"For Sale," Again

The duplex up the street is about to be demolished and replaced with a new house, apparently.  First the "For Sale" sign went up and the tenants moved out, then it was "Under Contract",  then it was back "For Sale", then it wasn't, and now it's for sale again, but this time they are selling something else, a new home that hasn't even been built yet.

There's been no sign about a request for a variance, yet, so they are not too far along.  A trailer has been in the driveway for a while, I'm assuming for salvage of what gets salvaged when a house is demolished, but I haven't seen any action yet on the demolition front.

So that's the story.  A small brick duplex where young people used to find affordable housing in the neighborhood is going to get replaced by a large, new, expensive home.  

In Virginia Highland, there's been an effort over the last year or so to create a neighborhood master plan.  There have been community meetings and chances for comment on line and lots of strong advocacy on the neighborhood email list.  There had been a proposal to allow "accessory dwellings" -- garage apartments and so forth -- that might provide some lower cost housing in the neighborhood but I think it's gone from the current draft.  Here's what the FAQ on the plan now says:

In the survey part of the Master Plan process, some citizens expressed an interest in themselves living in such units on their own property as they age out of needing a larger home. Conversely, many community members expressed their opposition to any easing of restrictions on accessory dwelling units. As a result, the Master Plan recommends an ongoing examination of this topic, understanding the necessity of addressing the negative aspects that have historically been associated with accessory dwelling units. Loss of tree canopy, storm water runoff, increased on street parking, and backyard privacy issues are problems that will need to be addressed. The neighborhood will evaluate and review existing and additional accessory dwellings in the context of proposed upcoming city zoning changes.

Whether it's our intention or not, we seem to be determined to allow only people of a certain income level to live in our neighborhoods, between the market incentives for property owners to replace older rental housing  with new, expensive construction, and zoning that prohibits home owners from providing such housing on their property.  I can't help but think that the primary concerns don't actually have much to do with "loss of tree canopy, storm water runoff, increased on street parking, and" (my personal favorite) "backyard privacy issues."

I got a big kick out of this on line guide when I saw it last month.  The Morningside neighborhood was not even mentioned, and see that map?  We're in that big empty spot just below Lindridge Martin Manor.  Now I know it's not just housing costs that keep Morningside off the map -- there isn't much commercial activity in the neighborhood either, and that's what's on the map, mostly -- but no neighborhood as socioeconomically homogeneous as this neighborhood is is going to be a very interesting place to live.

It may be boring, but at least we have our backyard privacy.  Of course, for improving the quality of life in the neighborhood, we'd be better off with front porches.