By The Hutchinson Tribune Editorial Board
The very busy city council meeting next Tuesday includes a seemingly minor item: the Plum Creek replat. Although there are many newsworthy items on the agenda, we are calling out the replat for readers’ attention.
A plat is the zoning term for the plan for how the development will be laid out. It includes things like lot sizes, utility easements and sidewalks.
Approving a final plat is the next step in Jim Strawn’s housing development north of Plum Creek Elementary.
The planning commission recently recommended approval of the replat in a 4-1 vote. This included allowing an exception to the subdivision regulations requiring sidewalks on both sides of the street. If approved by city council, the development will be allowed to go forward with sidewalks only on one side.
Over-regulation can be a barrier to development. Our general stance is to be mindful about our city codes and look for opportunities to foster more development without sacrificing quality.
In this case, the justification for the exception is affordability for homebuyers. Sidewalks installed when the homes are built add about $2,000 to the cost of a home, according to the developer.
Readers may recall that Reno County recently approved spending tax-payer dollars on a $9,000 per home incentive to reduce the price of the homes in that subdivision.
We do need more housing, and it needs to be affordable. In addition to being affordable, we also want our community to be attractive. The goal is for more families to want to move here.
This new subdivision is across the street from an elementary school in the Buhler School District. Plum Creek is just the sort of neighborhood that should have sidewalks.
There is also evidence that young families want to live in neighborhoods with sidewalks.
One big reason why the current regulations are on the books was advocacy by Young Professionals of Reno County when the subdivision regulations were revised back in 2015.
At the time, the Young Professionals of Reno County Advisory Council offered a letter in support of the new regulations. They specifically addressed the need for sidewalks on both sides of the street.
“Sidewalks on both sides of the street are key to providing safe places for children and families to walk, run, skate, ride their bikes and play,” the 2015 YP Council wrote. “Furthermore, sidewalks enhance the appearance of individual properties, neighborhoods and the entire community”
The city passed its current subdivision regulations with the sidewalk requirements because it was what residents said they wanted. At the time, they did so over the objections of some local developers.
We wonder: why have rules if developers can ignore the ones they do not support? City codes and regulations are not meant to be a-la-carte, especially when making an exception is not making an improvement.
It is true that these kinds of suburban developments are hard to build in a profitable way. The city and county have certainly tried to help already, having promised an investment of hundreds of thousands of public dollars into the development.
This exception would save $2,000 a home for some of the properties at the expense of the quality of the whole neighborhood. It is not a wise long-term decision for the community, and we hope the city council sends the plat back to the planning commission for reconsideration.
If we want a brighter future, we cannot keep doing more of what we have tried in the past and expect to have different outcomes.
The suburban development pattern of the previous several decades is not financially sustainable. It requires us to invest in infrastructure that is too costly and inefficient, and the properties that it supports do not provide enough taxes to pay the maintenance bills.
This isn’t even accounting for the fact that the specials on a larger lot can be cost-prohibitive, as well.
Long-term decisions like how we plat our subdivisions impact property taxes. If we want lower property taxes in the future we will not get there by bending over backwards for the development of a new suburban subdivision north of town.
The way we will improve housing in our community is by holding ourselves to a high standard and building the future we say we want.