Morgan Manor housing proposal tabled again

FAYETTEVILLE — The Planning Commission on Monday tabled again a proposal to expand Morgan Manor so the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development can answer a question from City Attorney Kit Williams about the project.

The commission voted 8-0 to table the item until its July 24 meeting. Williams met with Fayetteville Housing Authority officials in late June to discuss details on the project but wants more information before giving a legal opinion affecting the commission’s decision.

Williams’ inquiry pertains to federal government requirements on public housing land transactions and whether the Housing Authority followed those requirements. The proposal also now includes more than $126,000 in impact fees previously left out. A June memo from Williams pointed out the omission.

“We’ll see what the HUD rules are, what the federal regulations are,” Williams said. “I felt like I should get it straight from the horses’s mouth, so because of that I think we do need to table this to give HUD an opportunity to respond.”

The Housing Authority in March agreed to sell the public housing property at Willow Heights, 10 S. Willow Ave., for $1.25 million. Vlad Tatter, registered agent for Willow Heights LLC, has said he wants to build houses there. The Willow Heights complex would be demolished and the 100 or so residents there would move about a mile south to a proposed expansion at Morgan Manor.

The Planning Commission twice in June tabled the plan for the Morgan Manor expansion. The expansion would bring 58 more units to the 9-acre property, which has 52 units.

The Housing Authority operates Morgan Manor

under a form of Section 8 called the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, which combines public and private equity to provide rental assistance to low-income residents. The Housing Authority has applied for a tax credit from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration to help pay for the project.