Oneonta officials have talked about wanting to build more affordable housing in the city. But there’s an unanswered question: where should those houses be built?
During its March meeting, the city of Oneonta’s Housing Commission reviewed recommendations from a housing study the committee and city staff have worked on since November. A leading conclusion: “there is a clear need for public-private sector coordination to address the city of Oneonta’s housing challenges.”
One idea that Council Member Scott Harrington, R-Sixth Ward, is talking about is developing city land for affordable housing. The city owns nearly 100 parcels of land, he said during a phone call Friday, March 18. Many of those are vacant or undeveloped lots. If the city is not using them, “is it really worth the city having them? Or is it worth us sending it forward?” he asked.
Harrington described several scenarios. Larger properties could be sold to developers. Parcels that are too small to for developable lots could be sold to adjacent land owners, after which the property lines could be redrawn to create spaces for new homes. City staffers are working on an inventory of city properties to determine which ones the city does not need, then identify the subset best suited for development, he said.
There are two vacant one-acre city lots next to Catella…
