By Per Peterson
What is to become of some 22 acres of land to the north of Front St.?
That’s a question the Tracy Economic Development Authority board would like to answer sooner rather than later. And if last week’s meeting is any indication, it could very well be the future home of new housing.
The EDA discussed the possibility of developing eight housing units in the near future, with the first development taking place at the far east end.
“We wouldn’t just get income from selling the lot; we would have tax base coming in, too — tax base that doesn’t exist right now,” said City Administrator Kris Ambuehl.
The project would eventually include new sanitary water services and a proposed watermain extension, as well as a pond, and a ditch that would run through the eight lots along Front St. and future lots set back from the road, on the other side of the proposed pond. There would also be a city street, with a cul-de-sac on the east end. The west portion of the road would run along side what is now a current industrial lot.
Ambuehl said Tracy doesn’t have a housing “addition” in Tracy, or the ability to expand anywhere, so he believes it would be wise to act on the Front St. land. The city owns the land, so it’s not getting tax revenue from it. They rent a portion of the land to the Tracy FFA Chapter. If future development displaces the FFA, Ambuehl said they would find another area for them for their projects.
“We should try to make a decision on this because we’ve had people who have been potentially interested in the first three lots that are already developed and ready,” Ambuehl said. “We should either commit to this or move on to a different project. We need to set something up in almost a tiered format — it doesn’t cost us a ton of money in infrastructure up front.”
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.