The City of Harrisonburg Planning Commission will hold a public hearing tomorrow, Tuesday, January 17th as they consider a proposal called Bluestone Town Center which would include 897 residences on 90 acres.

In addition to 415 apartments, 349 townhomes and 133 detached homes, the master plan also proposes a community center, playground and retail shops. 

You can download the Planning Commission agenda here which includes links to all of the supporting documents for this rezoning application.

It is likely to be a lively public hearing as there seem to be plenty of folks both supporting and opposing this proposal.

Change.org Petition #1...

Change.org Petition #2...

Here are some other my thoughts and observations...

• The BTC website seems to suggest that 175 townhomes plus the 415 apartments will be rental units.  As such this development seems to be planned to have 66% rental units and 33% properties for purchase.  Elsewhere on the BTC website they say it will be 40% rentals and 60% homeownership, so it's not entirely clear how much of the development will be rentals and how much will be homes for sale.
   
  
• Depending on the eventual rental rates and/or sales prices, BTC seems likely to provide options for renters and buyers which do not otherwise plentifully exist in or near Harrisonburg.  The BTC website indicates that rental rates will range between $800 and $1400 and sales prices will start in the mid-$200's.
   
• Depending on the build out timeframe, BTC could create an oversupply issue - in the rental or sales market - which could cause rental rates to decline and/or home values to decline.  I suppose proponents of BTC might say that is a good thing if area rental rates and home sales prices declined?
   
  
• Presumably some of the 897 individuals or families who would live at BTC currently live in Harrisonburg, some might live in Rockingham County and some live outside the City/County.  It's hard to guess at whether BTC will mostly provide housing for people who are already here or will mostly provide housing for people who decide to move here because of BTC.
   
  
• The Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority (the would-be co-developer of BTC) says there is a shortage of 1,256 housing units in the City.  I don't know exactly what that means though the BTC website says the number is from a study by a group called Up for Growth.
   
• As with almost any new development, BTC will create more traffic on the roads and will increase the number of school aged children who need to be educated.  Expanding roads and educating more students (possibly building more schools) is expensive, so BTC might cause City taxes to increase.  The tax base (and thus tax revenue) would also increase if BTC is developed, but it's not clear if the added tax revenue would be enough to cover the added expenses.
   
  
• I suspect one of the biggest issues for those opposed to this rezoning is the scale of the project.  If this were a proposal for 250 new households, it would probably seem like less of a monumental decision that might have far reaching positive or negative consequences. 
  

As details of this proposal have become increasingly available over the past few months...

[1]  I have had many conversations with people who are strongly in support of BTC because they want more affordable housing options to exist in the City.

[2]  I have had many conversations with people who are strong opposed to BTC because they are concerned about (among other things) what they see as a likely increase in City taxes to pay for the impact of this development.

From here, the Planning Commission will review the proposal and make a recommendation to City Council... and then City Council will decide whether to approve this development in the City.

The final decision by City Council (to approve or deny) will be a big decision that (regardless of the decision) will affect the future of the City for decades to come.