HomeMy WebLinkAbout03282023 City Council Laydown - Written Protest from Molly Ledford 230328 CC Laydown - Ledford
Dustin Phillips
From: Molly Ledford <mollyledford4@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2023 4:57 PM MAR 2 8 2023
To: Brenda Ballou
Subject: Oppose Resolution 2023-029 OFFICE OF 7 Ht
CITY CLERK
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Hello,
My name is Molly Ledford. I am the owner of lot BA, or 2608 Oak Street, in Afognak/Forest Acres. I will be at the city
council meeting tonight but wanted to oppose the Resolution in writing per SCC 5.20.025.
1 would like to formally protest the proposed Special Improvement District for the Afognak neighborhood in Forest Acres. I
thank the city of Seward for providing the feasibility study, but without subsidization from the local, state, or federal level, I
cannot personally afford the prices listed in the feasibility study. I understand that our pro;ect is on the priority list of the
city council in regards to funding the expansion of housing in Seward. I am eager to build and establish more long-term
housing in the city of Seward and become a part of the community but I simply cannot foot the bill for the public
infrastructure on top of the prices of building my home. I would like to come to a resolution that includes subsidization from
the government paired with amortization of 20 years on our property taxes.
It has come to my attention that Afognak unlawfully subdivided the land without bringing utilities as per city code, and that
this was an oversight by the city that is now affecting aif of us individual land owners as we are expected to provide
funding to create this public infrastructure. We are not allowed to build unless we bring utilities, and utilities are estimated
to cost around $4 million, which is hard for individual land owners without deep pockets.
I also understand there is something called the Developer Reimbursement Program that has allowed 50% of utilities to be
subsidized by the government for single developers, and that we, as individual owners, do not qualify for these funds. Is it
possible that we create an Owner's Association so that we can qualify for these funds? If not. I would like to look into the
feasibility of congressional directive spending requests, or earmarks, which, according to Stephen Sowell, seems like the
best way to get funding for this project at this stage. I understand that it will take time but, unless we can find additional
funding, the overwhelming majority of the property owners will have our hands tied as we cannot afford to build with this
resolution. The land will stay undeveloped and the city will continue to have a housing problem.
I love Seward, and I am looking forward to making 2808 Oak Street my home. Surely the city council is empathetic to our
situation and can see that while we are all eager to create a neighborhood, we need help as we are not big developers
with deep pockets, such as the ones that have received funding in the past.
Again, I oppose this resolution, but would be willing to support it if there were subsidization by the government paired with
amortization over 20 years.
Thank you,
Molly Ledford