BOISE -- Fixing the affordable housing crisis is one of the city of Boise's top priorities - which is why they originally gave the go-ahead to a proposed affordable complex off Whitewater Park Blvd.
The Sandhill Crane Apartment Complex plan has been tweaked since KTVB covered this proposal in June, and it has been tweaked since then. But one thing that's remained the same is the backlash from nearby residents.
The plot of land has sat vacant for about 15 years, and soon it could be home to a large-scale mixed-use apartment complex. But on October 11, residents will be taking their concerns to the Boise City Council - in hopes that they will halt the development from moving forward.
"We've been doing our homework so we can provide the evidence that shows this development is just wrong for that location," Veterans Park Neighborhood Association board member Erin Sorensen said.
The development would include 50 units on Moore Street in Boise near the new Esther Simplot Park, ranging between one and four bedrooms. There are nine buildings on site - each between two and three stories high.
"This development is much larger than anything else in that neighborhood currently," Sorensen added.
Forty-five of those units are going to be dedicated to low-income residents.
"The biggest issue I think we've got in the Valley right now is affordable housing," Boise City/Ada County Housing Authority Development Director Bob Reed told KTVB. "Affordable housing has not kept up with the pace of population growth."
Recently, affordable housing has been diminishing in the Treasure Valley, replaced by market-rate housing. That is one of the main reasons the Boise City/ Ada County Housing Authority is pushing this project now.
But hundreds of neighbors don't feel the solution should be built there.
"They're upset," Sorensen said. "I would describe it as stress."
Sorensen tells KTVB she is especially concerned because there is other low-income housing close by.
"I'll have more than a hundred low-income units right around my house within a three-block area."
She says people have worked hard to improve the aging neighborhood over the years, and ownership of homes has increased.
The housing authority sees the established area as ideal, and says the Sandhill Crane Apartments would be an enhancement to that neighborhood, as the whole area continues to change.
Throughout the design and planning phases, the housing authority has listened to neighbors' concerns and revised their plan. They have scaled the front-facing buildings down from three to two stories since residents weren't happy about the height.
Previously, neighbors presented Ada County Highway District (ACHD) with an argument that led the agency to deny a road extension. Thus, the housing authority has re-designed the entire entrance into the development- which they say will help alleviate some concerns about noise and traffic.
However, even with those adjustments, neighbors do not want something as dense as the Sandhill Crane Apartment Complex.
"I personally would like to see something that reflects the opinion of my neighbors," Sorensen said. "Just a variety of housing types: lower density, really an emphasis on home ownership, which is what's needed."
The Boise City/Ada County Housing Authority told KTVB that if the city upholds the residents' appeal, then they would appeal that decision, but they don't anticipate that happening because the city of Boise is promoting and needing affordable housing.