What happened
Representing herself and a dozen neighbors, resident Heather Green said they are worried about the project’s impact on the area’s parking, drainage and traffic.
Green also said the property owners, Jodie Smith and Tom Lieberwitz, had not been transparent about the project details.
“[Smith and Lieberwitz] have done their best to muddy the waters when it comes to the details of this project,” Green said.
Lieberwitz responded, saying the project had been in the works for over three years and that the previous owner had discussed the plan with neighbors.
“From the beginning, this has been a mission-driven project for us,” Smith said during the meeting. “We formed a nonprofit organization, the Homes for Good Foundation, that will carry this work forward.”
Smith said they are also collaborating with other nonprofits who have similar missions.
“I'm not against development, but I am against the lack of transparency, dismissing concerns and failing to engage the community,” Green said, urging the council to consider their concerns, and stressing that development should “unite, not divide,” the community.
Some context
The pocket neighborhood was started in 2020 by now-council member Kerry Fossler, who said she passed it on to Smith and Lieberwitz—her sister and brother-in-law—before she began her term in May 2024.
Fossler began to recuse herself from related discussions at a council meeting on Feb. 25.
“I don’t personally have a conflict of interest...but out of an abundance of caution, I’m going to step aside because I want there to be trust in this process,” Fossler said.
City attorney Stan Springerley said there was no conflict of interest for Fossler during the previous 10 months when she did not recuse herself.
Breaking it down
Lieberwitz and Smith said they took over the project to provide affordable single-family housing for those earning up to 80% of the city’s median income.
According to U.S. Housing Data, this translates to:
- 1-person household: $65,450
- 2-person household: $74,800
- 3-person household: $84,150
- 4-person household: $93,450
Following public comments, council members chose to add the issue to a future agenda for a public hearing.
