Aurora's new housing criteria may exclude Jericho Circle
When Aurora aldermen Tuesday night approved a new set of criteria to determine if future housing projects can be built, some of them had one proposed development in mind: Jericho Circle.
Redevelopment at the former west-side site of 145 low-income housing units managed by the Aurora Housing Authority would not be consistent with the criteria approved Tuesday based on at least one factor: location.
The development's location has “few, if any employment opportunities (and a) lack of social service providers willing to deliver services,” according to housing authority correspondence with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Developments favored under Aurora's new standards should be near public transit, town centers and job hubs.
The new housing criteria were written by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and describe benchmarks housing developments should meet in terms of location, land use, attainability, design and management. Mayor Tom Weisner said the city's approval of the standards is an affirmative step to come in line with best practices in public housing, but the move did not immediately ban future construction at the Jericho Circle site.
The decision will be made separately if the project meets the standards now that they are approved, Weisner said.
Approval of the housing criteria was one of 10 recommendations made by a housing task force that met from October to June. The other nine recommendations were not addressed Tuesday night.
“The only substantive recommendation that's really being adopted is the best practice, widely accepted housing criteria ... that have been championed by the pre-eminent planning agencies in our region,” said Rick Guzman, assistant chief of staff.
The standards state that future housing developments should: Be near public transit and jobs; be clustered efficiently to conserve open space and reduce traffic; offer units attainable by people of different incomes; be designed to complement and enhance existing neighborhoods; be managed by organizations with track records of addressing long-term tenant needs.
The city's new housing criteria were added to its 2010-2014 consolidated plan with the support of 10 aldermen and the abstention of two — Abby Schuler and Scheketa Hart-Burns, both of whom have family members on the Aurora Housing Authority's board.
Alderman Rick Lawrence said adoption of the standards will have “a huge impact on this city for a long time.”
“This is a good deal for the city of Aurora moving forward.”