By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Ideas, concerns and questions regarding the North Mesa Housing Study were shared during a joint work session Feb. 11 between the Los Alamos Public Schools Board and Los Alamos County Council.
In addition to collecting public input about the housing study during the joint work session, the school board and County council planned out their next moves for the project.
The school board will host another community meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb 26, at the Los Alamos Middle School cafeteria.
Superintendent Kurt Steinhaus told the Los Alamos Daily Post during an interview Feb. 13 that the meeting will feature a presentation on the housing study and then participants will be broken into groups to have round table discussions on various topics concerning the study.
The goal, he said, “is to take what we already heard, continue those conversations and build on those ideas.”
As far as the County’s next steps, the consultant that the County hired to develop the study, Dekker Perich Sabatini architecture firm, is expected to finish its work in March, Community Development Department Director Paul Andrus told the Daily Post.
Andrus added that at some point the school board and council plan to discuss drafting a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the school district and County that would stipulate what each entities’ roles are moving forward in this potential housing project. Andrus added that the MOA would incorporate the housing study and touch on key issues such as housing density, open space, access to recreation amenities and traffic.
School Board President Ellen Ben-Naim told the Daily Post that she was pleased with the discussion during the joint work session. A lot of great ideas were voiced, she said.
“Overall, one of the takeaways is if this project goes forward, it would be a good solution to filling that missing middle,” she said.
The missing middle refers to individuals who earn between $60,000-$100,000. Ben-Naim said these individuals earn too much to qualify for affordable housing but not enough to purchase a house at market price.
The hope is, should the housing project on North Mesa come to fruition, that the housing units would accommodate these individuals, Ben-Naim said.
Another comment from the joint work session addressed how this proposed development could generate ongoing revenue for the school district.
Ben-Naim said one possibility is to establish a land trust, in which the land would be leased from the school district, but the buyer would own the single-family unit, condominium, etc. Other attendees, she said, wanted to ensure issues that arose with the Pinon Trails housing development in White Rock wouldn’t happen again.
Ben-Naim said Pinon Trails was originally built as an affordable housing project but now houses in the development are being sold at market prices.
Andrus noted this potential project has sparked a diverse range of responses from people.
“People are passionate about this issue from a number of different angles,” he said.
On the one hand, Andrus said many in the community feel that there isn’t enough housing for the local workforce. He said many people don’t want to rent; they would like to buy.
On the other hand, individuals who live in the neighborhoods that surround the site of the potential development have concerns about traffic and other issues, Andrus said.
Steinhaus agreed that the comments raised during the work session were valuable and he encourages more input be given about the potential housing project.
“I really appreciate the people who came out and shared,” he said. “They were really valuable, and we want to hear as many diverse opinions as we can.”
County Council Chair Sara Scott also said that the work session was productive and added the more input given on the project, the better.
“I thought it was a good discussion,” she said. “We continue to learn more about what people want and don’t want from this development.”
This whole issue of possibly constructing housing on North Mesa is centered on approximately 30 acres of land, owned by the school district, located next to Los Alamos Middle School. The housing units would be geared toward individuals who earn between $60,000-$100,000 and would feature a mix of housing types – anything from studio apartment rentals to single family housing units.
Developing housing on the school district’s land could benefit both the County and LAPS. For one thing, it could provide the school district with ongoing revenue. However, Steinhaus noted that the school district is not in the business of developing homes; its focus is on education.
As for the County, there is a big demand for housing. During the Jan. 30 open house on the North Mesa Housing Study, Principal Urban Planner Will Gleason with Dekker Perich Sabatini reported that there is an immediate need for 1,310 rental units and 379 homes in the County.
If the housing need were to be satisfied, it could be beneficial to both entities, Andrus said.
“The County has a housing crisis … what we heard the other night is that the school themselves are feeling the housing crunch,” he said. “The lack of affordable housing has direct impact on how a community can attract a workforce … so the housing need is community-wide and the schools are feeling it, too.”
Ben-Naim pointed out it is hard to attract high-quality teachers if they can’t find a place to live; furthermore, Steinhaus said other school staff such as instructional assistants and custodians need to be able to afford housing, too.
Whether or not this project becomes a reality remains to be seen. The process to determine if the project will happen or not is still in the early stages. Both the school district and the County encourage the community to remain involved in the process and offer input.
“At this point, I think it is worth it to continue exploring this option and get more input to help us make a good decision,” Scott said.