income housing.

But Fox Chase homeowners said bringing in low-income housing would substantially change the character of their neighborhood, and further lower their property values. And village trustees agreed. Trustee Tony Giles said that Fox Chase residents “bought into that neighborhood with certain expectations, and they’re entitled to them.”

The online petition is available here. As of Tuesday evening, there were 58 signatures.