Jennifer Bercier/PCT A vacant lot in the Chalmers Addition in Rugby is shown Wednesday, Nov. 12.

A proposed row home project in the Chalmers Addition is back at square one after the developer informed the City of Rugby it would no longer be pursuing the project in light of recent resistance from other property owners in the addition at a Monday, Nov. 3, city council meeting.

In a letter sent Friday, Nov. 7, by Andrea Diede, the executive director of Affordable Housing Developers (AHD) of Dickinson, the company informed Rugby Mayor Frank LaRocque and the other city council members the company has rescinded its applications for funding and will not be proceeding with the proposed development in Rugby.

“This decision was not made lightly. We recognize the importance of expanding access to quality, affordable housing, and we had hoped to bring forward a project that would positively impact the community. However, given the recent changes in the level of support and the division that has emerged regarding the project, we believe it is in the best interest of all parties to withdraw at this time,” Diede wrote in her letter. “We wish the City of Rugby continued success in its efforts to strengthen the community and advance its goals for housing, job development, and growth.”

LaRocque was contacted for comment but did not respond before deadline.

The proposal had been discussed at city council meetings multiple times in the last year during reports from then Rugby Jobs Development Agency Director Zachary Broadwell. The development would have had a total of eight units with four separate structures.

However, several Chalmers homeowners who spoke at the Nov. 3 meeting indicated they felt blindsided by the possibility of affordable housing being built in the addition. Deb Goven told the council at the Nov. 3 meeting the group only found out about the proposal when they saw workers in the area performing soil tests for a housing study commissioned by AHD.

Despite assurances from city council and JDA board member Neil Lotvedt that the row home project hadn’t yet been brought before the council and was still just a proposal for which AHD still was seeking funding, Chalmers residents responded there were still too many unanswered questions.

City Council member Jennifer Zachmeier said while she supports affordable housing, she agreed its presence in the addition would alter the dynamic of the plan for the neighborhood. Zachmeier said she had previously voiced opposition to income based housing in the Chalmers Addition, and her sticking point with the proposal was the rental aspect of the properties.

“If they had advertised we’re going to put affordable housing in there, the lots probably would have gone down from what they were selling them for,” Zachmeier said at the Nov. 3 meeting.“My other concern is, if we use these lots for these multifamily homes, where do people come when they want to build a new home in Rugby?”

Zachmeier proposed rezoning the area to prevent future rental developments in the addition to ease the minds of the property owners, but City Attorney Rachael Mickelson Hendrickson said North Dakota law was very friendly to renters and prevented a municipality from doing so.